Singapore Chilli Crab
Submitted by Dani
Singapore chilli crab: cracked blue swimmer crabs simmered in a sweet-tangy tamarind, ginger and bird’s eye chili sauce. Hawker stall classic, messy, hands-on, completely worth the cleanup.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
30 minREADY
40 minSingapore chilli crab is the dish that hawker stalls in Singapore are famous for, the messy, finger-licking masterpiece that puts mountains of napkins on the table for good reason. Whole blue swimmer crabs get cracked open, then bathed in a sweet-tart sauce of tamarind, ginger, bird’s eye chili and tomato paste. You eat with your hands. Bibs are recommended.
The tamarind is the flavor secret that separates this from a generic chili-tomato sauce. Soaked in hot water and strained, tamarind contributes a deep, fruity sourness that balances the heat of the chilies and the natural sweetness of the crab meat. Lime juice can substitute in a pinch but loses the funky tang.
Cracking the shells with a hammer before they hit the sauce is important. The cracks let the sauce penetrate into the crab meat as it simmers, infusing the flavor deep instead of just coating the shell. It also makes the crab easier to eat with bare hands, which is the proper method.
The cornstarch slurry at the end gives the sauce its signature glossy, clingy texture. Pour it over the cracked crabs and let it coat every nook and surface. The thickened sauce is half the point of the dish; serve mantou (Chinese steamed buns) or crusty bread on the side for soaking up every drop.
Pro Tips
- Use live crabs for best flavor, but cleaned and pre-cooked work fine. Just skip the initial boil.
- Don’t skimp on the bird’s eye chilies. The dish is supposed to be spicy. Reduce only if you really must.
- Soak the tamarind pulp 10 to 15 minutes for maximum extraction; strain through a fine sieve.
- Serve with steamed white rice, mantou, or crusty French bread to soak up the sauce.
Variations
- Substitute Dungeness or stone crab for blue swimmers if available locally.
- Add a beaten egg to the sauce at the end, stirring quickly, for a thicker, slightly creamy texture (traditional in some versions).
- Use sambal oelek or chili paste in place of fresh chilies for deeper, smokier heat.
- Garnish with cilantro along with the green onions for additional fresh flavor.
Ingredients
Directions
Boil a large pot of water and drop in 4 green blue swimmers.
Boil them rapidly for 4 minutes then tip the contents of the pot into a colander to drain.
When cool enough to handle, chop crabs into quarters with a cleaver or large knife, leaving legs at- tached to body.
With a hammer. gently crack the claws and areas of harder shell.
Put 3 teaspoons tamarind pulp to soak in ¾ cup boiling water.
Finely chop 2 onions, grate 5 cm piece fresh ginger, finely slice 2 to 3 birdseye chillies (or to taste) and chop 3 green (spring) onions.
Mix 2 teaspoons cornflour with a little water.
In a large wok or pan, heat 3 tablespoons of oil and stir- fry onion, ginger and ⅔ of the chopped chillies for a couple of minutes.
Add crab pieces and strained tamarind water, lower heat and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
Lift the crab out onto a serving dish and to the mixture in the wok add 3 teaspoons sugar and 2 of tomato paste.
Stir, add dissolved cornflour and stir again until the mixture thickens.
Pour over the crab, garnish with the rest of the chillies and the spring onions and serve.
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