Chilli crab (; Malay: ''Ketam cili'') is a Southeast Asian

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

dish that originated in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

in the 1960s. It is widely associated as the national cuisines of both Malaysia and Singapore.

Mud crabs Mud crab may refer to any crab that lives in or near mud, such as: *''Scylla serrata'' *''Scylla tranquebarica'' *''Scylla paramamosain'' *''Scylla olivacea'' *Members of the family Panopeidae, such as '' Panopeus herbstii'' *Members of the fam ...

are commonly used and are

stir-fried Stir frying () is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and t ...

in a semi-thick, sweet and savoury

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

-and-

chilli Chili or chilli may refer to: Food * Chili pepper, the spicy fruit of plants in the genus ''Capsicum''; sometimes spelled "chilli" in the UK and "chile" in the southwestern US * Chili powder, the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties ...

-based sauce.

Origins

In 1956, Cher Yam Tian and her husband Lim Choo Ngee began selling stir-fried crabs mixed with bottled chilli and tomato sauce from a pushcart. This was an improvised recipe; the original one did not involve bottled chilli sauce. A successful business selling this dish prompted the establishment of a restaurant,

Palm Beach Seafood Palm Beach Seafood Restaurant is a Singaporean restaurant that first began along Upper East Coast Road in Singapore, with its owners credited with inventing and developing the popular local dish, the Singaporean chili crab. Founded as a pushc ...

, along Upper East Coast Road. The version most widespread today was created by Hooi Kok Wah in the 1960s, one of four famous Singapore chefs during the era. In September 2009,

Ng Yen Yen Ng Yen Yen (; born 10 April 1946) is a Malaysian politician who had served in the Cabinet of Malaysia as Minister of Women, Family and Community Developmment from 2008 to 2009 and Minister of Tourism from 2009 to 2013. Her appointment as a ful ...

, Malaysia's Tourism Minister, claimed that, among other dishes, "chilli crab is Malaysian", accusing "other countries" of "hijacking our food".

Description

Chilli crab sauce is described as "sensuous" and "sweet, yet savoury", with a "fluffy texture". Mud crabs (''

Scylla serrata ''Scylla serrata'' (often called mud crab or mangrove crab, although both terms are highly ambiguous, and black crab) is an ecologically important species of crab found in the estuaries and mangroves of Africa, Australasia, and Asia. In their ...

'') are the most common type of crabs used for the dish, although other species of crab can also be used. It is commonly served with a side of either fried or steamed

mantou ''Mantou'' (), often referred to as Chinese steamed bun, is a white and soft type of steamed bread or bun popular in northern China. Folk etymology connects the name ''mantou'' to a tale about Zhuge Liang. Description ''Mantou'' are typ ...

buns, which are used to scoop up the sauce.

Cultural impact

CNN Go CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...

'' listed chilli crab as one of the "world's 50 most delicious foods", at Number 35.

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

inspectors dedicate a page to chilli crab on their website. ''

The Amazing Race 25 ''The Amazing Race 25'' is the twenty-fifth season of the American reality television show ''The Amazing Race''. It featured eleven teams of two competing in a race around the world. The season premiered on CBS on September 26, 2014, with the se ...

'', ''

The Amazing Race Asia 4 ''The Amazing Race Asia 4'' is the fourth season of ''The Amazing Race Asia'', a reality television game show based on the American series ''The Amazing Race''. The fourth installment of the show features several teams of two, each with a pre-exis ...

'', and ''

The Amazing Race China 4 ''The Amazing Race China 4'' () is the fourth installment of the Chinese reality television series ''The Amazing Race China'' (). Based on the American reality TV series ''The Amazing Race'', it features eight teams of two in a race around the wo ...

'' featured a task that required contestants to crack a specified amount of chilli crabs. Chilli crab was also featured on the Netflix TV series ''

Street Food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...

'' in season 1.

References

{{Singaporean cuisine, state=collapsed Singaporean cuisine Malaysian cuisine Crab dishes National dishes

Origins

Description

Cultural impact

See also

References