Best Chili Crab Recipes

THAI RED CURRY CRAB CAKES WITH A CHILI DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Blend or Process crab, prawns, paste, lemon grass, coriander, onions and egg until just combined. Shape into small patties using about a tablespoon of mix for each (will make about 25-30.) OR shape into larger patties (will make about 10-12).
• Heat oil in a large frying pan, cook crab in batches until browned on both sides and cooked through.
• Serve crab cakes with dipping sauce.
• For the dipping sauce.
• Mix lime and sugar together, place in the microwave 30-45 seconds, to dissolve sugar, stir in fish sauce and sweet chili, Place in serving bowl and serve with crab cakes.

CURRIED CRAB WITH COCONUT AND CHILI

Steps:

• Place the crab in the freezer for 2 hours or until it stops moving. Remove the legs and crack them with a rolling pin. Remove the top of the shell and clean out the insides with your fingers. Chop the crab and top shells in half.
• Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and peppercorns and stir constantly until the seeds become toasted and fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes. Cool completely.
• To make the paste, grind the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and peppercorns with a pinch of salt using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Transfer the spice mixture to a food processor and add the vinegar, coconut, ginger, garlic, chile and onions and blend to form a paste.
• Heat the oil in a heavy, large, wide pot over low heat. Add the paste and saute until fragrant and some of the juices evaporate, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato, curry leaves, turmeric, chili powder and a pinch of salt and cook until the tomato pieces are tender and melting into the sauce, 5 minutes. Add the crab and 4 1/2 ounces water, increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer or until the crab pieces are cooked through, 10 minutes. Mix in the coconut milk and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
• Divide the crab pieces and sauce among shallow wide soup plates and serve immediately.

CRAB CAKES WITH RED CHILI MAYO

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, chili sauce and 1-1/4 teaspoons lemon juice. Set aside., In a small skillet, saute the celery, onion, red pepper and jalapeno in 1 tablespoon oil until tender. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in the bread crumbs, egg, 1/2 cup reserved mayonnaise mixture and remaining lemon juice. Fold in crab. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate remaining mayonnaise mixture for sauce., Place flour in a shallow bowl. Drop crab mixture by 2 tablespoonfuls into flour. Gently coat and shape into a 1/2-in.-thick patty. Repeat with remaining mixture. , In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook patties in remaining oil in batches for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Serve with reserved sauce.

CRAB CAKES WITH RED CHILI MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Mix mayonnaise, chili-garlic sauce, and 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice in small bowl. Cover and refrigerate chili mayonnaise.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, celery, onion, and jalapeño; sauté 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in crab, egg, 1/2 cup chili mayonnaise, and remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice, then 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs. Form crab mixture into eight 1/2-inch-thick cakes, using 1/2 cup for each. Dredge cakes in remaining 3 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, turning to coat. Place on baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add crab cakes and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plates. Serve, passing remaining chili mayonnaise separately.

SINGAPOREAN CHILI CRAB

Steps:

• Chili Crab Sauce:
• Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl (or 22-quart plastic Cambro containers, like we do) until it becomes one unified homogenous mixture of red chili sauce. It should taste spicy, sweet, and savory and not too ketchup-y.
• Prepare the crab:
• Clean crab and cut into pieces. If you have never done this before, this might sound easier said than done, but it's not nearly as daunting as it seems.
• In a debate of "humane" ways of killing crab: the Asian preparation of crab is a near-instant killing of the crab versus the longer and drawn out steaming/boiling method. Additionally, the boiling method tends to result in a much fishier "crabby" flavor, not as fresh tasting as with this method. If you look up videos on YouTube, look up "How to kill a live crab humanely," which will demonstrate this way of breaking down a crab.
• With that said, I wasn't as prepared in the photograph process, so I'm going to personally walk you through this as the first "Crab Killer" at Starry Kitchen:
• Quick tips: Put crabs in the freezer or refrigerator before breaking down. It will make them sleepy-slow them down very severely. There is also a way one of our cooks, Sean, uncovered on the web to gently pet a soft spot on their shell over and over and they'll start falling asleep. We've seen it. It's crazy, but it takes a lot longer than the freezer method.
• Next, when you're ready, you're going to need a decently sharp knife for this process or at least one with a sharp tip for this next step: try to grab the crab from the tail end, and flip the crab over, claws and eyes pointing away from you, and so it's belly-side up. If you look at its abdomen right in the center, you'll see a longer triangular lip (top of it pointing away from you) that can actually be lifted up. Until you're comfortable doing it often, you can use the tip of your knife to lift it up, but you'll want to use your hand to quickly just lift up and fold it over completely. The crab will potentially get VERY mad at this point. You've just exposed its most vulnerable spot.
• Then, this part is simple if you can move quickly: just stab it downward right through that spot that's been exposed until you reach the shell. Hold for about 10-20 seconds. The crab should die almost instantly.
• Afterwards, line your knife across the middle, and firmly press down and cleave it through the abdomen to cut the crab in half. The crab will snap in half once you come all the way down. You'll also be able to pull the crab by each of its claws, and it'll just come apart.
• You'll then want to turn each half over, and remove the white gills off of each and dispose.
• Dispose of the lip, and any other loose appendages from the front and back end of the crab.
• Dispose of the white film and any black matter inside the shell itself, but do not clean out the rest of the shell. That orange part, the coral, the fatty tissue is the MOST coveted part of the crab in Asian households (typically held for the father, no joke). It's like sea urchin/uni, really rich and very briny...and super-awesome to put rice into once it's cooked and scoop it out with. Yummers!
• Depending on how large your crab is, the two halves of crab legs can be broken into either 2 or 3 sections (there should be a minimum of 2 legs per section) using the same cleaving action as you did to halve the crab.
• And that's it! (If YouTube, this, and the web doesn't help you feel more comfortable-seriously, feel free to reach out to us: @starrykitchen. This dish is COMPLETELY worth it.)
• To make the Chili Crab:
• Now clean the crab legs again, then pat dry with paper towels. Put into a big bowl with cornstarch, but make sure to leave enough room to coat crab with starch.
• Diligently dredge all exposed crab pieces including the coral and head, inside and out, with starch. Next, shake off excess starch, but make sure all of the exposed (non-shelled) parts are covered in starch. This seals in all of the crab's flavors throughout the cooking process. This is especially important if you need to prepare in advance.
• Fill a wok/pot with 2 to 3 inches cooking oil, enough to submerge crab pieces, including the head. Heat oil to 350°F over high heat, then carefully fry in batches, arranging crab pieces in a single layer in the oil. Turn over pieces with tongs to fry evenly.
• When the crab pieces turn red all over and the battered parts are golden, remove and shake the excess oil over your pot. Set aside (we like to set crab on a rack/grate and baking sheet to allow a little bit more oil to drip off). Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
• Once you're ready to make your chili crab, heat a wok/pan on high heat and add 1 tablespoon cooking oil per crab. Sauté garlic, shallots, ginger, and chiles until aromatic (enough to make you cough-that's how you know you got the GOOD stuff). Next, add the beautiful monstrosity that is your crab. Stir quickly for 10 to 15 seconds, then add Chili Crab Sauce. Cover, cook over high heat, and cook that bad boy (or girl) for 7 minutes.
• Keep the pan over heat, but remove crab from pan and place on a serving dish. While reconstructing your sea beast, make sure to leave all the sauce in the wok/pan. Crack eggs into the sauce, and quickly mix to fully incorporate them and thicken the sauce. Increase to high heat and reduce sauce to desired thickness. (I like it pretty thick and a little bit gloppy GOOD.) Once done, remove from heat, and pour sauce all over the crab. Garnish with chopped scallions and cilantro. Serve with Buttermilk Beer Beignets. Break down the crab, sop up all that sauce, and eat like a Singaporean king!

CHILI CRAB

Steps:

• In a casserole or large pot of boiling salted water, add the crabs and cook them for about 1 minute, or until no longer moving. Drain and set aside until cool enough to handle.
• To clean the crabs pull off top shells; pull and twist off each apron; remove gills. With sharp knife cut crabs into quarters, rinse and drain.
• In mortor and pestle or small food processor pound or process chiles, garlic, shallots and ginger with a little oil if necessary.
• Combine all sauce ingredients.
• Heat a wok over moderately high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil and heat until hot. Add chili and garlic paste and stir-fry 1 minute. Add crabs and stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes or until shells turn red. Add sauce ingredients, bring to boil and simmer, covered, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer crabs to serving dish.
• Bring sauce in wok to a boil. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to wok. Simmer until thickened. Gradually add eggs in a stream, whisking, and cook for 1 minute. Pour sauce over crabs and garnish with scallion.

VIETNAMESE SHRIMP AND CRAB FRITTERS WITH CHILI-LIME SAUCE

Steps:

• With machine running, drop garlic cloves through feed tube of processor and chop finely. Add sea bass and next 8 ingredients and process just until blended. Transfer to large bowl; stir in crabmeat, shrimp, cilantro and red bell pepper.
• Pour enough oil into heavy large skillet to reach depth of 1 inch; heat oil over medium-high heat to 350°F. Working in batches, drop rounded tablespoonfuls of fritter mixture into hot oil. Fry fritters until golden brown and cooked through, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer cooked fritters to paper-towel-lined plate; drain.
• Arrange fritters on platter with lettuce leaves. Serve with Chili-Lime Sauce.
• *Available at Asian markets and in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets.

STIR-FRIED DUNGENESS CRAB WITH SWEET CHILI SAUCE AND BOK CHOY

Steps:

• First thing to do is "dismantle" the crabs before you wok-fry them. Toss the live crabs into salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Next, place the crabs top-side up, and stick your thumb under the edge of the top shell, pull forward and lift the shell up and off, and reserve. Scrape out the gills that are found on top of the body. Now, turn the crabs over and on the underbelly you will find the "apron," a slightly-lifted triangular flap, pull this off too. Finally, rinse the crabs of all the grey or green spongy stuff (the soft yellow matter is fat or crab butter and considered desirable by many, keep it if you wish.) Divide the crabs into quarters with a big knife, leaving the legs attached to the 4 sections.
• Heat the peanut oil in a wok over high heat until almost smoking. Add the garlic, ginger, chiles, and bok choy. Stir-fry for 1 minute, then remove to a side platter. Toss in the crab pieces, including the top shells. Take the top shells out after 1 minute, continue to stir-fry the crab for 3 minutes. With a big spoon or spatula, remove the crab pieces to the side platter. Now on to the sauce, pour 1 cup of water into the wok, along with the brown sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, and sake. Stir for 2 minutes to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook another minute until the sauce thickens. Return the crabs and bok choy to the pan, toss everything together to coat. Cover, and cook for 3 minutes.
• To serve, line a large platter with butter lettuce leaves, and arrange the crabs with the top shell back on top so it looks roughly like a whole crab again - cool right?! Put the bok choy around the crab and pour the sauce all over the top. Garnish with the green onions and peanuts. You'll need crab crackers, mini forks, a side bowl for the shells, a stack of napkins, and bowls of warm lemon water to clean your hands. Serve with steamed white rice.

"CRAB CHILI" RECIPE - (3.9/5)

Steps:

• Strain beans in a colander and rinse well; pour into slow cooker. Add stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato juice, vinegar, and water; mix gently. Add peppers, onions, garlic and chili pepper; stir ingredients until mixed well. Put crabmeat in bowl and check for any shells. Then place into slow cooker (crock pot). Add chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper, Old Bay, celery salt, Salt N Spice, and bacon. Stir contents until mixed well. Turn slow cooker on Low and cook for 8 hours then add shot of Jack Daniel's; if possible stir every hour

CRAB CAKES WITH THAI SWEET CHILI SAUCE & MARINATED CUCUMBER

Steps:

• CRAB CAKES.
• Mix all ingredients well and adjust seasoning to taste. Use icecream scoop to shape into cakes; bread with panco crumbs.
• Place cakes on sheet pans sprinkled with dry panko crumbs; wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator until ready to cook.
• THAI SWEET CHILI SAUCE.
• In a heavy sauce pan over medium high heat, combine ginger, garlic, vinegar, lime juice and sake. Reduce to a light syrup (90%), add cream and reduce to 60% over medium heat, being careful not to scorch. Reduce heat to low and gradually whip in the cold butter chunks. Whisk in chili sauce, salt and pepper.
• MARINATED CUCUMBERS.
• Mix all the ingredientes together bring to a boil, remove from heat and chill.
• ASSEMBLY.
• Saute crab cakes in a non stick saute pan until golden on each side and heated through; drain on paper towels.
• Arrange crab cakes on plate, drizzle with chili sauce.
• Pile high with marinated cucumbers, sprinkle with chopped chives; or alternately serve the marinated cucumbers beside the crab cakes on the plate.

CHILI CRAB DIP WITH SHRIMP CHIPS

Steps:

• Pulse or blend shallots, lemongrass, ginger, chile, garlic, tomato paste, sugar, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ½ cup water in a food processor or blender until a coarse purée forms.
• Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Scrape purée into pan and cook, stirring often, until mixture darkens and thickens to the consistency of tomato paste, 12-15 minutes. If it begins to stick and brown, stir in a little water (about 1 Tbsp.), scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. (You should have about ⅔ cup.)
• Transfer mixture to a small bowl and vigorously mix in cream cheese and mayonnaise. Stir in crabmeat, half of the scallions, and half of the cilantro. Taste dip and season with more salt if needed.
• Transfer dip to a serving bowl. Top with remaining scallions and cilantro, then with fried shallots (if using). Serve with shrimp chips.

CRAB CAKES WITH CREAMY CHILI SAUCE

Steps:

• For Sauce:
• Heat oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add shallots and garlic and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chili garlic sauce and stir 1 minute. Add cream, sake and lime juice. Simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 7 minutes.
• For Crab Cakes:
• Mix first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk egg and 2 tablespoons water in small bowl. Stir 2 tablespoons egg mixture into crab mixture (mixture will be dry). Discard remaining egg mixture. Form crab mixture into four 2 1/2- to 3-inch round patties, using about 1/2 cupful for each.
• Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add crab cakes and sauté until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plates.
• Drizzle sauce over and serve.

COCONUT CHILI CRAB

Steps:

• Lift top hard shell from crabs and use fingers to scrape insides. Wash, then split in half.
• Heat the oil in a large wok over high heat then stir-fry the crab pieces in batches until they turn pinky red. Remove and set aside.
• In the same wok, stir fry garlic, ginger and chili for 1 minute.
• Add the juice, waer, sauces and paste and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Blend in the coconut cream.
• Bring to the boil then return the crab to the wok.
• Simmer covered, for 4-5 minutes, adding a little water if the sauce reduces too much.
• Stir in the coriander and onions, then serve at once over steamed rice.

CRACKED CRAB, CHILI MAYONNAISE AND SHRIMP CHIPS

Steps:

• For the mayonnaise: In a large bowl, add egg yolks, lemon juice and hot sauce. Whisk to combine. Slowly begin adding the oil while whisking constantly, making sure oil is fully incorporating and stopping frequently until each little bit is emulsified into the egg yolk mixture. If it becomes too thick, a little drizzle of water can be added as necessary until all of the oil has been incorporated. When all of the oil has been whisked in, and the mayonnaise is creamy and luscious, season to taste with salt. Set aside.
• For the shrimp chips: Heat 2 inches of oil in a 6-quart saucepan. Clip in a deep-fry thermometer and heat the oil to 375 degrees F. Fry the shrimp chips until puffy, about 1 minute. Remove and drain on paper towels. Set aside.
• For the crab and assembly: Place 3/4 of the crab in a mixing bowl and toss with 3 or 4 tablespoons of the homemade mayonnaise. Serve dressed crab alongside the remaining undressed crab with a bowl of the mayonnaise and a pile of shrimp chips on the side. Garnish with celery sticks and orange slices.

SINGAPOREAN CHILI CRAB

Steps:

• Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• In a very large pot of boiling water, parboil the crab for 3 minutes. Take out of the water and drain. Rinse the crab with cold water and drain again.
• Pull off the top shell in one piece and reserve for additional garnish.
• Remove and discard the gills and the spongy parts under the shell.
• Twist off the claws and legs; crack them with a cleaver or a mallet. Now cut the body into 4 pieces.
• Now in a large heated wok, add oil and swirl to coat the sides of the wok. add the garlic, ginger, and chili, and stir fry for 1 minute.
• Add the crab, and stir fry an additional 2 minutes. Now add the sauce, reducing the heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring once or twice, till the crab is cooked (6-7 minutes).
• Finally stir in the egg and cook just until it begins to set (1 minute).
• Arrange the crab and top shell on a large platter. Pour the sauce all over the crab and garnish with the green onion.
• Serve right away with crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

CHILI CRAB SHRIMP SOUP

Steps:

• Fry bacon pieces in a big pot; when nice and crispy, remove bacon and set aside.
• Melt butter into bacon grease and place chopped onion in first, then add chopped carrot and celery, and finally the garlic, to bacon grease in pan and saute till softened. Add salt and pepper depending on your tastes, remember this will end up being a big pot of soup.
• Add enough water to softened veggies in pan to cover slightly, let boil down a about 10 minutes. Add as much chili powder as you like (I use about a TBSP., but you can use more - it really makes the flavor of this soup) and then just add a pinch of cayenne for a little more kick.
• After water is boiling and has reduced a bit, add the chopped potatoes. Add just a little more water and let the mixture boil another 5-10 minutes to help get the potatoes close to softened (they don't have to be completely cooked yet).
• Once the potatoes and other veggies are close to being soft and ready to eat, add 2 cups of milk. As it is starting to heat, make sure to break down crab (pull body shell off and take center of crab and use kitchen shears to cut into 1/4, pull legs off, clean it all up, and use shears to cut just a small slit into each leg and claw piece so soup can seep into crab meat for nice flavor) and then throw Crab in with the milky veggies in the large soup pot.
• Once the soup is hot and the crab is in it, make sure to turn the stove to low and try not to have the soup boil over. Add shrimp just to warm them up. Top off with the bacon pieces. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
• (If you like your soup thicker and more like chowder, you could add a mix of 1/2 cup milk and 2 tablespoons flour (shaken together in a small closed jar) to the soup a few minutes before finishing to thicken it up, if you like.). The chili and spice amounts can easily be adjusted to your tastes, it's a real flexible recipe.

FATTY CRAB'S CHILI CRAB

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk the chili sauce, soy sauce, sugar, rice-wine vinegar, tomato paste and sesame oil with 1 1/4 cups water and reserve.
• Place the shallots, garlic, ginger and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture becomes a smooth paste. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water.
• Heat the peanut oil in a wok over high heat, and when it shimmers, add the shallot paste and fry for 30 seconds until very fragrant. Add the crabs and 1/3 of the chili sauce, and when the liquid simmers, continue to cook for 2 minutes, shaking the pan to cover the crabs with the sauce.
• Add the remaining chili sauce to the pan, and when it reaches a simmer, turn the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and continue to simmer vigorously about 8 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch paste, and when the liquid in the pan thickens, turn off the heat. Add the egg yolk and stir again to combine. Divide the crabs and sauce among 4 plates, sprinkle with the chopped scallions and serve immediately, with crab picks and many napkins.

PAN FRIED SOFT SHELL CRAB WITH GARLIC, LEMON, CHILI AND OLIVE OIL

Steps:

• Place crabs, jalapeno, garlic, lemon zest and parsley in a large bowl. Add 5 tablespoons of olive oil and toss lightly. Marinate for 2 hours. In another large bowl pour the lemon juice and slowly add the extra virgin olive oil whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper. Toss vinaigrette with lettuce leaves and divide between 4 plates. Place a large non-stick sauté pan over high heat. Add remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. Dust the crabs with a little flour and place in the hot pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. Once crabs are crispy on the outside and cooked through, remove from the pan and serve over prepared salad.

CRAB & SHRIMP CHILI (SPICY)

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil.
• Turn heat to low and let simmer for at least a half hour before serving.
• You can leave it on a low heat setting for several hours if needed.
• Serve alone or mixed with rice.

CRAB, CHILI, AND AVOCADO TOSTADITOS

Steps:

• Heat enough vegetable oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat to reach depth of 1 inch. Working in batches, add tortillas and fry until crisp, about 45 seconds per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain. (Fried tortillas can be made 1 day ahead. Cool tortillas completely and store in resealable plastic bag at room temperature.)
• Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add poblano chilies, bell peppers, onion, garlic, and jalapeño; sauté until just beginning to soften, about 12 minutes. Transfer to large bowl; cool.
• Mix crab, tomatoes, Cotija cheese, pumpkin seeds, cilantro, and lime juice into vegetable mixture. Season with salt and pepper. (Crab mixture can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill.)
• Preheat broiler. Place tortillas in single layer on 2 baking sheets. Top with crab mixture and avocado. Sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese. Broil until cheese melts, about 30 seconds, then serve.
• *Fresh green chilies that are often called pasillas; available at Latin American markets and some supermarkets.