Singapore Tomato Chili Crab

Why is the title in red?  In case you are not aware, Red is one of 2 colors on the flag of Republic of Singapore. The Red symbolize the universal brotherhood and equality for all.  Therefore, this is a nod to the fact that the Singapore Tomato Chili Crab is considered by some as Singapore national Dish.  This is because in the 1950s Madam Cher Yam Tian created this original dish by adding chili sauce to stir fried crab at her hawker pushcart and the rest is – History!  

You can read more about this History of Singapore Chili Crab

Of course, there are many variations to Madam Tian original recipe. In fact there is nothing wrong with that. Creativity is the essence of cooking.  Her original recipe did not call for scramble eggs.  Having the eggs lightly scramble in the sauce add a savory texture to the sauce if you like egg that is.  As you search around you will see that the color of the sauces varied among recipes. Some have a yellow base while some have more of a red base depending on what is in the sauce.

My version is adapted from Mrs Leong Yee Soo’s Singapore Cooking. It has a brownish coloration due to the use of soy sauce.  This dish is normally served with baguette or “man tou”. However, in my opinion, the sauce is the main item and the crab is just gravy.

For this recipe, I have decided to add noodles as a base to hold the sauce and the crab pieces. Too bad it is not my original idea as restaurants have been serving noodle in their crab and lobster dishes all the time. I think in Chinese culture serving noodles is a form of good luck or good fortune during new year or birthday. In addition noodles also signify longevity due to its long stringy form.

Singapore Tomato Chili Crab

Ingredients:

The sauce ingredients should cover  about 400gm of dried noodles before being boiled. You can omit noodles and use bread such as French baguette or Chinese Mantou  (馒头). The amount of sauce you make is flexible and you get make move than the recipe call for or less. If you are the type that like to put sauce in your food, then you would probably want extra sauce. For me, I like to use the leftover sauce for rice etc.  Regardless of how you decide, the sauce should be enough to cover the crab during cooking.  I like more shallots flavor in the sauce, but you can add less if you want less of the onion flavor

 

Prep Note:  I find that while cutting up the crab, it is best to crack the legs hard shell before cooking so that when eating it is easier to crack and get to the meat.

Sauce:
  1. 2 TBSPN  Chili sauce   (any kind will work, not those in oil). I use Siracha
  2. 4 TBSPN light soy sauce
  3. ½ – 1 tspn salt  ( you can adjust during cooking part)
  4. 2 TBSPN sugar  (you can adjust during cooking – not sure if brown sugar works, brown sugar will darken the sauce, you can try, or try cane sugar)
  5. 1 tspn mushroom seasoning (if you like)
  6. 3-4 TBSPN  white vinegar  (if you don’t like too sour use less)
  7. 16 TBSPN Tomato ketchup
  8. 2 tspn sesame oil
  9. 680ml water
This sauce is darker due to the soy sauce i used.
Paste:
  1. 3 TBSPN  minced garlic
  2. 3 Cups of minced shallots 
  3. 2 TBSPN grated ginger  (about 2 x 4 inch piece)
  4. 4-6 pieces of red chili for the heat.

 

This is 1 bag of shallots and the biggest one is about 2 inches. I think shallots add more flavor to the dish. If you don’t like shallots, use less or use more if you like it.
Just for comparison, the metal spoon is a Tablespoon measurement spoon.
Sauce Thickening:
  1.  4 TBSPN cornstarch or tapioca flour
  2.   2-4 eggs beaten. If you like scramble eggs in your sauce
  3.   8 TBSPN  water (estimate)
Crab and others:
  1.  2 Large Crab (about 2.2 lb each) cut into pieces
  2.  400gm of noodles. You can use any kind of noodles
I use dungeness crab, save the shell if you like the goodies inside it
If your market will do the crab prep that's better, otherwise you will need to do it with no conscience
Steps:
  1.  Mix the Sauce ingredients in a bowl.
  2.  Use a food processor to mince the paste ingredients into a fine paste or any method available or you are comfortable with.
  3.  Mix the sauce thickening in a separate bowl.
  4.  Boil a pot of water and add the noodles (I am using dried noodles) and cook till it is just the right softness. You do not want the noodles to be too soft or mushy.
  5.  Heat about 4-6 Tablespoon of cooking oil in a wok. Fry the paste till you can smell the paste aroma/fragrance

6. Once the paste is ready, add  the crab pieces and 1/3 of the sauce and fry for 3 minutes

7. Add the rest of the sauce, stir well and cover for 10 minutes.  DO NOT remove the cover during this times no matter how curious and eager you are. Put a lock on the cover to prevent someone from lifting it!  (Just kidding).

Stir fry crab with 1/3 of the sauce to infuse the flavor into the crab
The sauce should cover most of the crab during cooking

8.  After 10 minutes, remove the cover and add the sauce thickening by spreading is around the wok.  Stir well

9.  Add the beaten eggs and spread it around slowly, you want the stringy egg lump for the texture.

10.  Move the crab and sauce to a plate of pan that holds the noodles.

11.  Enjoy-  May not be the best dish but…

Do not remove cover for 10 minutes duration
Singapore Tomato Chili Crab
The finish product
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