Name: Chilli Crab (home recipe)
Cuisine: Singaporean
Ingredients: Sri Lankan mud crab (whole, live, minimum 750g); Tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes; Red chilli paste; Eggs; Tapioca starch (cornstarch as substitute); Garlic; Ginger; Spring onions; Light soy sauce; Sugar; Mantou buns (for serving)

Make it at home

Difficulty Advanced

Ingredients

Sri Lankan mud crab (whole, live, minimum 750g)
Tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes
Red chilli paste
Eggs
Tapioca starch (cornstarch as substitute)
Garlic
Ginger
Spring onions
Light soy sauce
Sugar
Mantou buns (for serving)

Method

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Tip from the editors. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon but remain pourable. Over-thickening kills the dish.

Where to eat chilli crab

Chilli Crab in Singapore

Jumbo Seafood (East Coast) ★ 4.4

Singaporean Seafood$$$east-coast

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 →

No Signboard Seafood ★ 4.2

Singaporean Seafood$$$east-coast

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 →

Long Beach Seafood ★ 4.1

Singaporean Seafood$$$east-coast

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

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