These incredibly flavourful Chilli Crab Dumplings (Potstickers) are a fantastic alternative to your juicy chicken dumplings or regular homemade potstickers!
The Chilli Crab filling is inspired by the classic Singapore Chilli Crab dish, and the delicate & delicious wrappers are made with green spinach dumpling dough!
One of the downsides to living in the middle of the country is the lack of great seafood. I LOVE a good lobster roll, or some pan fried salmon or salmon gravlax, or some spicy garlic squid or a tuna poke bowl. But fresh seafood is obviously a rarity around here.
Having lived only a stone’s throw away from the beach most of my life, I have grown up with ample access to crabs (especially blue swimmer crabs that I make a killer spicy crab curry with!) and my personal favourite – soft shell crab.
I’d have to catch a three hour flight and then drive several dozen more miles before I can even sight a beach, from where I live now.
The funny (and sad at the same time) thing though is that as much I love eating crab meat, I have grown slightly allergic to it over the last few years. It’s not too serious – it’s nothing that an antihistamine pill cannot take care of, so I’m still far from ready to give up on it.
But here in mid-Missouri, good crab meat is rare and expensive. So is frozen crab meat and it’s usually just crab legs that you get here, although you can still find beautiful packaged crab meat in the refrigerated meat aisle.
Recently on a trip to the grocery store, I came across some of this, and after some raised eye brows on my hubby’s part and a promise to use it for something spectacular (and for the blog – that always works on Mr K!), I bought some of that gorgeous crab meat! 🙂
While it isn’t ideal for my favourite crab dishes – the Sri Lankan crab curry and the Singapore chilli crab, it’s still awesome enough for many other uses. This is one of them!
Chilli crab dumplings
Say hello to my killer Chilli Crab Dumplings (Potstickers), inspired by classic Singapore chilli crab. There is so much, I mean SO MUCH fantastic flavour stuffed in these bad boys, you don’t even need a dipping sauce. Really.
If you haven’t had Singapore Chilli Crab before, you are seriously missing out on something. 🙂 Beautiful crab meat coated in a thick, rich, sweet and savoury tomato and chilli sauce and flavoured with amazing spices and cilantro… it takes everything in my will power not to lick my plate clean if I’m eating this at a restaurant. If I’m at home though, forgeddabout it!
These Chilli Crab Dumplings (Crab Potstickers) really are a fantastic alternative to your usual pork filling.
Imagine a pocket of light dough, stuffed with an insanely flavourful crab meat filling that’s dripping with all the flavours of tomato, chilli and herbs, and then steamed and browned in a pan…
You probably won’t ever feel the need to eat out at a Chinese restaurant again, if you make these babies at home.
You can make these potstickers with regular potsticker wrappers (or dumpling dough) or with green dumpling wrappers.
I just loved the contrast between the green wrappers and the reddish filling.
How to fill and seal the dumplings (potstickers)
Filling and sealing potstickers is super easy. I’m not going to cover that here because I have a detailed tutorial on how to do it, in my post on how to make perfect dumpling dough and potsticker dough.
The easiest way is to just fold the wrapper over the filling and then crimp the edges with a fork.
Here’s another way I like to seal my potstickers. I love the way it looks.
Recipe
Chilli Crab Dumplings (Potstickers)
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results whenever available.
Common Measurement ConversionsIngredients:
Potstickers
- 20 green potsticker wrappers or store bought or homemade regular potsticker wrappers
Filling
- 170 g lump crab meat About 1 ¼ cup. Claw meat is great and will have better flavor, but might be more expensive.
- 42 g onion chopped (about ½ an onion)
- 1 ½ tsp minced ginger
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- ½ tbsp heaped chilli flakes add less if you prefer mild
- 142 g cabbage chopped
- 1 ½ tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Ketjap Manis
- 3 – 4 tbsp tomato ketchup
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 1 spring onion sliced finely
- 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp oil
Instructions:
Filling
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat.1 tbsp oil
- Add onion, garlic and ginger and saute until the onion becomes translucent.42 g onion, 2 tsp minced garlic, 1 ½ tsp minced ginger
- Add the chilli flakes and saute for about a minute.½ tbsp heaped chilli flakes
- Add cabbage, cornstarch, Ketjap Manis and cook until the cabbage cooks down and softens.142 g cabbage chopped, 1 ½ tsp cornstarch, 1 tbsp Ketjap Manis
- Add the tomato sauce/ketchup and lemon juice and mix well, and heat for a couple of minutes until you have a thick sauce.3 – 4 tbsp tomato ketchup, ½ tsp lemon juice
- Add the crab meat, spring onions and cilantro and fold through until well coated and the crab meat is heated through. Taste and season with salt.170 g lump crab meat, 1 spring onion, 1 tbsp chopped cilantro, salt to taste
- Leave aside to cool.
Filling the potstickers
- See my post on perfect dumpling dough and potsticker dough for beginners for instructions with pictures on how to fill and seal potstickers/dumplings.. Once filled and sealed, these uncooked potstickers can be placed on a baking tray (one layer) and frozen. Once frozen, they can be transferred to freezer bags and stored in the freezer for later use.20 green potsticker wrappers
- If using immediately – heat some oil (peanut oil is best, though vegetable oil works just as well too) in a non-stick pan on medium-high heat.
- When well heated, place potstickers on the pan, without overcrowding it (I can fit about 8 on my pan). Heat for about 2 – 3 minutes, until the bottom is lightly browned.
- While the pan is hot, add about ¼ cup of water into the pan (the water should sizzle) and immediately cover with a lid. Steam for about 4 minutes.
- Remove the lid (most of the water should have evaporated, if not all), then let the bottom of the potstickers cook for another 1 – 2 minutes, and turn golden brown (darker if you use green potsticker wrappers).
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Like I said these are some of the most flavour packed potstickers we have ever had. The fusion of that classic Singaporean dish with potstickers might seem a bit unorthodox, but you can see how it works! 🙂
I served these with some soy sauce, but really you don’t need any. Slightly sweet and slightly sour, and with the spicy heat from the chilli and all the flavours of the spices and herbs, these babies are little morsels of chilli crab heaven!
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