Singapore Black Pepper Crab Recipes

SINGAPORE CHILLI CRAB

Steps:

• Prepare crab: See separate tutorial for how to clean and cut a whole crab. You will end up with: 1) Crab pieces; and 2) Reserved tomalley ("crab mustard", Note 8) and crab juices in a separate bowl. This is a key "secret ingredient" used to flavour the sauce.
• Chilli paste: Place ingredients in a small food processor or Nutribullet. Blitz until it's a fairly smooth paste.
• Sauté belachan: Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add belachan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. It will smell pungent (to put it mildly), but have faith! It will mellow and transform!
• Cook off chilli paste: Add chilli paste and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
• Add tomato passata: Add tomato passata and cook, stirring regularly, for 4 minutes.
• Add remaining sauce ingredients: Add sweet chilli sauce, ketchup, water and stir to combine.
• Add claws: Add the crab claws first (they take longer to cook), stir to coat in sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cover with a lid and cook 3 minutes.
• Add "crab mustard" and juices: Add the reserved tomalley ("crab mustard") along with all the crab juices.
• Add remaining crab pieces: Remove lid, add remaining crab pieces and any juices that have collected in this bowl. Stir pieces to coat, put the lid back on and cook for 7 minutes.
• Remove crab: Use tongs to remove crab pieces into a bowl.
• Egg ribbons: With the sauce still on the stove, and while stirring in a circular motion, pour the egg in a thin stream into the middle of the pot. This will create little ribbons of egg in the sauce that is traditional and look lovely.
• Vinegar: Stir in vinegar.
• Return crab: Return the crab pieces into the pot, gently stir to coat in the sauce.

SINGAPORE BLACK PEPPER CRAB

Steps:

• Put kecap manis, oyster sauce, sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl, stir, then set aside.
• Pull back the apron of each crab, remove top shell, then intestines and feathery gills. Rinse quickly.
• Cut each crab into quarters and crack the legs gently (I use a meat mallet) so the flavours can enter.
• Heat the oil in a very large wok over high heat; add the crab pieces and stir fry in batches until the shell is bright orange and the meat almost cooked (about 5 minutes). Remove and repeat until all is cooked.
• Add the butter, ginger, garlic, chilli, black and white peppers and coriander to the wok; stir fry 30 seconds.
• Add the sauce mixture and stir; bring to the boil, then simmer 2 minutes.
• Return the crab to the wok and toss to coat in the sauce.
• Cook a further 2-3 minutes to finish cooking the crab then garnish with the spring onions and coriander leaves.
• Serve at once.

SINGAPORE BLACK PEPPER CRAB

Steps:

• Clean the crab and cut into pieces. Lightly crack shells to allow sauce to be absorbed.
• Heat oil in a large pan over high heat. Add in crab pieces and fry for 3 minutes Remove crab, set aside and drain off excess oil.
• Heat the pan again and fry shallots, garlic and red chilli until fragrant, then add butter and ground black pepper.
• Stir in the crab, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and water. Simmer for 10 minutes on medium heat, until the crab is fully cooked.
• Serve with sauce drizzled over.