About this recipe
Whole mud crab cut into pieces and cooked in a thick, glossy, orange-red gravy built on a chilli-and-tomato base, bound with egg dropped in at the end so it sets in silky ribbons through the sauce. It is savoury and mildly sweet with a gentle heat rather than a fierce one — the chilli is for flavour and colour as much as for burn — and it is eaten with the fingers and with fried or steamed buns for mopping. It is not a Cantonese sweet-and-sour crab, and it is a different dish from black pepper crab, its drier, peppery, non-tomato cousin sold at the same stalls.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Prep
- 30 minutes
- Cook
- 25 minutes
- Total
- 55 minutes
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Spice
- Medium
Allergens Contains shellfish (crab, belacan), egg, soy and wheat. Not halal unless a halal-certified kitchen; contains no pork or alcohol as written. Not vegetarian.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
The crab
- 2 live or very fresh mud crabs, about 1 1/2 lb (680 g) each
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) neutral oil, for frying the crab
The rempah
- 8 fresh red chillies, stems removed
- 4 dried red chillies, soaked in hot water 20 minutes and drained
- 8 cloves garlic
- 6 shallots
- 2 in (5 cm) fresh ginger
- 1 tsp (5 g) belacan, toasted
The sauce
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) neutral oil
- 3 tbsp (48 g) tomato paste
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) bottled tomato ketchup
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) water or light chicken stock
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp (24 g) sugar
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp (8 g) cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp (30 ml) water
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 3 scallions, cut into 1 in (2.5 cm) lengths
To serve
- Steamed or fried mantou buns
- Fresh coriander
Equipment
- Cleaver or heavy knife for cutting the crab
- Wok or wide deep pan, at least 14 in (35 cm)
- Blender or food processor
- Wok spatula
Method
- Blend the fresh chillies, drained dried chillies, garlic, shallots, ginger and toasted belacan to a smooth rempah, adding a splash of water if needed.
- Heat the 2 tbsp oil in the wok over high heat and fry the crab pieces 3-4 minutes, turning, until the shells turn bright orange-red. Lift out and set aside; they will finish in the sauce.
- Add the 3 tbsp oil to the wok and fry the rempah over medium heat 8-10 minutes, stirring often, until it darkens and the oil separates at the edges.
- Stir in the tomato paste and ketchup and cook 2 minutes, then add the water or stock, soy sauce, sugar and vinegar. Bring to a simmer and taste: the sauce should be savoury, tangy and lightly sweet.
- Return the crab to the wok, turn to coat, cover and simmer 6-8 minutes, until the crab is cooked through and the meat is opaque.
- Stir the cornflour slurry and pour it in, stirring, until the sauce thickens to a glossy, clinging consistency.
- Turn the heat to low. Pour the beaten egg in a thin stream over the surface and leave it 20 seconds to begin setting, then fold it through once or twice so it forms soft ribbons rather than scrambling fine.
- Stir through the scallions. Taste and adjust sugar, salt and vinegar.
- Tip onto a platter and serve immediately with steamed or fried buns and coriander, and with plenty of napkins.
The Complete Edition
Chilli Crab sits in the Singapore chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Singapore chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.