Skip to content

Crayfish Powder substitute

Best substitute

Ground dried shrimp

Use the same amount as the crayfish powder you are replacing

Best for egusi soup

Close match

Ground dried shrimp is effectively the same product under a different name and swaps 1:1, and you will find it in Chinese, Latin American and Southeast Asian shops as dried shrimp or camaron seco. Otherwise use a teaspoon of anchovy paste, or half a teaspoon of shrimp paste fried in the oil first, per tablespoon of crayfish. A bouillon cube with a pinch of MSG replaces the savoury hit but none of the marine aroma, and you must cut the recipe's salt right back if you use it.

Other crayfish powder substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

Substitutes for Crayfish Powder with ratios

  1. 2Anchovy paste or ground dried anchovies

    Taste and texture differ

    Use 1 tsp anchovy paste, or 2 tsp ground dried anchovy, for every 1 tbsp crayfish

    Cured or dried small fish delivering a comparable savoury depth from a different direction.

    What changes
    Best for
    stews and soups, tomato-based sauces, seasoning greens, jollof rice

    It supplies the savoury backbone convincingly, which is the main job. The flavour arrives differently: oilier, saltier and more distinctly fishy in a Mediterranean way, and it darkens the sauce slightly. Because it is much saltier than crayfish, cut the recipe's salt and any bouillon and taste before adding more. Dried anchovies, sold for Korean and Japanese stock, ground fine, are closer than the paste.

  2. 3Fermented shrimp paste (belacan, bagoong or kapi)

    Taste and texture differ

    Use ½ to 1 tsp for every 1 tbsp crayfish, fried in the oil first

    Concentrated fermented shrimp, used in small amounts.

    What changes
    Best for
    soups and stews, pepper sauce, vegetable dishes

    Very effective in small quantities, because it is far more concentrated than crayfish powder and carries a genuine shellfish identity. It is also distinctly funkier and more fermented, so a soup will read faintly Southeast Asian if you use too much. Fry it in the hot oil for thirty seconds before adding anything else, which mellows the raw pungency and spreads the flavour through the dish.

  3. 4Smoked dried fish, flaked

    Taste and texture differ

    Use 2 tbsp flaked fish for every 1 tbsp crayfish

    Stockfish, smoked mackerel or smoked catfish, the traditional partner ingredient rather than a copy.

    What changes
    Best for
    egusi and ogbono soup, okra soup, pepper soup, vegetable soups

    This is what a Nigerian cook would reach for, and it is genuinely good, but it changes the character rather than matching it. Smoked fish gives depth, body and actual pieces to chew, where crayfish gives a sharp marine top note that runs through the whole pot. A soup seasoned this way tastes smokier and rounder, and slightly less bright. Soak stockfish until pliable before use.

  4. 5Bouillon cube plus a pinch of MSG

    Taste and texture differ

    Use ½ cube plus ¼ tsp MSG for every 1 tbsp crayfish

    The pragmatic option that most cooks abroad actually use.

    What changes
    Best for
    stews, jollof rice, soups where crayfish was one seasoning among several

    Being straightforward about it: this replaces the savouriness and nothing else. There is no marine aroma, no shellfish character and no texture, and it brings a lot of salt with it, so pull the recipe's salt right back and taste before seasoning further. It works better than leaving the pot unseasoned, and in a heavily spiced stew with plenty of pepper and tomato most people will not identify what is missing.

  5. 6Ground dried shiitake or mushroom powder with a pinch of seaweed

    Taste and texture differ

    Use 1 tbsp mushroom powder plus ¼ tsp crumbled nori or dulse for every 1 tbsp crayfish

    The vegetarian and shellfish-free route, and the closest you can honestly get without seafood.

    What changes
    Best for
    vegetarian egusi and vegetable soups, cooking for a shellfish allergy, vegan West African dishes

    Dried mushroom powder gives real savoury depth and a pleasant earthiness, and a small amount of crumbled nori or dulse adds a faint sea note that mushrooms alone cannot. It is a good seasoning and it is not crayfish: the flavour is earthy and woody rather than sharp and marine. Add a little smoked paprika if the soup would otherwise have contained smoked fish too.

What is Crayfish Powder?

Crayfish Powder is whole dried shellfish ground to a coarse powder, also sold as ground crayfish or dried crayfish, and despite the name it is usually small dried shrimp rather than the freshwater crustacean; it is the main savoury seasoning in Nigerian and wider West African soups and stews, adding a marine, shrimpy depth in the background rather than heat.

Cooking tips

  • Buy whole dried crayfish and grind it yourself in short pulses. Pre-ground crayfish loses its aroma within weeks, and since aroma is essentially the whole contribution, a stale jar adds salt and grit and very little else.
  • Toast it briefly in a dry pan for thirty to sixty seconds before grinding, just until it smells strongly of shellfish. It wakes the flavour up noticeably and takes almost no time.
  • Add it in the last ten to fifteen minutes of a soup rather than at the beginning. Long boiling flattens the volatile marine aroma, which is why soups that have simmered for an hour with crayfish in from the start taste vaguely savoury rather than distinctly of crayfish.
  • It is already salty, so season the pot at the end. This applies to every substitute on this list too, and doubly so to bouillon cubes and anchovy paste, both of which will take a dish past the salt limit before you notice.
  • A tablespoon or two seasons a large pot of soup. More does not make the dish more delicious, it makes it smell aggressively of shrimp. Store it in the freezer in a well-sealed bag, both because the oils go stale and because otherwise the smell will find its way into everything in the cupboard.

Frequently asked questions

Is Nigerian crayfish actually crayfish?

Usually not, despite the name. What is sold as crayfish in Nigerian and West African markets is generally a small dried shrimp or prawn rather than the freshwater crustacean that the word means elsewhere. That is genuinely useful to know, because it means dried shrimp from a Chinese, Thai or Latin American grocery is not an approximation of the ingredient, it is close to being the same ingredient.

Can I use dried shrimp instead of crayfish powder?

Yes, at 1:1, and it is the best substitute by a clear margin. Grind whole dried shrimp in a spice grinder in short pulses until coarse. Asian and Latin American dried shrimp tends to be a little saltier and sweeter with a stronger prawn smell, so start with slightly less than the recipe says and taste, then hold back on the salt at the end.

Can I leave crayfish out of egusi soup?

You can, and the soup will still work, but it will taste noticeably flat and unfinished rather than obviously missing seafood. Crayfish is doing a background savoury job, so the loss shows up as a lack of depth rather than an absent flavour. Replace it with dried shrimp, a teaspoon of anchovy paste or half a bouillon cube with a pinch of MSG, and add a little extra salt at the end.

What is a vegetarian substitute for crayfish?

Ground dried shiitake or a general mushroom powder, about a tablespoon per tablespoon of crayfish, plus a quarter teaspoon of crumbled nori or dulse for a faint sea note. That combination gives genuine savoury depth, which is most of what crayfish contributes. Be realistic though: it tastes earthy rather than marine, so the soup will be good without being a copy. A little smoked paprika helps if the recipe also called for smoked fish.

How much crayfish powder should I use in a pot of soup?

One to two tablespoons for a large family-sized pot, added in the last ten to fifteen minutes. It is a seasoning, not a bulk ingredient, and the temptation to add more usually comes from using a stale jar that has lost its aroma. If your crayfish smells faint rather than strongly of shellfish, replace it rather than doubling the quantity.

Is crayfish powder safe if someone has a shellfish allergy?

No. Dried crayfish and dried shrimp are shellfish and are a genuine allergen, as are shrimp paste and any dried prawn product, so none of those are options for someone with a shellfish allergy. Use the mushroom powder and seaweed route, or a plain bouillon, and check the label on any bouillon cube or seasoning blend, since many contain shrimp or crayfish extract.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Need a different ingredient?

Browse the full index, or the rest of this category.

Browse all substitutesMore seafood