This is a popular dish amongst Singaporeans. It is also a common feature in the menus of famous seafood restaurants (along East Coast and Punggol). 

The abundance of fresh chilies and garlic makes this a very spicy and full-bodied dish. Chili crabs/lobster bears testimony to the great love Chinese have for spicy Malay food.  The real way to eat this dish is with a serving of large square chunks of bread to dip into the delicious sauce. 

 Ingredients 

    * Lobster or crabs weighing about 450 grams (1 lb.) 
    * 6 fresh red chilies 
    * 5 cloves garlic 
    * 2 stalks spring onions 
    * One coriander (cilantro) plant 
    * 3 Tbs. vegetable oil 

 Sauce 

    * 3 Tbs. tomato ketchup 
    * One-and-a-half Tbs. sugar, according to taste 
    * Quarter tsp. salt 
    * One tsp. pounded salted brown soya bean paste 
    * One cup water 
    * One-and-a-half tsp. cornflour 
    * Half tsp. rice or malt vinegar of freshly squeezed lime juice 
    * Quarter tsp. dark soya sauce 

 Instructions to cook 

1.  Wash uncooked shellfish well, break off the claws and crack the shell by gently hitting it with a pestle. When preparing crabs, chop the bodies in half and then each half into 3 pieces. Wash and retain the shells. When using lobsters, chop off the tail and head, and chop the body, with shell still on, into thumb length pieces. 
2.  Plunge head and tail of lobster into boiling water and cook till the shell turns red. Remove from water and set aside for decoration. 
3.  Peel garlic and pound coarsely. Pound chilies coarsely too. Or grind in a food processor. 
4.  Wash spring onions, discard roots, cut into finger lengths. Cut coriander into one-inch lengths. 
5.  Mix sauce ingredients except for the vinegar or lime juice. 
6.  Heat wok, add oil and when hot, add the garlic, stir fry for one minute, add chilies, stir fry for another minute and add crab or lobster pieces. 
7.  Stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes till shells turn slightly red. Stir sauce, add to the crabs or lobster and stir well for 2 minutes. Cover with a lid and simmer over high heat for 5 to 7 minutes till shells turn a bright red. 
8.  Remove cover, squeeze the lime juice over or add the vinegar, stir well and add spring onions. Turn heat off, stir well and serve, garnish with coriander leaves. 

The above menu is served with freshly baked bread pieces.

Chili Cheese Corn Bread from Kate 

2 1\2 cups yellow corn bread 
1 C. whole wheat flour 
1 Tbs. honey 
1 Tbs. salt 
4 tsp. baking powder 
1 tsp. baking soda 
3 eggs 
1 1\2 C. buttermilk 
1\2 C. oil 
2 C. cream style corn (or 16 oz can) 
6 jalapeno chili peppers, seeded and chopped 
cheddar cheese 
1 large onion grated 

In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, honey, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs and then stir in the buttermilk and oil. Add this mixture to that in the first bowl: stir. Mix in the creamed corn and add the seeded, chopped peppers, the grated cheese, and the grated onion. Mix with each addition. Pour the batter into well oiled, wared skillets and bake at 425 for 35-40 minutes. Let the corn breads remain in the pan for about 15 minutes before turning them out on the wire racks to cool.

Chicken Rice from Smurf  

Ingredients: 
1 whole chicken (washed & cut into 4) 
1 cup of rice 
black oyster sauce 
garlic & ginger (mash 'em) 
salt, sugar, pepper 
vinegar, water 
pandan leaves (for the fragrance) 
tomato, cucumber, chinese salad, red chilies 
 

Cooking time 
Boil chicken with a pinch of salt & the mashed garlic & ginger. Keep the chicken broth. Wash the rice & cook with chicken broth (water level approximately at your index finger's 1st line) and put in pandan leaf. Fry the chicken as normal. Wash, cut chinese salad, and slice tomato and cucumber. 

For the sauce 
Blend the chilies w/a bit of water, garlic & ginger till fine & pour into a bowl. Add a little bit of vinegar, sugar & salt as to your taste. 

Additional vegetables... 
Black or button mushroom, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, snowpeas, babycorns.  If you like seafood you can add prawns, squid, etc. (wash all and cut in small pieces). 

Fry ginger and garlic till brown, add a bit of water, pepper, and oyster sauce then put in the vegetables & fry about 3mins.

Pear-Honey Bread from Kate 

1 29 ounce can of pear halves, drained 
1 c. syrup 
2\3 c. brown sugar 
3\4 c. honey 
1\4 c. salad oil 
2 eggs 
2 tsp. grated lemon peel 
3\4 c. chopped pecans 
4 c. flour 
3 tsp. baking powder 
1 tsp. baking soda 
1 1\2 tsp. salt 

Drain the canned pears reserving 1 cup syrup. Chop all but two of the pears in fine pieces. Combine the cup of syrup with the brown sugar, honey, oil, eggs, and lemon peel. Stir in the chopped pears and pecans. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the pear mixture and stir until they are blended. Pour into two 4-1\2" x8 1\2 loaf pans. Cut the two unchopped pear halves into slices, arrange them on top of the batter, and bake the loaves of bread at 350 for about 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove the loaves from the pan and let them cool. Its best to wrap the bread in foil and let it stand overnight before serving. This bread will keep about one week.

Home Made Cranberry Relish from Kate 

4 c. cranberries, washed and sorted 
1 apple quartered and cored 
1 orange quartered with seeds removed 
1 c. sugar  Grind the fruit, including peels, together and add sugar. Store in the refrigerator.

 

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