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This recipe is for you if you love crab but don't want to spend hours making it. The dipping sauce gives it a wonderfully Thai flavor and the instant pot makes it easy.
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Background content: Crab Season varies by location and local laws but you can usually find fresh crab around the globe. If you are interested in catching fresh crab I recommend Googling for your local laws with a term like, like Galveston Crabbing Season.
This was inspired by my Thai Dipping Sauce for Seafood on this site and pairs well with any healthy rice.
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Ingredients
The Instant Pot was named appropriately for cooking crabs
We just used the crabs, crab legs, some Cajun seasoning, and some vinegar. The dipping sauce is pretty simple too, but making it fresh is the only way to go.
- Fresh crab, your favorite or available kind
- Thai chili powder
- Fresh Limes
- Your favorite crab boil, We used Swamp Dust because we live in the Bayou City and it's dynamite!
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Place the trivet in the instant pot. Turn the instant pot to sauté with enough water to cover your crab, probably 2-3 cups, depending on how much crab you have. This kills the crabs instantly so they don't suffer.
Next, Add in the crabs and cover for a minute or 2 to kill them quickly. Carefully, drain out most of the water, leaving enough to steam them. Add in the crab boil and pepper and turn to pressure mode with the vent closed.
Hint: Be very careful with the pressure relief valve when releasing the pressure. It is super hot and I have burnt myself a few times when releasing it.
Variations
- Spicy - add double or triple the amount of Thai chili flakes.
- Deluxe - add other kinds of shellfish to the mix and some potatoes, corn, and a couple of boiled eggs to soak up some flavor.
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Here is the instant pot I like to use. It doesn't take to much space and is really easy to use. Buying it, using our affiliate link helps support our website.
Storage
Seafood doesn't store well. We ate this as soon as it came out of the pot. I wouldn't recommend keeping it for more than a day or 2 to be safe. When in doubt, throw it out is a good rule of thumb.
FAQ
Taste is subjective, my wife loves blue crab. I prefer crab legs, whichever you like is what I recommend.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with [this recipe]:
Easy Instant Pot Spicy Crab
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1-2 pounds Crab Fresh
- 1 Cup Crab Boil
- 2 tablespoon Pepper Flakes Thai pepper flakes are what we used.
- 4 Limes Cut into wedges for garnish
Instructions
- Place the trivet in the instant pot.
- Add enough water to cover the crabs and heat to boiling on the sauté setting with the vent open.
- Once boiling, Add in the crabs and cover for a few minutes to kill the crabs.
- Carefully empty all but enough water to steam the crabs.
- Hit cancel on the instant pot and then pressure and close the vent.
- Allow to cook for the programmed time and then carefully open the vent and let all the steam out.
- Carefully remove the crab using the trivet and serve with a Thai dipping sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Food safety
We sometimes take for granted that we have years (or decades) of cooking experience, that the average visitor may not.
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
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