It is no secret that Singaporeans love their seafood and chilli crab has become widely popular for its sweet and savoury flavour profile - crab drenched in a chilli and tomato sauce, enjoyed with your bare hands and a little saucy 'stache for later. You may have managed to get your hands on (and round) Singapore’s chilli crab, or perhaps its other well-known partner in crime, the black pepper crab, but however you prefer to enjoy it, crab is a piece of hot food property.
A rich history
Chilli crab is said to have been invented in the 1950s by Cher Yam Tian when she added chilli sauce instead of tomato to her crab stir-fry. In 1956, Cher and her husband Lim Choon Ngee began selling their dish from a pushcart and business was so good that they eventually opened a restaurant, Palm Beach, in 1962.
When chef Hooi Kok Wah opened his Dragon Phoenix Restaurant in 1963, Hooi created his own chilli crab style. Slightly sour than Cher's recipe, instead of bottled tomato and chilli sauces Hooi added lemon juice, vinegar, sambal, tomato paste and egg white to the base gravy. Commonly mud crabs are used in the dish and Hooi's variation transformed Singapore's chilli crab into the dish it has become known as today.
Chilli crab is a ubiquitous dish and you can find it on almost any Singaporean corner. It is popular across the board from high-end restaurant menus to hawker street food stalls and takeaway counters that serve it in a plastic bag as well as vending machines (crab from a vending machine!). Ordering crab in Singapore, like most cities, isn’t always cheap, but if you love your crab then it can be worth the splurge. The star of a satisfying crab dish really is really in the sauce; the scooping, the slurping and the dipping in that rich and flavourful accompaniment. So, let’s take a look at a few of Singapore’s delectable ways to dish up crab, with some recipes that will have you cracking in the crab creative department in no time.
Singapore's finest
Despite its name, chilli crab is a rich and not overly spicy. Adam Liaw shares the king of all crab dishes in this saucy stir-fry.
Source: Adam Liaw
Alongside the chilli crab, this black pepper version is also a Singaporean staple. The crab here is deep-fried first and then smothered in a thick, rich oyster sauce spiced with plenty of peppercorns, chillies and ginger.
Singapore wok-fried black pepper crab Source: Chris Chen
White pepper
While it might be the third wheel to the chilli and black pepper affiliates, the salty, sweet umami-like nature of the white pepper version makes it a very flavourful way to cook crab without any heat under your belt. Get the recipe for our crab and sweetcorn soup which also calls on white pepper, right here.
A classically Chinese dish, this version is a very light and clean way to dish up crab. The trick to great flavour and easy eating here is to crack the shells well before cooking.
Cognac and evaporated milk? Unlikely but tasty mates in this Singaporean favourite. Crab bee hoon is something of an anomaly. Often called XO crab bee hoon (because many versions add a glug of XO Cognac instead of the more traditional Chinese rice wine) its calling card is a soupy broth based in evaporated Carnation milk.
Crab bee hoon at Longbeach in Singapore.
Singapore flair
Salted egg yolk
Salted egg yolk is an exciting choice throughout Singapore and it's not just a clever name - as brining your eggs in a salt solution is proving to be a sweet, salty and umami-like addition. Expect it on croissants, pizzas, waffles and of course crab!
Chilli crab fries
The epitome of comfort food. This Singapore bar is serving up fries with layers of cheddar cheese, smothered in chilli crab sauce.
24/7 crab
All that stands between you and your fresh crab is a touch screen, as Singapore's House of Seafood launched their ready-to-go crab last week. Take your pick between chilli, black pepper and salted egg yolk and in about five minutes you can get your hands on piping hot crab - cutlery, bib and plastic gloves included. If you prefer to cook your crab at home, then you don't have to fret as you can select a frozen pre-packaged option as well. Each crab is chopped into eight pieces and the shell cracked to make it easier to get to the meat. A 1 kilo box of ready-to-go crab will set you back about $60 SGD (about $56 AUD), which is about what most restaurant prices sit at.
Crab by the bag
Southern Louisianan style seafood is making a splash. And you can grab your seafood (including crab) in a plastic bag at several Singaporean eateries, including Crab In Da Bag, The Boiler, Dancing Crab and more. Choose your seafood, your sauce, seasoning and any additions, as well as your spice level then get ready to get messy as there's no crockery or cutlery involved.
Creamy crab
With over 20 flavours in store, Mingle Mangle Ice Cream Parlour is catering to Singapore's crab clientele with bold flavours such as chilli crab and black pepper crab on offer. It might be too quirky for some, but for others ... How many scoops would you do?
Uncover Destination Flavour Singapore with Adam Liaw as he shows us how to cook the quintessential Singapore chilli crab. Visit the program page for more details, recipes and guides.
