Chef-tested recipe
Mud crab wok-cooked in a glossy sweet-savoury tomato-chilli sauce with ginger, garlic, fermented bean paste, and egg
Singapore chilli crab is one of the city’s signature seafood dishes: mud crab cooked in a bright, glossy sauce that is spicy, sweet, savoury, and gently tangy rather than simply fiery. Fresh chillies, ginger, garlic, tomato, and fermented soybean paste give the sauce its foundation. Egg is streamed in at the end to form soft ribbons, and the dish is served with mantou for collecting every drop.
Recipe at a glance
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Prep Time
- 35 mins
- Cook Time
- 25 mins
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Cuisine
- Singaporean
- Course
- Main dish
- Cooking Method
- Wok-searing, covered braising, thickening, and egg-ribbon finishing
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Best Served With
- Best served with fried or steamed mantou, plain rice, stir-fried greens, and cold cucumber.
Before you begin
Ingredients & equipment
Gather what you need first, then cook through the method with confidence.
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Equipment
- Large wok with lidpaid link
- Cleaverpaid link
- Crab crackerspaid link
- Blenderpaid link
- Chef’s knifepaid link
- Cutting boardpaid link
- Wooden spatulapaid link
- Digital kitchen scalepaid link
Ingredients
For the crab
- Live mud crabs, cleaned and cut into pieces: 1.5 kg
- Fine sea saltpaid link: 4 g
- Cornstarch: 30 g Shop paid link
- Neutral cooking oilpaid link: 70 ml
For the aromatic paste
- Fresh red chillies, roughly chopped: 90 g
- Shallots, roughly chopped: 160 g
- Garlic, roughly chopped: 40 g
- Fresh ginger, roughly chopped: 50 g
- Water: 80 ml
For the chilli sauce
- Tomato ketchup: 220 g
- Tomato paste: 40 g
- Taucheo or fermented soybean paste, mashedpaid link: 35 g
- Light soy saucepaid link: 20 ml
- Rice vinegarpaid link: 30 ml
- Palm sugar or light brown sugarpaid link: 40 g
- Seafood stock or water: 500 ml
For thickening and finishing
- Cornstarch: 25 g Shop paid link
- Cold water: 60 ml
- Large eggs, lightly beaten: 110 g
- Toasted sesame oilpaid link: 10 ml
- Spring onions, sliced diagonally: 40 g
- Fresh coriander leaves: 20 g
Preparation Overview
Clean the crab over a bowl to catch any coral or tomalley, discard the gills and inedible mouth parts, and crack the claws. Pat the pieces dry and dust only the cut sides lightly with cornstarch. Blend the chilli paste smooth. Mix the ketchup, tomato paste, taucheo, soy, vinegar, sugar, and stock before heating the wok.
Method
Season the crab lightly with salt and dust the exposed flesh with 30 g cornstarch.
Heat the oil in a large wok over high heat. Sear the crab in batches for 2 to 3 minutes until the shells begin turning red, then transfer to a tray.
Lower the heat to medium and add the blended chilli, shallot, garlic, and ginger paste to the same wok.
Fry for 6 to 8 minutes until aromatic, thickened, and no longer raw.
Stir in the prepared ketchup mixture and any reserved crab coral or tomalley.
Return the crab and its juices to the wok, coat thoroughly, cover, and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, turning the pieces once.
Check that the shell is bright red and the meat at the thickest joint is opaque.
Mix 25 g cornstarch with 60 ml cold water. Stir enough slurry into the bubbling sauce to make it glossy and lightly thick.
Reduce the heat and pour the beaten egg in a thin stream while making one or two broad strokes through the sauce.
Finish with sesame oil, spring onions, and coriander, then serve immediately with plenty of sauce.
Beginner Technique Notes
Ask the fishmonger to clean and portion the mud crab if handling live shellfish is unfamiliar.
Cracking the claws before cooking makes them easier to eat and allows sauce to enter.
Cornstarch slurry settles quickly. Stir it again immediately before adding and use only as much as needed.
After adding the egg, stir minimally so distinct soft ribbons form instead of small scrambled curds.
Tips and Variations
Fresh red chillies give aroma and colour; retain some seeds for a hotter result.
Taucheo contributes fermented savouriness. Mash it well so no overly salty pieces remain.
Use seafood stock made from crab or prawn shells when available, but water still produces a clean sauce.
Fry or steam mantou immediately before serving so its surface is ready to absorb the sauce.
Serving Ideas
- Arrange the crab on a large oval platter with the claws facing outward and pour the egg-ribbon chilli sauce over and around it. Supply crab crackers, picks, and finger bowls.
Storage
Cooked crab is best eaten immediately. Cool leftovers quickly and refrigerate in a covered container for up to 2 days. Reheat only once until steaming. Do not leave shellfish at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Nutritional Value
Allergen Notes
Contains crustaceans, eggs, soy, and sesame. Taucheo and soy sauce may contain wheat. Ketchup and fermented bean paste may contain additional additives, so verify labels.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Singapore chilli crab extremely spicy?
Usually no. The sauce balances chilli with tomato, sweetness, savouriness, and acidity.
Can I use another crab?
Blue swimmer crab works, but large mud crab provides the meatiest claws and classic presentation.
Why add egg?
The egg forms delicate ribbons, softens the sauce, and is characteristic of many modern chilli crab preparations.
Can I make the sauce ahead?
Yes. Prepare it without crab, slurry, egg, sesame oil, and fresh garnish; refrigerate for up to 3 days and finish with fresh crab.
