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 a ...
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 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 ...
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-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, 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 fu ...
, 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 ...
buns, which are used to scoop up the sauce.
Cultural impact
''
CNN Go'' 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 ...
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 s ...
'', ''
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'' 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 consump ...
'' in season 1.
See also
*
Black pepper crab
*
List of crab dishes
This is a list of crab dishes. Crabs live in all the world's oceans, in fresh water, and on land, are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton and are arthropoda and have a single pair of claws. Crab meat is the meat found within a crab. It i ...
*
List of seafood dishes
This is a list of notable seafood dishes. Seafood dishes are food dishes which use seafood (fish, shellfish or seaweed) as primary ingredients, and are ready to be served or eaten with any needed preparation or cooking completed. Many fish o ...
*
Oyster sauce crab
*
Crab in Padang sauce
References
{{Singaporean cuisine, state=collapsed
Singaporean cuisine
Malaysian cuisine
Crab dishes
National dishes