Happy Birthday, Singapore! here's a different way you can have your Chilli Crab (and eat it too)
wait, you can eat Chilli Crab and NOT get your fingers stained?!
Singapore is a year short of being 60 and we’re pretty sure there’s no better way to celebrate this long weekend that staying home (away from the Marina Bay crowds…) and making the MOST Singaporean dish EVER - Chilli Crab!
we’ve come out with a slight twist to the famous dish which, believe it or not, does not cause a mess on the dining table at the point of eating. this Chilli Crab Pot Pie is perfect for when you’re wearing that white shirt and want it to STILL remain white after dinner.
in this recipe, we used LEILA Ghee for a nice buttery and flaky pot pie crust which comes together beautifully with the saucy chilli crab stew.
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Chilli Crab Pot Pie
2 medium-sized live mud crabs, cut and cleaned
sambal paste:
5 fresh red chillies
6 shallots, peeled
3 cloves garlic
15g ginger, peeled
15g galangal, peeled
3 sticks lemongrass
water, as needed
1/3 cup oil/unsalted butter
2 tbsp sambal tumis (nasi lemak sambal)
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp rice/cane vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup water
2 tsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water
1/3 cup heavy cream (optional)
1 egg, beaten
2 sprigs coriander leaves, chopped
3 sprigs spring onion, sliced
Salt, to taste
flaky pie crust:
water dough
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp LEILA Ghee
140ml water
oil dough
1 cup plain flour
70g LEILA Ghee
1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp water, beaten
directions
to make the chilli crab, blend the sambal paste ingredients until fine. in a pot, heat the oil/butter on medium heat. fry the sambal paste, stirring constantly until the fat starts to separate.
add in the sambal, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, vinegar and sugar. add in water and simmer for another 5 minutes.
add in the cleaned crabs, stir to coat, cover the pan and let the crabs steam in the sauce until fully cooked. the crab shell will turn fully red, indicating that it is cooked.
remove the pot from the stove, fish out the crabs and crack the shells using the back of a knife to extract all the crabmeat from every nook and cranny.
discard the shells and return the crab meat to the sauce. bring it back to heat on the stove. whisk cornstarch with water to make a slurry and pour into the sauce, stir well until thickened. pour in the cream and beaten egg fold in slowly until the egg is cooked.
fold in the chopped herbs and adjust seasoning to taste.
to make the pot pie crust, combine the ingredients for the water dough using an electric mixer or with a fork until fully combined. knead for 3 minutes to form an elastic dough but do not overwork it. separately, combine together the flour and ghee for the oil dough until fully combined. let the doughs rest for 10 minutes.
divide both doughs into halves and roll them into balls. using a rolling pin, roll the a ball of water dough into a thick round sheet and place a ball of oil dough in the middle. using your fingers, encase the oil dough with the water dough covering it fully.
roll the mass into a long vertical oval, 1/4 inch thick. roll it tightly into a cigar. do the same for the rest.
flatten the sides and flip it 90 degrees until the spiral faces upwards. roll into a round sheet to fit the top of a ovenproof ramekin with some excess open the side.
preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius. fill 2 ramekins with the chilli crab stew. carefully transfer the pot pie pastry sheets on top, slightly pressing the pastry at on the rim of the ramekins to fix it in place.
brush top of pastry with the egg yolk wash and bake for 28-20 minutes or until the top is golden and crisp. serve warm and enjoy!