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Chilli Crab

Name: Chilli Crab
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Singapore
Ingredients: 800g Crab; 6 tbsp Tomato Ketchup; 3 Red Chili Pepper; 3 cloves Garlic; 15g Ginger; 2 Egg; 1 tbsp Potato Starch; 2 tbsp Sugar; 1/2 tsp Salt

Main Dish

⏱ 40 min

👥 Serves 4

Difficulty ⭐⭐⭐

Crab stir-fried and simmered in a sweet-spicy tomato chili sauce — Singapore's signature seafood dish.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Said to have been invented in Singapore in the 1950s, now ranked alongside Hainanese chicken rice as a national dish. Defined by its thickened tomato-and-chili sauce mellowed with beaten egg, with the tradition of mopping up the leftover sauce with fried mantou buns as the perfect finish.

🌆 Where it's eaten: Eaten with your hands at seafood restaurants — a joyfully messy tradition.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 4)

Crab 800g
Tomato Ketchup 6 tbsp
Red Chili Pepper 3
Garlic 3 cloves
Ginger 15g
Egg 2
Potato Starch 1 tbsp
Sugar 2 tbsp
Salt 1/2 tsp

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Cut the crab into manageable pieces.
Mince the red chili, garlic, and ginger.
Heat oil in a pot and fry the garlic, ginger, and red chili until fragrant.
Add the crab and cook until the shell turns red, then add the ketchup, sugar, and 200ml water, and bring to a simmer.
Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the crab is cooked through.
Thicken with a potato starch slurry, swirl in the beaten egg to soften the sauce, and season with salt to finish.

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