Chili Crab

Singapore is famous for its chili crab. It’s so good, I would fly there from San Francisco just to eat it for a week. But I found it was a lot easier (and cheaper!) to just make it at home. And San Francisco has an abundance of fresh live Dungeness crab.

Don’t be squeamish and buy a cooked crab. It’s not the same. Get a live one from your local fishmonger or at a live seafood store.

People say the most humane way to kill a crab is to put it in the freezer for a while and then give the top shell a solid whack with a cleaver. One old salt told me he drops the crab into a bowl of cheap wine for a while and then whacks it. He says the crab doesn’t care because it’s drunk. If you want to be really nice to the crab, I would go with a crisp white wine.

Serves: 4-6

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 30 mins

US

Metric

Ingredients

• ½ tsp2.5ml cornstarch
• 1010 long red chilies, finely chopped
• 11 onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup240ml vegetable oil
• 22 live Dungeness or mud crabs (about 1½ lbs each)
• 3 tbsp45ml ginger, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp15ml tomato paste
• ¾ cup180ml tomato purée
• 2 tbsp30ml ketchup
• 11 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp30ml light soy sauce, or to taste
• 1 tbsp10g sugar, or to taste
• To serve: coriander, spring onion, bread or steamed riceTo serve: coriander, spring onion, bread or steamed rice

Preparation

1. Whisk cornstarch with ¾ cup (200ml) water in a small bowl until combined, then set aside.

2. Process the chilies and onion in a food processor until a paste forms, then set aside.

3. Heat oil in a large wok over medium heat. Add crab and stir-fry until it starts to color (3–4 minutes). Remove crab with a slotted spoon and set aside.

4. Add chili paste and stir until tender (7–10 minutes). Add ginger and garlic, stir until fragrant (2–3 minutes).

5. Add tomato paste and stir until the mixture darkens in color (1–2 minutes). Add tomato purée and ketchup, bring to a simmer, add the cornstarch mixture, stir to combine, then add crab and cook, stirring occasionally, until orange and cooked through (10–12 minutes).

6. Drizzle with egg, stir to coat, and season to taste with soy sauce, sugar, and salt. Serve hot, topped with coriander and spring onion, with bread or steamed rice.