Singapore-Style Chilli Crab
The best chilli crabs with a thick savoury sauce just like those served at hawker stalls in Singapore is rather easy to prepare at home. This flavourful dish is popular with the locals in Malaysia too. Follow the steps to keep the meat sweet and juicy!
Look no further for an easy crab recipe. Authentic chilli crabs like those in Singapore can be recreated in your kitchen, anywhere in the world. This amazing dish is made using a paste which has all the five basic flavours namely sweetness, spiciness, sourness, saltiness and umami.
Understandably, there is a reason why it is listed #29 under CNN World’s 50 Most Delicious Food in 2017. Despite its name, this dish is actually not spicy. It is cooked in a gravy which is thick, sweet and savoury with only a slight tinge of spiciness. It is normally accompanied by deep fried or steamed Chinese buns also known as 'mantao'.
The gravy must be thick and flavourful, with strings of egg in it. It should be balanced in sweetness, savouriness and spiciness. That’s why, taucu and blended fresh ingredients are key ingredients to make the best sauce! Adding fresh chillies, ginger and chillies gives an extra kick to the sauce. Most importantly, the blended ingredients must be sautéed until fragrant or else it will taste raw and leave a bitter flavour.
Singapore Chilli Crab
You’ve heard about it all your life, you might’ve even tried it on its home turf in Singapore. It is probably the most iconic crab dish in the world. It’s grand, it’s bold, it’s fun, and it’s an occasion. And of course, utterly delicious!
It’s a fact that crab, especially live, is expensive. So if you’re on the fence about why you should make this, here’s one reason: We think this recipe is miles better than any chilli crab we’ve tried even here in Sydney! I know that is a pretty bold statement, nor am I one to blow my own trumpet. After all, Sydney is a food-lover’s playground, brimming with superb restaurants showcasing many of the world’s best cuisines. But the RecipeTin team AND my family have searched high and low, travelling far and wide to try Singapore Chilli Crab at well-known establishments around the city. And yet, every single one has somehow fallen short of our expectations. Not the crab mind you – live crab cooked fresh is hard to get wrong, after all.
No, it’s the sauce. Any Singaporean will tell you the sauce is the beating heart of Singapore Chilli Crab. Yet the sauce at every Chilli Crab place we tried was either too sweet, lacked the requisite flavour kick, or just didn’t taste quite right. So if there’s one thing I will stand behind in this Singapore Chilli Crab recipe, it’s this: The flavour in the sauce is extraordinary. Deeply complex, mildly spicy, with a perfect balance of sweet and savoury, this stuff is the Mother Of All Flavour Bombs. The Singapore Chilli Crab sauce is so good in fact, that words fail me. And that’s saying something!
Singapore Chilli Crabs
The weekend is here again! And what better way to enjoy it than to cook up a storm and share this treat with family and friends? This time around, we have none other than the famous Singapore Chilli Crab!
The flavorful combination of this sweet and spicy sauce easily makes it one of Singapore’s national favorites. Not to forget, dipping both the crab and the deep fried mantou in the sauce makes for the perfect bite, there’s no doing without it! Do take note though, that the mantou browns REALLY fast while deep frying, so a tip from us is to constantly flip them from side to side!
Will it be messy? Yes. Will you cry? Probably. Is it worth it? TOTALLY! Enjoy and have a blast this weekend!
Chilli Crab
Chilli crab hits all the right spots with tangy gravy that seeps into the succulent flesh of the stir-fried crab
The crab is divine but the sauce is the star—sweet yet savoury, slightly spicy and supremely satisfying. You will get it all over your fingers as you crack open the crab shells, and it is simply impossible not to lick it all up. And you will go back for more, dipping fried or steamed buns, called mantou, to soak up the sauce—a delightful blend of tomatoes and chilli paste, thickened with ribbons of beaten eggs.
Chilli crab is among Singapore’s greatest culinary inventions, the king of all crab dishes. It is easily available in most seafood restaurants, which typically serve it with mud crabs that have deliciously sweet and juicy flesh. The world famous dish started from a pushcart in 1956. Run by a couple, the husband asked his wife to experiment with other methods of cooking crabs other than just steaming the seafood.
Madam Cher Yam Tian’s first attempt was stir-fried crabs with tomato sauce, but decided the dish will have more kick by adding chilli sauce. They sold their chilli crabs along Kallang River and it became so popular that they opened a restaurant, called Palm Beach. Hooi Kok Wah, the famous chef who opened Dragon Phoenix restaurant in 1963, created a sourer version of the dish—using sambal, tomato paste and eggs to cook the gravy instead of bottled chilli and tomato sauces. This has since become the version most commonly served in Singapore.
Chilli crab
Chilli crab (Chinese: 辣椒螃蟹; pinyin: làjiāo pángxiè; Malay: ketam lada, ketam cabai, ketam cili) is a Southeast Asian seafood dish that is widely associated with the cuisines of both Malaysia and Singapore. The widely known version of chili crab today could be traced back to the 1950s in Malaysia and Singapore. Mud crabs are commonly used and are stir-fried in a semi-thick, sweet and savoury tomato-and-chilli-based sauce.
Origins - The Portuguese only introduced chili pepper to Malacca in the 16th century. Before chili peppers, peppercorn was used by the Malays to add heat and spice to their meals. The earlier known version of the dish known as ketam balado, is a drier version cooked in balado, a type of hot and spicy mixture originating from Minang cuisine, of West Sumatra, Indonesia. Berlada is a spice mixture in Malaysian cuisine that is eaten with all kinds of vegetables and protein.
The origins of the most commonly known version of chili crab today could be traced back to the 1950s in Singapore and Malaysia. Cher Yam Tian and her husband Lim Choo Ngee began selling stir-fried crabs mixed with bottled chilli and tomato sauce from a pushcart since 1956. This was an improvised recipe; the original one did not involve bottled chilli sauce. A successful business selling this dish prompted the establishment of a restaurant, Palm Beach Seafood, along Upper East Coast Road. The version most widespread today was created by Hooi Kok Wah in the 1960s, one of four famous Singapore chefs during the era. Weng Fung Seafood Restaurant in the island of Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia was first to offer a chili crab dish in Malaysia since 1958. Weng Fung was established as a Hainanese coffee store in the 1920s. In the 1950s, the second generation converted the coffee store into a seafood restaurant and added a chili crab dish to their menu, with the dish still being served today in the establishment
How to cook the perfect Singapore chilli crab
Like fondue or a 99 Flake, Singapore chilli crab is a dish whose pleasure lies as much in its theatre as in its flavour – if you can crack your way through a crab smothered in vivid, red sauce without making a happy mess, frankly, you’re probably doing it wrong. Created, it’s said, by Cher Yam Tian in the 1950s to please a (decidedly ungrateful-sounding) husband bored with steamed crab, it’s become a delicious, sauce-splattered icon of a city that’s not afraid to get its hands, face and shirt dirty in pursuit of a good meal.
Chilli crab has come a long way since the days when Tian sold it from a pushcart in Kallang without a permit – you can even get chilli crab ice-cream at one of Singapore’s Michelin-starred restaurants – yet whether you eat it from a starched tablecloth or a plastic table at a humid tze char, it’s always worth the dry-cleaning bill. But with international travel still a distant dream, is it possible to recreate the magic at home?
This is an easy one – mud crabs, as used in Singapore, are thin on the ground/sea floor in my part of the world, so I used brown crabs, though you could substitute soft-shell, spider or just about any other edible variety, or indeed use the sauce for lobster, prawns or whatever else takes your fancy (in which case, you will, of course, need to alter the preparation and cooking instructions accordingly.)
Ponggol Chilli Crab shutters after more than 50 years
The restaurant's new owners, who rebranded it to Ponggol, decided to throw in the towel after battling losses for a year. ST PHOTO: RHODA CHUA
Iconic seafood restaurant Ponggol Seafood, once famous for its chilli crab and mee goreng, shuttered its premises at The Punggol Settlement without fanfare on May 2, after more than five decades. May 1 was its last day of operations.
The restaurant changed hands in 2023. Its new owners, who took over and rebranded it to Ponggol, decided to throw in the towel after battling losses for a year.
Started by Mr Ting Choon Teng in 1969, the restaurant – originally called Hock Kee – was located at the end of Punggol Road, near Punggol Jetty. Its rustic charm and fresh seafood cooked in unique sauces used to draw hordes of locals and tourists to its zinc-roofed premises in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Best Chilli Crab in Singapore, According to Local Chefs
ring forth the subject of Singaporean delights, and the words chilli crab are bound to surface in no time. Although the pull towards this dish might have worn off slightly for locals fortunate enough to have easy access to it, its awe-inspiring history and unparalleled taste has never wavered. Created as an impromptu pushcart recipe in 1956, the dish’s humble origins rapidly blossomed into an internationally acclaimed status, clinching the 35th spot on CNN Go’s list of the World’s50 Most Delicious Foods. Often paired with fluffy mantou buns, the crab is stir-fried in a semi-thick spicy sauce that skilfully marries savoury and sweet.
Here, our local culinary experts reveal their favourite hunts for this native cuisine:
- New Ubin Seafood Chijmes - “Singapore is a seafood nation. Having grown up in Mumbai where one-third of the population loves seafood, I am one of those people who always crave the likes of chilli crab. I love trying different variations of chilli crab from hawker centre stalls to fine dining restaurants. Chinatown has some pretty good seafood restaurants, and Newton Food Court has a popular joint as well. However, I would have to say that my favourite place to satisfy my chilli crab craving is New Ubin Seafood Restaurant Chijmes.
- Keng Eng Kee Seafood - “I have been a fan of Keng Eng Kee Seafood for almost six years. A friend introduced me to this place and I was hooked from my first visit since I love places that have a lot of personality and history. At the same time, the food is super tasty and sincere.
- Roland Restaurant - "I have tried many chilli crab places in Singapore, but Roland Restaurant remains my go-to place for this popular local food. Their chilli sauce is still my favourite—the taste and balance of sauce are perfect for me. Every time I order the dish, I also make sure to order fried rice on the side.”
- Long Beach Seafood Restaurant = “I especially enjoy the chilli crabs at Long Beach Seafood Restaurant. They have one outlet along East Coast Park—I enjoy running and discovered it during one of my runs along the park. I have been patronising the restaurant for a few years now and often use this restaurant as a distance marker that I have completed 14km from my home.
- Uncle Leong Seafood - “I’ve been going to Uncle Leong Seafood since August 2018. I discovered the restaurant when I went to Coney Island with my family. Feeling hungry after the trekking, I googled for nearby restaurants and it was pure luck that we narrowed down our choice to this beautiful restaurant. Ever since then, my family makes special plans to combine our trekking with outings to the Uncle Leong. Both my wife and I are big fans of Uncle Leong's chilli crab.
Chilli crab in Singapore
Pair juicy crab meat with sweet and spicy chilli sauce and what you get is one of Singapore’s most famous dishes: chilli crab. Yet, this internationally renowned dish can be expensive as crab is one of the pricier meats on the market.
That’s why we’ve sussed out 10 places that sell the cheapest chilli crab in Singapore, where you can enjoy this dish without exhausting your wallet. Do take note that the prices may change seasonally, so make sure you call ahead before making your way down to any of these places:
- 8 Crabs - For affordable chilli crab delivered to your doorstep, consider 8 Crabs. Here, only AAA graded Sri Lankan wild crabs, air-flown daily into Singapore, are used. These crabs are larger and meatier, testament to their wild-caught nature. Two of their regular-sized crabs go for $79.90, cooked in your choice of sauce. This works out to be less than $40 per crab—a definite steal for the quality you’re getting. You can also get two large crabs for $114.90.
- Sinaran Seafood and Catering - Nestled in a nondescript coffee shop, Sinaran Seafood and Catering is a casual halal-certified eatery that whips up a mean serving of chilli crab (from $45). Fried mantou is also served on the side, perfect for mopping up the thick and spicy chilli sauce when you’re done with the crab.
- 21 Seafood - 21 Seafood is a zi char eatery located in Kovan, offering combinations of crabs in three sizes: 1kg, 700g, and 600g. Prices may vary seasonally, so make sure you call ahead before heading down for a meal.
- Hua Yu Wee - Take a step back in time when you dine at Hua Yu Wee, a vintage zi char restaurant that operates out of a colonial bungalow. From $73, you can order their crab dishes, which come in a variety of flavours like Ketchup with Chilli, Salt and Pepper Baked, and Deep Fried Butter.
- Momma Kong’s - Located at Mosque Street, Momma Kong’s is a quaint modern restaurant best known for their crab dishes. All their crab dishes come at a fixed price of $58++, with their Red Chilli and Black Pepper flavours crowning their menu. Their Red Chilli Crab is notably on the spicier side, and the sauce boasts a creamy consistency that goes well with the firm meat.
- Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood - Occupying the space of a whole coffeeshop, Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood offers a range of crab dishes from $70+/kg. The Chilli Crab stands out amongst these, boasting a rich and thick gravy that is mildly spicy, ideal for all palates to enjoy.
- Alliance Seafood = Alliance Seafood was awarded a place in the Singapore Michelin Bib Gourmand 2018 for their chilli crab, which is served with a sauce that is sweet, tangy, and satisfyingly spicy. Prices here are pretty affordable too, as you can get your chilli crab as part of a set with cereal prawns, fried rice, and mantou for just $65.
- Crab at Bay Seafood Restaurant - Crab at Bay Seafood Restaurant offers two medium-sized Sri Lanka crabs at just $48++. Get your crabs cooked with the classic chilli sauce, or you can try the restaurant’s signature black pepper sauce, which is mildly spicy and balances the flavours of caramelised onions and curry leaves together. They occasionally run promotions, where two crabs go for $38++.
- Uncle Leong Seafood - Uncle Leong Seafood offers crabs from $60++ each, and you can get these cooked in the classic chilli sauce or a variety of other more creative methods. Their chilli sauce is not as starchy as that of the standard chilli crab, making it easier for you to mop up the last dredges with mantou.
- Mr Crab Seafood Restaurant - From $70/kg, you can tuck into a quality chilli crab at Mr Crab Seafood Restaurant. The chilli gravy served here is notably spicier and nuttier than your average chilli crab, which pairs well with the fresh crab meat.
10 Must-Try CHILLI CRABS In Singapore – The SG National Dish With Sweet & Spicy Sauce, Best With Mantou
Chilli Crabs is considered one of Singapore’s national dishes and for a good reason. Our geographical position makes it a great place for delicious fresh seafood, and the crab sauce with all its sweetness and sensuous-spiciness is an indication of our colourful culture.
Some of the places you can find Chilli Crabs in Singapore include Palm Beach Seafood Restaurant, Momma Kongs’, Keng Eng Kee Seafood, Mr Crab Seafood Restaurant, Dancing Crab, Majestic Bay, Uncle Leong, Hua Yu Wee, Mattar Road Seafood, Blue Lotus, Kelly Jie, and New Ubin Seafood.
Here are 10 other restaurants in Singapore you can find sumptuous Chilli Crabs:
- Mellben Seafood 龙海鲜螃蟹王 - From a humble stall along Commonwealth Avenue in 1979, the family-run Mellben Seafood has established itself as a well-known seafood destination in Singapore. In 1985, founder Melvin Soon partnered with Benson to launch Mellben Seafood Catering Service. Today, their network has a total of 8 outlets, including Uncle Leong’s Seafood (Yeah, they are related).
- Red House Seafood Grand Copthorne Waterfront - No trip to Red House Seafood is complete without sampling its signature dish Crab in Red House Chilli Stew, a tangier and slightly sweeter version of the iconic Singaporean dish. Choose among three types of crabs – Sri Lankan Mud Crab, Scottish Brown Crab or Alaskan King Crab – to customise your dish.
- No Signboard Seafood - Famed for its crab and seafood dishes, No Signboard Seafood had humble beginnings in 1970s when founder Mdm Ong Kim Hoi started a seafood hawker stall at Mattar Road Hawker Centre.
- TungLok Seafood - Whether you’re a first-timer or a long-time follower of the TungLok brand, the TungLok Seafood Chilli Crab ($7.80 per 100g) comes recommended. Aside from the fresh crabs with chunky and juicy meat, what makes this rendition unique is how the sauce combines tomato sauce and fresh-squeezed orange juice to deliver a distinct taste.
- Roland - You cannot talk about Chilli Crabs without a mention of Roland Restaurant, known to be the creator of the iconic Chilli Crabs and mecca for crab devotees. Of course, some other restaurants also do lay claim on that honours, but probably none has “The Year 1956 – Founder Of Chilli Crab” printed on the menu.
- JUMBO Seafood - Won’t be right mentioning about Chilli Crabs without a word of JUMBO Seafood. The brand has been well-known to be a tourist-favourite, and perhaps the first Chilli Crab restaurant that comes to mind for the international market. JUMBO Seafood had humble beginnings in 1987, operating from a single outlet in East Coast Seafood Centre (now the flagship). It has currently 6 outlets in Singapore and 12 across Asia.
- Long Beach Seafood - Long Beach Seafood first started at Bedok Rest House (1946), a period when it was then one of the few restaurants that served local food. The Black Pepper Crab is apparently said to be a Long Beach creation. I am not sure if the same applies to other seafood restaurants, but the service staff offered to help de-shell the chilli crabs and ‘dig’ the meat out for us.
- HolyCrab - Helmed by the straight-talking Chef Elton Seah, he used to operate Holycrab as a private dinning concept for 7 years. The restaurant used to be located at Tan Quee Lan (Bugis) but has moved to Arcade @ Capitol. The eponymous crabs (from Sri Lanka and Alaska) play a starring role in the menu, and they have interesting choices from Green Mumba (Green Chilli Crabs), OOoOtak which has Otak-inspried coconut curry, and Succumb on a charred bed of fine vermicelli.
- Paradise Teochew VivoCity = Seafood Paradise may have closed, but Paradise Teochew at VivoCity and Scotts Square have started serving Singapore Style Chilli Sri Lankan Crab ($12 per 100g). On a side note, do you know Seafood Paradise originally at Defu Lane is Paradise Group’s first ever outlet?
- Keng Eng Kee Seafood 瓊榮記海鲜 - Keng Eng Kee which was once patronised by British Celebrity Chef James Martin and the late Anthony Bourdain, is one of Singapore’s most well-loved zi char place.
- Owner Mr Liew who is Malaysian learnt his craft from his Hainanese father-in-law, and the eatery near Alexandra Village Food Centre is known for wide range of Cantonese-styled homely dishes.
7 BEST CHILLI CRAB IN SINGAPORE TO DIE FOR
Chilli crab is an absolute must-try if you’re visiting Singapore and looking for a dish that is both traditional and delicious. This seafood dish features stir-fried crab covered in a sweet, savory, and spicy tomato-based sauce, usually served alongside steamed or deep-fried mantou (buns).
Ranked at number 35 on CNN Go’s list of the World’s 50 most delicious foods in 2021, chilli crab is an iconic dish that no traveler should miss during their culinary exploration of Singapore.
To ensure you savor the finest flavors of this delightful dish, here are the 7 best chilli crab restaurants in Singapore [updated 2024] that you should consider visiting:
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