Sweet Chili Crab Recipe - Indo-Chinese Style. Okay, first things first- this is a fusion recipe, blending Chinese stir-frying methods with Indian ingredients to create bold flavors. This particular Sweet Chili Crab is not like the usual South Asian Singapore Chili Crab; it's a popular Indo-Chinese version, as we get in the Kolkata Chinese joints.
I cook crab at home quite regularly, so you may have seen me share various crab recipes here at Debjanir Rannaghar. Sometimes I call it "Kakra," its Bengali name, or "Nandu" when writing about South Indian recipes, or simply "crab." Some of my past recipes include Kakrar Jhal, Crab Biryani, and Creamy Butter Garlic Crab, which is one of the most popular recipes on the website. I've also shared Crab Malai Curry, a dish inspired by the famous prawn preparation - Chingri Malaikari.
Jump to:
- Debjani's Note
- About this recipe - Sweet Chili Crab - Indo-Chinese Style
- Ingredients
- Step-by-step instructionsΒ - Sweet Chili Crab Recipe -Indo-Chinese style
- Substitutions and Variations
- Serving Sweet Chili Crab Recipe -Indo-Chinese style
- Top Tip
- Frequently Asked Questions
- About crab cleaning - detailed process
- Related Crab Recipes
- Recipe Card
- My favorite seafood/ fish recipes
- Have you tried the Sweet Chili Crab Recipe - Indo-Chinese Style from Debjanir Rannaghar!
- Here's the Sweet Chili Crab Recipe - Indo-Chinese Style Β Pin for your Pinterest Board
Debjani's Note
This Sweet Chili Crab recipe is a family favorite. We often enjoy this Kolkata Chinese-influenced dish with a few spoonfuls of Govindobhog rice at home, and it's absolutely delicious.
Last week, when Mehebub was home, he went to the bajar -local market. Going to the bazaar on Sundays is one of his favorite things to do. So, besides the fresh produce, fish, and chicken, he also brought home some fresh mud crab - plump and full of roe, absolutely perfect. Initially, I thought about making a regular Kakrar Jhal or a seafood stew. Then I realized, why not try something different, a basic Indo-Chinese sweet chili crab? It's simple to cook, uses easily available ingredients, and tastes amazing, making our Sunday complete. I even took pictures while cooking because I knew I had to share this recipe with all of you. So, here it is: my recipe for Indo-Chinese sweet chili crab.
About this recipe - Sweet Chili Crab - Indo-Chinese Style
As I mentioned, this is an Indo-Chinese fusion recipe for sweet chili crab, which is why I'm not calling it Singaporean crab. It has the distinct taste of traditional Indo-Chinese food found in Kolkata's old-school eateries. Over time, this fusion has become a part of our lives, known as Tangra Chinese. I simply created something similar!
Ingredients
- Mud Crab
- Onions
- Garlic
- Tomato puree
- Tomato ketchup
- Sweet chili sauce
- Vinegar
- Chili oil with the flakes, optional
- Prawn paste, optional
- Salt
- Sugar
- Turmeric powder, optional
- Red chili powder
- Vegetable oil
See recipe card for quantities.
Step-by-step instructions - Sweet Chili Crab Recipe -Indo-Chinese style
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Let's see how to cook Sweet Chili Crab- Indo-Chinese style very easily at home!
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Although I usually boil crab, I prepared it differently for this recipe. First, wash the crabs thoroughly. Then, break them into claws and body, removing any unwanted parts. Separate the crab mustard, which includes the roe and other liquids. Next, place the crab pieces in a bowl of boiling water, then immediately remove them and discard the water.
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Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients. Cut each large onion into eight pieces, or into four if using medium onions. Roughly chop the garlic and ginger.
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Now, heat three tablespoons of oil in a deep pan with a lid.
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Once hot, add the chopped garlic and fry it.
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Then, add the onion pieces and chopped ginger together and mix well. Fry for two minutes.
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Add the tomato paste and cook on high heat for two minutes, or until the raw tomato smell disappears.
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Finally, add chili powder and turmeric powder and mix. Turmeric powder is optional, but it's often recommended for seafood as it's believed to help with allergies.
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Add the chili oil with the chili flakes in it and the shrimp paste, mixing them in completely. While these are optional, they truly give this dish an amazing depth of flavor.
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Next, stir in the tomato ketchup, sweet chili sauce, and vinegar until well combined.
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Now, add one teaspoon of sugar and one teaspoon of salt, mixing them through.
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At this stage, taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings as needed. Remember, you're aiming for a balance of hot and sweet flavors.
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Now, add the crab, including the claws, body, and crab mustard, then cover the pan and cook for ten minutes.
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Once finished, you might consider adding another tablespoon of prawn paste, though this is optional. I do it. I have added another tablespoon of sweet chili sauce as well.
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Your Sweet Chili Crab - Indo-Chinese Style is now ready to serve!
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Substitutions and Variations
- Crab type - For this recipe, I used large mud crabs. However, depending on your location, you can choose other types of crabs like spider crabs, rock crabs, or stone crabs. I don't recommend using smaller crabs such as Oceanic Paddler Crabs or Herring Bow Crabs because this recipe needs a lot of crab meat.
- Crab Mustard - The crab mustard, which is the liquid and roe from the crab, is a golden ingredient! While you can choose whether or not to use it, if you're using fresh crab, it's best to include it. Nothing else can match the flavor it adds.
- Shrimp Paste - I used belachan, a dry shrimp paste, in this recipe. Some might consider it optional, but for my dish, it's essential.
- Chili oil and Chili flakes - You could use regular chili flakes, but the chili oil and the flakes from it bring a special extra flavor to the dish.
Serving Sweet Chili Crab Recipe -Indo-Chinese style
While others might suggest fried rice to accompany sweet chili crab, I would personally recommend either simple Gobindobhog rice or, at the very least, plain Basmati rice.
Top Tip
Fresh crab is the star of this dish. The sweet and juicy crab meat pairs wonderfully with the sweet and spicy sauce. Garlic gives the recipe a rich, irresistible flavor. For a deeper, savory taste, I also suggest adding shrimp paste (belacan) and chili oil. These ingredients come together to create a truly delicious dish that will surely impress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crab is a healthy choice because it's full of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and important vitamins and minerals. However, keep in mind that the overall health of the curry depends on all the ingredients and how it's made.
In India, mud crab, rock crab, and sea crab are popular choices.
About crab cleaning - detailed process
I've created a video that thoroughly explains the process of cleaning a crab. Please take a look!
Related Crab Recipes
Looking for Crab recipes? Try these:
Recipe Card
Sweet Chili Crab Recipe -Indo-Chinese style
Ingredients
- 1 kg Mud Crab around 4-5, big preferably
- 3 Onions big
- 1 inch Ginger
- 10 cloves Garlic
- 1 cup Tomato puree
- 2 tablespoon tomato ketchup
- Β½ cup sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Chili oil with the flakes optional
- 1 tablespoon prawn paste optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ΒΌ teaspoon turmeric powder optional
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil unflavored
Instructions
- Although I usually prepare crab by boiling it, I used a different method for this recipe.
- First, thoroughly wash the crabs. Then, break them apart, separating the claws and body. Discard any unwanted parts, and set aside the crab mustard, which includes the roe and other liquids.
- Next, place the crab pieces into a bowl of boiling water, then immediately remove them and discard the water.
- While doing this, prepare the other ingredients. Cut each large onion into eight pieces; if using medium onions, cut them into four pieces.
- Roughly chop the garlic and ginger.
- Now, heat three tablespoons of oil in a deep pan with a lid.
- Once the oil is hot, add the chopped garlic and fry it.
- Then, add the onion pieces and chopped ginger together and mix well.
- Fry for two minutes.
- Add the tomato puree and cook on high heat for two minutes, or until the raw tomato smell disappears.
- Finally, add chili powder and turmeric powder, and mix. Turmeric powder is optional, but many believe it helps prevent allergic reactions when cooking seafood, so I prefer to use it.
- First, mix in the chili oil and shrimp paste until well combined. While optional, these ingredients add incredible flavor and depth to the dish.
- Next, stir in the tomato ketchup, sweet chili sauce, and vinegar thoroughly.
- Then, add one teaspoon of sugar and one teaspoon of salt and mix again.
- Taste the sauce at this point and adjust the seasonings as needed, aiming for a balance of hot and sweet flavors.
- Now, add the crab, including the claws, body, and crab mustard, and cook for 10 minutes with the lid on the pan. If you're using very large crabs, add the claws first, cook for three minutes, then add the rest of the crab pieces and crab mustard, and cook for an additional seven minutes.
- Finally, I like to add another tablespoon of prawn paste, which is optional. I have added another tablespoon of sweet chili sauce as well.
- Your sweet chili crab- Indo-Chinese style is now ready to enjoy!
Notes
- Crab type - For this recipe, I used large mud crabs. However, depending on your location, you could also choose other types like spider crab, rock crab, or stone crab. I don't recommend smaller crabs such as Oceanic Paddler Crab or Herring Bow Crab because this recipe requires a good amount of crab meat.
- Crab Mustard - The crab mustard, which includes the liquid and roe from the crab, is a golden treasure! You can choose whether or not to include it. Ideally, if you're using fresh crab, you should definitely use it, as nothing else can match the flavor it adds.
- Shrimp Paste - I included belachan, a dry shrimp paste, in this recipe. While some might consider it optional, I believe it's essential for my version.
- Chili oil and chili flakes - Regarding chili oil and chili flakes: while you could substitute regular chili flakes, using chili oil and the flakes from it will bring extra flavor to the dish.
Nutrition
My favorite seafood/ fish recipes
- Air Fryer Whole Fish Fry | Air-fried Baby Bhetki Fish Fry
- Shrimp and Spinach in Cream Sauce
- Butter Garlic Prawn | Garlic Butter Shrimp
- Basa Fish Curry with Coconut Milk
- Mangalorean Rava Pomfret Fry
- Biyebarir Fish Butter Fry aka Bhetki Batter Fry
Have you tried the Sweet Chili Crab Recipe - Indo-Chinese Style from Debjanir Rannaghar!
Please inform me of your experience, and feel free to send a photo to [email protected]. Additionally, you can find me on various social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Google News, X, and Thread. Don't forget to use the hashtag #debjanirrannaghar when sharing your attempts at my recipes or if you have any questions or recipe requests.
Here's the Sweet Chili Crab Recipe - Indo-Chinese Style Pin for your Pinterest Board
About Debjani Chatterjee Alam
I am Debjani Chatterjee Alam. A CSR specialist by profession and a food writer, food blogger, and food photographer as well. I live in Kolkata along with my Husband Mehebub who is an architect by profession, my daughter Pasta, and also my dog daughters Coffee and Luchi.
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