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Ganan Hin

A crab dish simmered with garam masala, fish sauce, tamarind, chili, onion, garlic, and turmeric.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Ganan Hin

Time10 minutes simmering

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the crabs

  1. Boil water in a saucepan.

  2. Add live crabs to the boiling water and let them cook for 3–4 minutes.

  3. Discard any unwanted matter from the crabs.

  4. Cut the crabs into halves or quarters.

  5. Smash the claws slightly to allow flavors to penetrate.

Make the paste and sauté

  1. Blend chili, onions, and garlic into a paste.

  2. Heat oil in a wok and sauté the paste for 4 minutes.

  3. Add turmeric powder, stir, and sauté for another minute.

  4. Add the crabs and fish sauce, and mix well.

  5. Cover and cook over medium heat for 4–5 minutes.

Simmer with tamarind and garam masala

  1. Drain the tamarind pulp soaked in water and pour the juice into the saucepan.

  2. Add water and garam masala.

  3. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes over moderately low heat.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

290Calories
22 gProtein
16 gFat
15 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 9 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Crab100g cooked97
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Waternot in our table0
Tamarindnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Tamarind + turmerictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together299 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Clove + turmerictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,876 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Tamarind + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together145 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  5. Garlic + turmerictop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,363 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Crabs
Provide the main protein, with flavor absorbed from the spiced sauce as they simmer.
Tamarind pulp
Adds sourness that balances the warm spices and rich crab.
Dried red chili
Supplies heat and color to the paste that seasons the sauce.
Onion
Builds a sweet, savory base as it softens and browns in the oil.
Garlic
Adds pungent aroma that deepens as it cooks in the hot oil.
Garam masala
Contributes warm, aromatic spice notes to the simmering sauce.

The step that matters

Sautéing the paste in oil. Cooking the chili, onion, and garlic paste in hot oil for the full time mellows raw harshness and releases aromatic compounds. Undercooked paste tastes raw and gritty, while overcooking can scorch the garlic and turn it bitter.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (crab, fish sauce, tamarind, onion, garlic, turmeric):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Gingerfits better
  3. Corianderfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against crab, fish sauce, tamarind, onion, garlic, turmeric. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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