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Chilli Crab (Mud Crab in Tomato and Sambal Gravy)

Chilli Crab (Mud Crab in Tomato and Sambal Gravy) reads sweetness 5.1, umami 5.0 and allium 4.2 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Singaporean main, about 35 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 5.9 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 5.6 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 3.7 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 0.9 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 3.1 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.8 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 5.1 · Umami 5.0 · Allium 4.2 · Marine & Briny 4.1 · Heat 3.3 · Sourness 3.2 · Salinity 3.1 · Richness 2.9 · Herbaceous 2.4 · Warm Spice 2.2 · Funk & Ferment 1.9 · Citrus 1.7 · Fruity 1.6 · Floral 1.0 · Bitterness 0.8 · Earthy 0.7

What's in it (19)

• crab — 200 g
• long red chili peppers — 200 g
• red bird's eye chillies — 600 g
• garlic — 40 g
• fresh ginger — 40 g
• shallots — 80 g
• tomato paste — 44 g
• ketchup — 150 g
• tamarind juice — 30 g
• caster sugar — 25 g
• fermented soybean paste — 15 g
• eggs — 100 g
• cornflour — 11 g
• cold water — 44 g
• water — 400 g
• vegetable oil — 74 g
• spring onions — 440 g
• coriander — 20 g
• mantou buns — 800 g

Time & effort: about 35 min (32 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 52.9 kcal, 2.2 g protein, 2.8 g fat, 5.3 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

1. Pound or blend the large chillies, bird's eye chillies, garlic, ginger and shallots into a coarse paste. Leave it slightly textured; the gravy is meant to have body.
2. Heat the oil in a very large wok over medium heat and fry the paste for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and the oil separates and runs red at the edge.
3. Add the taucheo and tomato paste and fry 3 minutes more, until the raw tomato smell turns sweet and jammy.
4. Raise the heat to high, add the crab pieces and toss hard for 4 minutes until the shells have turned bright orange all over.
5. Add the water, ketchup, tamarind water and sugar. Cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes, tossing once, until the crab meat is opaque and pulls cleanly from the shell. Taste the gravy now and balance it: sweet, sour, savoury and hot should all be audible, and the ketchup is not a shortcut, it is what the original vendors used and it is in the dish by right.
6. Stir the slaked cornflour and dribble it in, stirring, until the gravy thickens enough to cling to the shells, about 1 minute.
7. Turn the heat to low, pour the beaten egg in a thin stream across the surface and count to ten before stirring once, gently. You want ribbons and clouds of set egg suspended in the gravy, not a scrambled mess. Take the wok off the heat as soon as the egg has set.
8. Scatter with spring onion and coriander and serve immediately with mantou for mopping. It is eaten with fingers and there is no dignified way to do it.
9. Substitutions: light chicken stock can stand in for the water.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Shrimp Creole — Cajun/Creole
• Redfish Courtbouillon — Cajun/Creole
• Asian Nachos With Pecorino, Cheddar & Shrimp — Fusion
• Gazpacho-Style Shrimp — Spanish
• Fried Shrimp Po'Boy with Remoulade — Cajun/Creole · Creole

Keep reading: what sweetness, umami, allium mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.