Singapore Chilli Crab

It's the start of the dungeness crab season in the Bay Area. Last year, the dungeness crab season was closed due to domoic acid levels. This year, it's been given the go-ahead by the California Department of Public Health* (The dungeness crab season starts Nov 5, 2016 and ends July 30, 2017)

So I made my first crab dinner of the season. Listed number 35 on the World's 50 most delicious foods (compiled by CNN), Singapore Chilli Crab is a quintessential Singapore dish. As a girl,  I remember going to seafood restaurants by the beach, housed in bungalows, sitting in the garden enjoying the sea breeze and wonderful dishes like chilli crab, satay and black pepper crab.

In Singapore, Sri Lankan crab is used and it is a bigger and meatier version of its Dungeness cousin. The crabs are cooked with garlic and ginger, and simmered in a chilli tomato sauce. The sauce is so good as the juice of the crab gives the gravy its 'umami' flavor.  It is usually served with deep fried buns, to mop up the gravy.

Most Singaporeans don't make this dish as all they have to do is go to one of the many seafood restaurants in Singapore and order the dish. (Jumbo, Red House, No Signboard Seafood) but living in the Bay Area, one has to attempt the chilli crab dish at least once or twice during the crab season.

My Chilli Crab recipe is adapted from Christopher Tan's cookbook: Singapore Cooking 

6 Ibs Dungeness Crab
5 tsp oil
2-3 shallots, thinly sliced
8 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 Tbsp minced ginger
5 Tbsp Siracha garlic chilli sauce
7 Tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1.5 cups water
3-4 eggs, beaten

1/ Cut the crab into quarters. (be sure to remove all the fibrous tissues) Crack the claws lightly with a pestle
2/ Heat oil over high heat in a large wok. Stir fry the onions until soft and transparent. Add garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant (be sure not to burn). Add crabs and stir fry until they turn bright red. This may be tricky with a lot of crabs and you may have to place a lid on top to cook the crab faster. Omit cooking the crab viscera (located at the head of the crab)*
3/ Add all the other ingredients except the eggs and cook for another 2-4 minutes. Make sure the crab is cooked. The meat should be opaque, not translucent and the shell should be red.
4/ At the end, stir the beaten eggs into the gravy so that it thickens and serve with buns to mop up the gravy.

* Note that the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) advises that consumers not eat the viscera (internal organs, also known as butter or guts) of crabs caught north of Point Reyes. So if your fishmonger can't tell you where the crabs were caught, it's better to be safe and omit the viscera during cooking. CDPH Shellfish Biotoxin Information Line (800) 553-4133 for updated crab consumption advisories.