Meat, Grills & Lauk · Singapore

How Many Calories in Black Pepper Crab?

Also known as Singapore Black Pepper Crab, 黑胡椒螃蟹, Pepper Crab, Black Pepper Mud Crab.

Black pepper crab is the Singapore seafood restaurant dish of mud crab wok fried in butter with a thick coating of coarse black pepper, garlic, oyster sauce and soy. The drier, spicier sibling of chilli crab, and usually ordered alongside it.

344kcal / 1 serving (half a 1kg crab with sauce)
A serving of black pepper crab, about half a 1kg crab with its sauce, is around 344 calories for a 500g shell on portion, with about 24g of protein and 24g of fat. The crab meat itself is about 100 calories. The butter is around 145 and the pepper sauce about 60.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 serving (half a 1kg crab with sauce) (500g)AmountPer 100g
Calories344 kcal69 kcal
Protein24 g5 g
Carbs6 g1 g
Fat24 g5 g

Where the calories come from

Crab meat, from half a 1kg crab120g
100 kcal
Butter20g
145 kcal
Black pepper, oyster sauce, soy and sugar40g
60 kcal
Frying oil4g
35 kcal

The real talk

A 1kg mud crab gives about 250g of meat once you have fought through the shell, so half a crab is about 120g of meat at roughly 100 calories. Crab meat is lean, about 85 calories per 100g. What you are eating on top of that is the coating. Black pepper crab is fried in a good amount of butter, about 20g per half crab at 145 calories, with oyster sauce, soy and a little sugar for another 60. That is 344 for half a crab. Most of the sauce stays on the shell, which is one of the quiet advantages of this dish.

Chilli crab is about 450 for the same half crab, because the gravy is thickened with egg and has a lot of sugar and tomato sauce, and it is made to be eaten by the spoon with fried mantou. Black pepper crab has no gravy to mop up. The pepper sauce is dry and clings to the shell, and after you have eaten the meat there is nothing left on the plate to drink. That is why it lands about 100 calories lower.

The mantou is the trap for both crabs. A fried mantou bun is about 130 calories and the basket comes with six or eight. Two fried mantou with the crab takes 344 to about 600. The steamed ones are about 80 each. Order steamed, and eat the crab with a plate of stir fried vegetables at about 150 instead of rice, and the whole meal for one person is around 500.

How the portions compare

170 kcal
Quarter crab
344 kcal
Half a 1kg crab
600 kcal
Half crab with 2 fried mantou

Black Pepper Crab variants, ranked by calories

VariantCaloriesNotes
Black pepper crab, less butter280 kcalPer half crab
Black pepper crab344 kcalPer half crab, estimate
Chilli crab450 kcalPer half crab, with egg gravy
Salted egg crab500 kcalPer half crab
Whole 1kg black pepper crab, eaten alone690 kcalBefore mantou

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

How many calories in black pepper crab?
About 344 calories for half a 1kg crab with its sauce, which is a normal one person share. A whole crab eaten alone is around 690. The crab meat is only about 100 of that, the butter and sauce are the rest.
Is black pepper crab healthier than chilli crab?
Yes, by about 100 calories per serving. Black pepper crab has no egg and sugar gravy, so it is around 344 per half crab against 450 for chilli crab. Both have about 24g of protein.
Is black pepper crab keto?
Close to it. A serving has about 6g of carbs, mostly from the oyster sauce and the little sugar in the marinade. Skip the mantou and it fits a low carb meal.
How many calories in fried mantou?
About 130 calories per fried bun and 80 per steamed bun. The basket of six fried mantou that comes with the crab is around 780 on its own.
Berapa kalori dalam Black Pepper Crab?
Black Pepper Crab ada kira-kira 344 kalori untuk 1 hidangan (500g), dengan 24g protein, 6g karbohidrat dan 24g lemak. Angka ini anggaran untuk hidangan gerai biasa, jadi ia berbeza ikut kedai dan saiz hidangan.

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Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical hawker centre or kopitiam serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

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