Chilli Crabs
There is an ongoing debate about the origins of chilli crabs. Is it a Malaysian or Singaporean dish? Safe to say, Singapore has owned this dish and made it popular on an international level. It doesn’t bother me where it originated from. The key to making a good chilli crab is of course the crab but also a more textured, sweet and savoury tomato and chilli based sauce. Of course the pièce de résistance are the mantou buns, which are usually served steamed or fried to mop up all that goodness.
Ingredients 18
neutral-flavoured cooking oil, for deep-frying
2 kg mud crab, large, gills removed, cleaned and broken, cut into smaller pieces
1 tbsp fermented soybean paste (taucu)
170 g tomato passata, puréed tomatoes
125 ml tomato sauce (ketchup)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
60 g caster sugar (superfine sugar)
2 tsp cornflour, mixed into a slurry with 1 tbsp water
1 egg, lightly beaten
Spice Paste
70 g long red chillies, chopped
100 g red Asian shallots, peeled, roughly chopped
30 g garlic, peeled
10 g fresh ginger, sliced
10 g galangal, fresh, sliced
20 g lemongrass, white part only, chopped
20 g belacan (shrimp paste), toasted, see tip
30 g dried baby shrimp, rehydrated in hot water for at least 15 minutes, drained
500 ml water
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Method 7
Start by preparing your spice paste. Blend all the spice paste ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth.
Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. To test if the oil is hot enough, put a wooden chopstick in the oil. If you see tiny bubbles gather around it, the oil is ready. (Alternatively, use a thermometer. It should register between 170–180°C/340–360°F.)
Gently add the to the wok one at a time and cook until the shells turn bright red, turning every few minutes – this should take 8–10 minutes, depending on the size of your crabs. Drain on paper towel.
Discard the excess oil from the wok, leaving about 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok. Return the wok to medium heat and fry the spice paste until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Add the , , , , and . Allow to simmer for 10–15 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
Pour in the . Allow to thicken further over low heat before cracking in the and swirling it clockwise in the sauce to create ribbons.
Add the pieces back in and toss to coat evenly.
Diana Chan's tips
Prepare the spice paste up to a day ahead and store in a clean, sterile airtight container in the refrigerator.
The sauce will keep in a clean, sterile, airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
To toast the belacan (shrimp paste), place in a frying pan over medium
heat and cook, turning frequently, for 5 minutes
