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Chilli Crab
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Chilli Crab
Chilli Crab is one of the national dish of Singapore. Everyone who makes a trip to Singapore should try this famous stir-fried crab in the shell with a spicy sweet-and-sour tomato sauce.
Ingredients:
1 live crab, preferably Dungeness, about 2 to 2½ pounds
Oil for deep-frying
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
½ cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce or Red Chile Paste
4 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons sugar
1½ teaspoons salt
2 eggs
Swirl of Asian sesame oil
1 green onion, including top, chopped
Procedure:
- Put the crab in the sink and rinse it under cold water.
- With a long-handled brush, scrub the underside and between the claws and legs (watch out for those claws!) to remove any sand and grit.
- Rinse thoroughly.
- Kill the crab -- do it by plunging it into boiling water for 1 minute.
- To disjoint and crack the crab, lift the triangular apron on the underside with the tip of a knife.
- Grasp the apron and life and twist it off. The intestinal tube should come out with it.
- Hold the top shell in one hand while gathering all the legs and claws with the other hand.
- Gently rock the legs back and forth to separate the shell from the body; pull away the shell.
- Pull off and discard the feathery gills on each side of the body and the mandibles at the "face" end.
- Now gently bend the legs and claws backward and twist them free. You are left with the chest section, with the creamy yellow tomalley (greenish in an uncooked crab)in the center.
- Spoon the tomalley out and reserve it for those who appreciate it.
- Chop the chest down the center with a cleaver, then cut each half crosswise into three equal pieces.
- Crack each leg and claw at the joint and in the middle with a light hammer or nutcracker.
- Preheat a wok.
- Add 2 to 3 inches of oil and heat it to 365 deg F.
- Add the crab a few pieces at a time and deep-fry for 1 minute to brown the edges.
- Remove and drain thoroughly.
- Pour off or ladle all but 1 tablespoon of the oil into a safe container to be discarded.
- Heat the wok with the remaining oil over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and stir-fry until lightly golden brown.
- Increase the heat to high.
- Add the crab pieces and toss them vigorously for 1 minute.
- Pour in the chicken stock, fish sauce, sriracha sauce, ketchup, sugar, and salt.
- Bring to a boil while tossing and stirring the crab vigorously.
- Crack the eggs into the wok; toss quickly, breaking up the eggs. As they cook the sauce will thicken into a glaze.
- Swirl the sesame oil over the mixture. This whole stir-frying process should take no longer than 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a platter; if you life, assemble and legs and claws on the serving platter in a lifelike pattern and place the shell on top. Spoon any remaining sauce over the crab and garnish with green onion.
- Serve with rice.
Variation: If you prefer not to deep-fry the crab, eliminate the deep-frying step and let the crab simmer in the sauce, covered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked. During the the last 1 minute of cooking crack the eggs into the wok and stir-fry until they are set.
Red Chile Paste
To make a small batch of Red Chile Paste (about ½ to 2/3 cup) cut 5 dried red New Mexico or California chiles and 5 small dried Thai red or cayenne chiles into pieces with kitchen shears. Discard the stems and seeds. Put the chiles into a saucepan, cover them with water, and bring the pot to a boil. Cook at a low boil until soft, about 5 minutes. Drain and cool. Puree the chiles in a blender or food processor. Store Red Chile Paste in a jar, top with a thin layer of vegetable oil, and refrigerate for a few days. In a pinch, Sambal Oelek, a commercially prepared red chile paste, may be substituted. It is much hotter, so use half as much.
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