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Tammi Kwok

Singapore Chilli Crab Recipe

This is as authentic as you can get - a Singapore Chilli Crab recipe (from scratch!) passed down to me from my mother, who has been my crab dealer for all of my life. This is the flavour balance of my childhood, but feel free to play around with the quantities to find your favourite. After all, it IS comfort food!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kg Fresh Raw Mud Crab or you can replace with prawns if you prefer, cleaned and separated into quarters
  • Oil for deep frying
  • 125 g unsalted butter
  • 200 g Asian Shallots* peeled
  • 75 g Ginger peeled and sliced
  • 2 Long Red Chillies with the top cut off
  • 50 g garlic
  • 15 g belachan fermented shrimp paste**
  • 10 g dried shrimp**
  • 2 stalks lemongrass roughly bashed with the back of a knife
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 3/4 chilli sauce****
  • 1 tsp corn starch
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • Soy sauce to taste
  • Salt and pepper to season
  • Soft steamed buns to serve***
  • Coriander leaves or spring onions to garnish

Method
 

  1. In a wok, or a medium sized pot that will fit the crab in snugly, add about 750ml vegetable oil, or until it comes 2 inches up the side of the pot.
  2. Add the butter, along with 2 tsp of salt, and heat till the butter is foaming.
  3. Add your fresh crab (or prawns, if using) to the oil, and fry till the shells are bright red, about 8 min.
  4. Meanwhile, add the shallots, ginger, chillies, garlic, and dried shrimp into a blender. Blend into a paste, using a touch of water if your blender is having issues.
  5. Remove the cooked crabs from the oil and drain on a paper towel, if needed.
  6. Drain off the excess fat, leaving about 3 tbsp in the pot.
  7. Add the belachan and fry over high heat, till aromatic.
  8. Add the spice paste and lemongrass, and fry over high heat till it deepens in colour, and the mix is fragrant, about 5-10min.
  9. Add ketchup and chilli sauce, and, stirring occasionally, heat till the sauce starts to bubble vigorously.
  10. Mix the corn starch with 1 tbsp water, and pour the slurry into the sauce to thicken.
  11. Add in the beaten eggs and turn the heat off, stirring gently to create loose ribbons.
  12. Add in the cooked crab, and mix throughly to combine. Taste the sauce, and if needed, add soy sauce to season.

Notes

*These are small red onions that you can find at the Asian grocer. If needed, you can substitute it with French eschallots.
** The belachan and the dried shrimp add that distinct flavour of the sea to the chilli sauce. It's not a compulsory ingredient, but I cannot promise that you won't get judged by a Singaporean if you don't include it.
***These buns are called Mantou, and they can also be served deep fried and golden brown, if you prefer.
****Bottled chilli sauce - similar to sweet chilli sauce, but tomato based - can be found at most asian grocers.