chilli crab

{{Infobox food

| name = Chilli crab

| image = Chilli crab-02.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = A plate of chilli crab

| alternate_name =

| country = Malaysia, Singapore

| region =

| national_cuisine = Malaysia, Singapore

| creator = Cher Yam Tian (Singapore's version)

| course =

| type = Seafood

| served = Hot, with a side of mantou

| main_ingredient = Crab, chilli, egg

| variations = Black pepper crab

| calories =

| other =

}}

Chilli crab ({{zh|t=辣椒螃蟹|p=làjiāo pángxiè}}; Malay: ketam cabai, ketam cili) is a Southeast Asian seafood dish that is widely associated with the cuisines of both Malaysia and Singapore.{{Cite web |title=Singapore and Malaysia have claimed these 4 dishes. We get to the bottom of the food fights|url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/singapore-malaysia-chilli-crab-bak-kut-teh-nasi-lemak-cendol-3436971 |access-date=5 May 2023|language=en|date=2023|website=CNA|author-last1=Neo|author-first1=Chai Chin|author-last2=Lee|author-first2=June}} The widely known version of chili crab today could be traced back to the 1950s in Malaysia and Singapore. Mud crabs are commonly used and are stir-fried in a semi-thick, sweet, and savoury tomato-and-chilli-based sauce.

Origins

The Portuguese introduced chili pepper to Malacca in the 16th century. Before chili peppers, peppercorn was used by the Malays to add heat and spice to their meals.{{Cite book|last=Arokiasamy|first=Christina|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k2KrDQEACAAJ|title=The Malaysian Kitchen|date=2017|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=9780544810020}} The earlier version of the dish known as ketam balado, is a drier version cooked in balado, a type of hot and spicy mixture originating from Minang cuisine, of West Sumatra, Indonesia.{{efn| name=Chili Crab|As cited from the article, '“ketam balado”, cooked Minangkabau-style by MasterChef Malaysia contestant Rosemah Ibrahim. (Balado is a spice mixture in Minang cuisine from West Sumatra that is eaten with all kinds of protein.) Ketam balado has been around for generations'.}} Berlada is a spice mixture in Malaysian cuisine that is eaten with all kinds of vegetables and protein.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

=20th century=

The origins of the most commonly known version of chili crab today could be traced back to the 1950s in Singapore and Malaysia. Cher Yam Tian and her husband Lim Choo Ngee{{Cite web |title=Singapore's Best Chilli Crab Is in a 60-Year-Old Public Housing Complex |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/ypew57/singapores-best-chilli-crab-is-in-a-60-year-old-public-housing-complex |access-date=15 April 2022 |website=www.vice.com |date=28 October 2016 |language=en}} began selling stir-fried crabs mixed with bottled chilli and tomato sauce from a pushcart since 1956. This was an improvised recipe; the original one did not involve bottled chilli sauce.{{Cite news |date=23 June 1996 |title=40 good years dishing up chilli crabs |page=5 |work=The Straits Times |url=http://newspapers.nl.sg/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19960623.2.80.9.2.aspx |url-status=live |access-date=15 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925221018/http://newspapers.nl.sg/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19960623.2.80.9.2.aspx |archive-date=25 September 2013}} 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 Wai in the 1960s, one of four famous Singapore chefs during the era.{{Cite web|title=Where To Eat Chilli Crab In Singapore|url=https://guide.michelin.com/sg/en/article/dining-out/chilli-crab-singapore-michelin-guide-restaurants|access-date=13 April 2021|website=MICHELIN Guide|language=en-SG}}

Weng Fung Seafood Restaurant in the island of Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia was first to offer a chili crab dish in Malaysia since 1958. Weng Fung was established as a Hainanese coffee store in the 1920s. In the 1950s, the second generation converted the coffee store into a seafood restaurant and added a chili crab dish to their menu, with the dish still being served today in the establishment.

Description

Chilli crab sauce is described as "sensuous" and "sweet, yet savoury", with a "fluffy texture".{{Cite web |title=Chilli Crab |url=http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/browse/dining/signature-dishes/chilli-crab.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514235239/http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/browse/dining/signature-dishes/chilli-crab.html |archive-date=14 May 2013 |publisher=YourSingapore |access-date=15 April 2013}} Mud crabs (Scylla serrata) 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 buns, which are used to scoop up the sauce.{{Cite web |date=29 October 2014 |title=Chilli crab, mantou wow MasterChef Australia's George Calombaris in Singapore {{!}} Singapore Showbiz - Yahoo Entertainment Singapore |url=https://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/blogs/singapore-showbiz/chilli-crab--mantou-wow-masterchef-australia-s-george-calombaris-in-singapore-150005273.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029043024/https://sg.entertainment.yahoo.com/blogs/singapore-showbiz/chilli-crab--mantou-wow-masterchef-australia-s-george-calombaris-in-singapore-150005273.html |archive-date=29 October 2014 |access-date=11 July 2020}}

Cultural impact

CNN Go listed chilli crab as one of the "world's 50 most delicious foods", at Number 35.CNN Go [http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/eat/worlds-50-most-delicious-foods-067535 World's 50 most delicious foods] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008014820/http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/eat/worlds-50-most-delicious-foods-067535 |date=8 October 2011 }} 21 July 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2011 The Michelin Guide dedicates a page to chilli crab on their website.

The Amazing Race 25, The Amazing Race Asia 4, and The Amazing Race China 4 featured a task that required contestants to crack a specified amount of chilli crabs.{{Cite web |last=Field |first=Sonya |date=29 November 2014 |title='The Amazing Race' season 25, episode 9 recap: Committing race suicide |url=https://www.hypable.com/the-amazing-race-season-25-episode-9-recap/ |access-date=4 April 2021 |publisher=Hypable}} Chilli crab was also featured on the Netflix TV series Street Food in season 1.{{Cite news |last=Tan |first=John |date=25 April 2019 |title=Local putu piring stall featured in new Netflix show Street Food |publisher=SPH Digital News |agency=The New Paper |url=https://tnp.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/makan/local-putu-piring-stall-featured-new-netflix-show-street-food |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729090100/https://www.tnp.sg/lifestyle/makan/local-putu-piring-stall-featured-new-netflix-show-street-food |archive-date=29 July 2020 |access-date=29 July 2020}}

Ketam berlada has been recognized as Malaysia's Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.{{Cite web |title=Objek Warisan Tidak Ketara|url=https://www.heritage.gov.my/objek/objek-warisan-tidak-ketara.html |access-date=5 May 2023}}