Mom's Chili Crab (DO NOT UPDATE)

4.45 from 9 votes

Mom's Chili Crab (DO NOT UPDATE)

Mom's Chili Crab is a cherished family recipe passed down from my late mother. It's spicy, savory, with juicy and succulent crab, capturing the essence of our family's culinary tradition.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Course: Crab

Cuisine: Malaysian Recipes

Servings: people

Author: Bee Yinn Low

Ingredients

2 lbs. (1 kg) Dungeness crab or mud crab
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
salt to taste
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro for garnishing

Spice Paste:

3 cloves garlic
1 inch (2.5cm) fresh ginger
8 dried red chilies soaked in hot water and deseeded
1 tablespoon taucheo soy bean paste/sauce

Tamarind Juice:

1 tablespoon tamarind pulps
3 tablespoons water

Instructions

Clean the crab and chop it into pieces. Save the tamale (crab mustard) inside the shell and set it aside.
Pound the Spice Paste with a mortar and pestle or grind it with a food processor. Ensure the spice paste is finely blended or pounded.
Prepare the Tamarind Juice by soaking the tamarind pulps in the water for 15 minutes. Extract the juice and discard the seeds and pulps.
Heat up your wok and add cooking oil. Stir fry the spice paste until fragant and spicy.
Add the crab and water, then give it a quick stir. Cover the wok and let it cook for 3 minutes.
Add the crab tamale, tamarind juice, sugar, and salt to taste. Continue cooking for about 2 minutes, or until all the crab pieces turn red.
Dish up, garnish with chopped cilantro, and serve immediately with steamed rice.

Notes

If you're unsure how to clean the crab, consider getting Dungeness crab from Asian stores, where they often provide cleaning and chopping services.
Use a mortar or similar kitchen tool to crack the crab shells before cooking, a secret technique I learned from my late mother.
This recipe can also be used for crab claws—just be sure to crack the claws beforehand so the spices can infuse the meat.

Nutrition