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Singapore Chilli Crab

John Torode flavours his shellfish dish with dry-roasted spices to give an aromatic and stylish crab supper for four

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Singapore Chilli Crab

Why it works: Coriander and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,866 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Singapore Chilli Crab

Serves 4

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

431Calories
46 gProtein
16 gFat
26 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 12 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Shrimp100g cooked99
Crab100g cooked97
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Coriandernot in our table0
Seednot in our table0
Macenot 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.

By bbcgoodfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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. Coriander + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,866 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Coriander + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,505 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  3. Cumin + gingertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,733 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Onion + cumintop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,498 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Onion + gingertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,595 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

Swap the mace

The recipe marks mace as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (crab, sugar, fish sauce, onion, coriander, cumin, ginger):

  1. Turmericfits better
  2. Garlicfits better
  3. Cinnamonfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against crab, sugar, fish sauce, onion, coriander, cumin, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.