Learn to cook easy, authentic Singapore Chilli Crab at home. A flavourful and iconic dish that’s a must-try for any seafood lover!

Singapore Chilli Crab is the most popular dish coming off Singapore! This is the most globally well-known dish in Singapore, and with good reason. Meaty crabs cooked in a rich, sweet and spicy eggy gravy… this dish is such a favourite.

I love Chilli Crab, but I don’t love having it at restaurants. It’s messy to eat, can be expensive, plus I have to share that crab claw *cue the awkward moments of asking “anyone else wants the claw”* So I make this at the comfort of my home, where I can be as messy as I want – and it will, because that sauce is HEAVENLY – and I don’t have to share!

Singapore Chilli Crab is a true classic. It’s also unbelievably easy to make, and quick as well. In this post, I’ll be showing you how you can get authentic, restaurant-quality Chilli Crab without much effort at all!

Key Ingredients for Singapore Chilli Crab

1. The Crab

What Crabs to use Chilli Crab?

The most typical crabs to use would be Mud Crabs. These are crabs with big, meaty claws although other crabs can work with this too.

I almost always make my Chilli Crab with flower crabs or swimmer crabs. Growing up, my mom always used flower crabs, so I thought that was how all Chilli Crab was made! The only reason I haven’t posted this recipe sooner is because I usually use flower crabs.

Flower crabs have less meat, which means more effort to extract it. However, the meat is incredibly sweet and delicious. They are also much cheaper and more readily available at my local market, pretty much every day. In contrast, mud crabs can be a bit harder to find.

Note: I indicated that this recipe uses 1kg of crabs. I used two crabs here, each is 500-600g. This is BEFORE the cutting and cleaning of crabs. The actual final weight would be less than the 1kg.

Can I use anything besides crab? Yes! Try this with prawns!

How to Prepare Crab for Cooking?

For the best-tasting results, you have to use freshly cut live crabs! Unfortunately when it comes to the HOW of kill crabs for freshness, I’m useless.

I’m terribly squeamish about this, so I would get the fishmonger to do this for me. If you are doing this yourself, always time such that you are able to cook it immediately. The best would be to find an online delivery service that will freshly cut the crabs at the appointed delivery timing. You definitely DO NOT leave it overnight.

A couple of additional tips to preparing Mud Crabs (that I can actually be helpful with):

Before cooking the crabs, crack the claws. This helps to break the claws for easier eating later on, plus it allows the meat there (which is the meatiest) to cook through as well. Do this by gently knocking the claws with the back of the knife or a pestle.

You might see some yellow mustardy stuff on your crabs. Do not clean this off! This crab mustard or tomalley has a lot of briny, umami flavours to it that is especially great in Chilli Crab. It goes great with the eggy flavours of the sauce.

The Gravy

Chilli Crab is ALL about the sauce. You have to get the sauce absolutely right. The most important component here is the Sambal Chilli Paste, which is the base of a lot of my Malay recipes here:

Dried Chillies: One of the key ingredients to make the rich base here would be dried chillies. Dried chilli paste will work as well. I’m using Asian spur chillies here, essentially any dried chillies that’s medium in heat can work. Dried kashmiri, serrano, arbol can work for this. Prepare the dried chillies first, pouring boiling water to rehydrate and soften the chillies. See my post on how to prepare dried chilli paste. If you really cannot find dried chillies, you may replace with fresh chillies. The flavour is still good, but do note that richness will not be there.

Garlic

Onion

Ginger

Belachan/Shrimp Paste (optional): You can make a good paste with JUST the above ingredients – that’s right! I’m adding shrimp paste here, totally optional, for a bit more umami in the sauce.

That’s all you need for the blended paste! This is essentially to get a rich, depth of spice and flavour to the dish.

Other ingredients:

Stock or Water: To create the gravy, use stock or water! Seafood or chicken stock will work the best for this, giving the dish such a good depth of flavour. Most of the time though, I use just plain water – this will truly let all the crabby flavours shine!

Tomato Ketchup: Chilli Crab has a tang to it, and it’s all coming from the tomato ketchup. This is just good ol’ plain tomato ketchup (can be known as tomato sauce) that you use to dip your fries in.

Chilli Sauce: I want to say this is optional as well, but most restaurants here would add a couple dollops of chilli sauce. Chilli Sauce is the bottled sweet variety, NOT sriracha, which is spicy and vinegary, and often not sweet at all.

Oyster Sauce (optional): I like the extra bit of umami. Do not add too much, since you definitely do not want to taste oyster sauce at all.

Egg & Cornstarch Slurry: These two serve as thickening agents for the sauce. My Mom usually skips the cornstarch slurry, and add less water – but I like my Chilli Crab with PLENTY of sauce!

How to Make Singapore Chilli Crab

Step 1: Make the Dried Chilli Paste

Pour boiling water over the dried chillies and let it rehydrate and soften for about 5 minutes. Drain the dried chillies and cut into smaller pieces for easier blending.

Add the dried chillies and the rest of the ingredients to a blend. Blend until you get a fine paste.

Step 2: Prepare the live crabs

If you have live crabs, cut and clean them AFTER making the chilli paste so you can cook it immediately.

Step 3: Make the Chilli Crab Sauce

In a wok, add plenty of oil and heat over low to medium heat. Once hot add the blended dried chilli paste. Continuously stir until fragrant and the paste has dried down slightly. There should also be oil surfacing or floating over the paste. See my post on how to properly cook dried chilli paste here.
Stir in tomato ketchup, chilli sauce and oyster sauce.

Step 4: Stir in the crabs

Add the crabs, without the top shell or carapace. Stir to combine until crabs are coated.

Step 5: Add the water and cook the crabs

Pour in water or stock next. Add as much liquid as you want sauce. Stir to combine.

Top with the carapaces and cover wok with a lid. Let the crabs completely cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the carapaces turn completely orange-red.

Once cooked, give the sauce a taste test. Season with salt and sugar, to taste. This depends on how much liquid you added.

Step 6: Stir in the sauce thickeners

Gradually stir in cornstarch slurry. Do not add too much. If using less water, you may not even need cornstarch slurry.

Once slightly thick, stir in the eggs. OPTIONAL: Remove all of the crabs until you are left with just the sauce. While stirring the sauce, slowly pour in the eggs. This is going to create large egg ribbons running through the sauce. I generally do not do this – too much effort!

Once the eggs cook or turn opaque, Chilli Crab is done! Serve immediately!

How to Serve Chilli Crab

There are three ways of serving this:

By itself: no other carbs needed, just go in straight for the crabs!

With rice

With Mantou Buns: This is the most common way of serving and it’s most certainly MY favourite way of having Chilli Crab! Dipping the mantou buns in the chilli crab sauce is the best thing ever!

How to Deep Fry the Mantou Buns?

The mantou buns can be prepared two ways: steamed or fried to golden brown! I just get the ready-made, frozen mantou buns.

Deep frying it takes super quick! The mantous are already cooked so there’s no actual cook time needed. Just 1-2 minutes in the oil, until it gets golden brown and the mantous are brown.

To deep fry these, defrost the mantou buns before deep frying. You CAN actually deep fry these without defrosting but I find that it takes longer to get it golden brown. The interior will also take a while to warm up.

Use low to medium heat: do not use high heat or you might burn the mantous!

Continuously flip the mantous in the oil until both sides is a nice golden colour.

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