Creamy Butter Crab Recipe
December 2nd, 2008 | Malaysian Recipes | 37 Comments
The holiday season is just around the corner and I wanted to share a special recipe with you: creamy butter crab. Last Christmas, I served creamy butter crab to my friends and family and they couldn’t get enough of it. Everyone was asking for the secret recipe.
Creamy butter crab is a fairly new Malaysian creation and has gotten popular these past few years. Made popular by King Crab restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, the basic ingredients consist of butter, evaporated milk, bird’s eye chilies, and curry leaves. The curry leaves lend a distinct and exotic flavor and complement the richness of butter and evaporated milk. The bird’s eye chilies add an extra kick to the dish…(get the secret recipe of creamy butter crab after the jump)
I used mud crab for my recipe as they are widely available in Asia and Australia. However, dungeness crab or stone crab would work very well, too.
This holiday season, do try preparing something foreign, exotic and new. Creamy butter crab is served with fried Chinese buns or mantou, so everyone will have a great time sopping up the creamy butter sauce with the fried buns while devouring the crab. I am sure your family, friends and guests will be in for a delicious treat!
Ingredients:
2 lbs. mud crab (dungeness crab or stone crab is a great substitute)
1 1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 stick butter
1 teaspoon sugar or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon corn starch
2 stalks curry leaves (you can get the curry leaves at Indian grocery stores)
5 bird’s eye chilies (lightly pounded)
10 Chinese buns (mantou/馒头)
Method:
Clean the crab and cut into pieces. Use paper towels to pat dry the crab. Deep-frying the Chinese buns or mantou to golden brown and set aside. Lay them over paper towels to soak up excess oil. Mix the corn starch with water and set aside.
Heat up a wok to medium heat. Melt the butter in the wok before adding the curry leaves and bird’s eyes chilies. As soon as you smell the aroma from the curry leaves and bird’s eye chilies, add in the crab and stir continuously until the crab starts to turn color. Add the evaporated milk and cover the wok and turn the heat to low. Simmer for about 5 minutes, and then add in corn starch to thicken the creamy butter sauce.
Dish out and serve hot and the fried mantou.
Cook’s Note:
This recipe is an adaptation of Amy Beh’s recipe, courtesy of by my flogger friend Babe in the City KL.
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This looks scrumptious! I love these crab dishes but I’m always to scared to make them and I have no idea why! You make it look so simple! :)
That looks delicious! I am bookmarking this for the next time I can get my hands on some fresh crab!
Wowie!!! Just dish out the crab with anything chili and I am THERE! :)
The photos are amazing! Loved the color of the crabs.
This creamy butter sauce goes well with prawn and chicken too. It is my favourite! Can’t wait to grab the crab in KL. Luvly dish!
Do you think that our Maryland
Chesapeake Blue Crab would work as well?
hahaha guess what? i havent try the recipe yet, tend to eat this at restaurants :p
Oh man those look good! I haven’t had good crab since moving out east, but I may have to make a run to one of the fish markets in Chinatown to look for some now!
DocChuck – yes, blue crabs will work fine too, but they are not that meaty. But yes, you can try it out and let me know the results. :)
Hi, this is a great new idea for the holidays. My family is always in for a new treat and often experiment new recipes for the holidays. (Yes, turkey and meatloaf are quite boring compared to this!). Last year, we tried some Asian-themed dishes and everyone in the family loved it. Gotta bookmark this. Thank you for this wonderful dish.
Helen @ Seattle
Sadly if I'm to buy live crabs I may just put them on leash & keep as pets. =(
Lucky this dish is easily available around KL. =D
I love mud crabs…they are the tastiest!
This sounds like a new fabulous way to prepare my Dungeness crab. Crab is my favorite and this recipe looks great.
This looks very easy to make. We’ve done some easy crab recipes at Foodista before and this looks right up our alley! Thanks for posting!
I love how red and fresh these crabs looked..and with butter? A sure winner.
I am the lucky one, I tasted it, yes, the one Rasa Malaysia cooked. I can tell you that it is very tasty, go and try out the recipe now!!!
wow the crabs look gorgeous! i am drooling like crazy
wow, i can already picture myself licking my fingers after wiping up the whole serving…. looks so yum’o!
Wow. Wonderful. I never use evaporated milk, anxious to try…Photos are so engaging!
i like crab but i am not really good at eating it. so i eat less most of the time.
omg this looks amazingly good. I’m gonna cook this really, really soon.
I hv tried this ages ago in Shanghai restaurant in Vancouver..they opt d curry leave & used lots of onion instead..
how much is 1 stick of butter?
hey i just wanna know what is stick butter and bird’s eye chilies
Zas – stick butter is just regular butter. Bird’s eye chilies are also known as chili padi in Malaysia, just one of the many variation of fresh hot pepper available. You can always substitute with what’s available in your local grocery store. Hottest preferred :)
Whar’s evaporated milk?
Usually the manufacturers that make sweetened condensed milk also make evaporated milk. You should be able them in any grocery stores.
what type of crab could i use as a substitute in southern spain?
Hi there, I am not sure what kind of crab you have in Spain but a bigger crab should work.
Birds eye chilies are way to hot for this recipe. Most are 100,000 plus S units hot. Regular cayenne is about 35,000. Think about it.
Regards, Bill
Juliet Mae Spices
Bill – this recipe is traditionally made with bird’s eye chilies. If you like it less spicy, you can add in less.
i would like to ask whats the best substitute for curry leaves if its not available. tnx
I’m a big fan of your web site. Tried several recipes so far and just got done cooking this crab dish while my wife was asleep. She’ll be up in less than an hour for her morning shift and i’m packing her lunch of creamy butter crab…..this ought to get me plenty from the wife. Thank you so much.
Wow Kenny, your wife is so lucky!
You mean got to use up whole piece of butter (taking a regular butter is abt 10cm x 5cm x 5cm)? Isn’t that going to be alot? Will it be too oily?
Sone – in the US, butter is sold in sticks.
1 stick of butter = 1/4 pound
1 stick of butter = 1/2 cup
1 stick of butter = 8 tablespoons
1 stick of butter = 4 ounces
1 stick of butter = 113 grams