History

Black pepper crab was invented in 1959 at Long Beach Seafood when the chefs introduced a peppery dry-fried alternative to the saucier chilli crab. Long Beach has Singapore's longest-running stake on the dish; the recipe spread to seafood restaurants across the East Coast and is now equal to chilli crab in the national seafood canon. Long Beach Seafood at East Coast Park serves the canonical version.

Common allergens: Crustaceans, Dairy, Soy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 2 whole live mud crabs, about 800g each
  • 4 tablespoons black peppercorns, coarsely cracked in a mortar
  • 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns, lightly toasted and cracked (optional)
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 4 tablespoons neutral oil
  • 1 stalk curry leaves (about 15 leaves)
  • 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 thumb ginger, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon caster sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
  • 100ml chicken stock
  • 2 spring onions, sliced 4cm long
  • Steamed white rice and mantou buns, to serve

Method

  1. Place the live crabs in the freezer 15 minutes to humanely sedate.
  2. Lift each crab, pry off the top shell, remove the gills and the central organ cluster. Quarter the body with a heavy cleaver. Crack the claws with the back of the cleaver so the sauce can reach the meat.
  3. Heat the oil in a wide heavy wok over high heat. Fry the crab pieces in batches 4 minutes, turning often, until the shell turns bright orange-red. Lift out.
  4. Reduce heat to medium. Melt the butter in the same wok.
  5. Add the cracked black pepper and Sichuan pepper. Toast 90 seconds; it should smell sharp and floral.
  6. Add garlic, ginger and curry leaves. Cook 1 minute.
  7. Stir in oyster sauce, dark and light soy, sugar, Shaoxing wine and chicken stock. Simmer 90 seconds.
  8. Return the crab to the wok and toss vigorously to coat every piece. Cover and cook 4 minutes more until the shell is glossy and the sauce has darkened to deep mahogany.
  9. Toss through the spring onions and tip onto a wide platter. Serve with steamed rice and mantou for soaking up the buttery pepper sauce.

Tip from the editors. Crack the peppercorns in a mortar, do not grind; coarse fragments give the heat its grit. Fine ground pepper will burn in the butter and turn the dish acrid.

Where to eat black pepper crab

Black pepper crab in Singapore

Long Beach Seafood ★ 4.1

Singaporean Seafood$$$east-coastMon-Fri 11:00-15:00 and 17:00-23:00, Sat 11:00-23:30, Sun 11:00-23:00

East Coast flagship for black pepper crab; sauce spicier and more pungent than most rivals. Open-air, sea-facing setting on East Coast Parkway.

Signature: Chilli crab, Black pepper crab, Drunken prawns

Order: Black pepper crab: the sauce is the spiciest and most aromatic version of the style in the city

Tip: Ask for medium spice for the black pepper sauce if it is your first time; the full version is genuinely hot.

1018 East Coast Parkway, Singapore 449877

No Signboard Seafood ★ 4.2

Singaporean Seafood$$$east-coastDaily 11:00-23:00

Originator of white pepper crab, started in the 1970s by Ong Kim Hoi. The Geylang original retains the most atmosphere and the definitive version.

Signature: White pepper crab, Steamed flower crab, Moonlight hor fun

Order: White pepper crab: the dish the founder created, fragrant with fresh white pepper and wok heat

Tip: Order the flower crab in addition to the white pepper crab for a comparison; both are priced by weight so ask before ordering.

414 Geylang Road, Singapore 389392 Book →

Jumbo Seafood (East Coast) ★ 4.4

Singaporean Seafood$$$east-coastMon-Fri 11:30-15:00 and 16:30-23:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-23:00

The canonical Singapore address for chilli crab since 1987. Tomato-egg sauce with Sri Lankan mud crabs; long queues every evening at East Coast.

Signature: Chilli crab, Black pepper crab, Cereal prawns

Order: Chilli crab with fried mantou buns to scoop the sauce

Tip: Book the dinner seating; weekday lunch is easier and you avoid the tourist peak.

1206 East Coast Parkway, Singapore 449883 Book →

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