Singapore Chili Crab

Name: Singapore Chili Crab
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Singapore
Ingredients: 2 whole mud crabs, cleaned and cracked; 4 tbsp chili sauce (sambal-based); 2 tbsp tomato ketchup; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tbsp ginger, minced; 2 eggs, beaten; 1 cup chicken stock; 2 tbsp sugar; 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with water; 3 tbsp oil; Fried mantou buns, for serving

4 servings20 min prep20 min cookMedium Singapore

♡ Sign in to save Print / Save as PDFPro

The Story Behind It

The Tale of Singapore Chili Crab

Story updated September 17, 2026

Invented in Singapore in the 1950s, this dish is often credited to Cher Yam Tian and her husband Lim Choon Ngee, who began cooking crab in a tomato-and-chili sauce at a street stall. It proved so popular that it's now widely regarded as Singapore's unofficial national dish.

Ingredients

Scale:· 4 servings

2 whole mud crabs, cleaned and cracked
4 tbsp chili sauce (sambal-based)
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with water
3 tbsp oil
Fried mantou buns, for serving

Instructions

1Heat oil in a wok and stir-fry garlic and ginger until fragrant.
2Add the cracked crab pieces and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until the shells turn red.
3Stir in chili sauce, ketchup, and sugar, coating the crab evenly.
4Pour in the chicken stock, cover, and simmer for 8-10 minutes until the crab is cooked through.
5Stir in the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce slightly.
6Drizzle in the beaten egg while stirring gently, letting it form silky ribbons through the sauce.
7Serve immediately with fried mantou buns for soaking up the sauce.

Want Cook Mode, your own recipe photos, and unlimited calculators?

Get Home Cooking Pro

Comments

Loading comments…