Singapore Chilli Crab

If your crab is live, chill it in the freezer for 20 min to quiet it, then dispatch it. Pull off the top shell whole and set it aside — it is the crown of the dish. Scrub the body under cold water, pull out and discard the grey feathery gills and the small sac behind the eyes, then cut the body into quarters through the legs and crack each claw and knuckle firmly with the back of a cleaver so the gravy can get in. Pat everything dry — wet crab will spit and stew instead of sear.

⚠ Tip: Ask your fishmonger to clean and crack it for you; a live crab is best cooked within an hour of cleaning.

Pound the Asian red shallots, Garlic, Ginger, Red chillies and Bird's eye chillies in a mortar to a coarse, wet, fragrant paste — you want texture, not a purée. If you use a blender, add a splash of oil and pulse in short bursts. Crumble in the toasted Belacan if using and stir it through. This rempah is the spine of the dish; it should sting the back of your nose when you smell it.

⚠ Tip: A blender overworks the shallots and makes the paste bitter; a mortar keeps it sweet.

Whisk the Ketchup, Sambal oelek, Tamarind paste, Sugar and Salt with the 250 ml Water until smooth, then stir in the chopped Tomatoes. Taste it: it should hit sour and sweet in equal measure with a chilli hum behind. Adjust with a little more tamarind for sourness or sugar for balance.

⚠ Tip: Tamarind pastes vary wildly in acidity — always taste the sauce, not the recipe.

Slice the Spring onions on a long diagonal and pick the Coriander leaves. Set both aside for the finish.

Heat a wok over high heat until it just starts to smoke, add the 4 tbsp Neutral oil and swirl. Add the crab pieces in one layer — work in batches if your wok is crowded — and fry hard for 3 min, tossing, until the shells turn bright orange-red and the exposed flesh goes opaque. Pull the crab out and set it aside; leave the oil in the wok.

⚠ Tip: Sear, don't steam: a crowded wok drops the temperature and the crab releases water instead of caramelising.

Lower to medium heat, add the rempah and fry for 5 min, stirring constantly, until the raw smell of shallot and belacan cooks off and the oil separates and pools at the edges of the paste. It will darken to a deep brick red and smell roasted and sweet. This step cannot be rushed — undercooked rempah tastes raw and harsh.

⚠ Tip: If the paste starts to catch, add a spoonful of water and keep stirring; burnt rempah ruins the whole dish.

Return the crab to the wok and toss to coat every piece in the rempah. Pour in sauce and bring to a lively simmer, scraping up anything stuck to the wok. Lay the reserved top shell on top, cover and cook for 7 min, turning the pieces once, until the claws are opaque to the bone and the gravy has thickened and darkened.

⚠ Tip: The shell on top steams the crab gently while its juices drip down into the gravy.

Uncover, take the wok off the heat and, stirring the gravy in wide slow circles, pour in the beaten Eggs in a thin steady stream. Keep stirring gently for 20 sec so the egg sets into silky ribbons suspended in the sauce, not scrambled lumps. The gravy should now be glossy, orange-red and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

⚠ Tip: Off the heat and stirring constantly: egg dropped into a rolling boil becomes rubber.

Tip the crab and every drop of gravy into a wide bowl and scatter over the Spring onions and Coriander. Serve immediately with steamed Bao buns buns for mopping, a bowl of warm water and lime for your fingers, and no forks.

⚠ Tip: The gravy is the point — serve the crab sitting in it, not drained, and give everyone a spoon for the shell cavities.