Chilli Crab at Your Favourite Seafood Restaurants
The wildly popular CHILLI CRAB, unofficially- but widely-accepted national dish of Singapore, traces its illustrious history from a humble past. In the 1950s, an aspiring businesswoman put up a hawker stall right on the seashore, where she spent her days toiling from night till the early hours of the morning, lighted only by a kerosene lamp. Perhaps you were wondering what made her stall so special? No, it’s not the kerosene lamp. What made her business so historic were live crabs in a zesty chilli-spiked gravy, the first version of the Singapore chilli crab.
Real estate development has erased the original stall, but the culinary trail it blazed will remain forever. Nothing though has changed in the savoury goodness that comes with the preparation of chilli crab. Chilli crab can be found anywhere there is Malaysian and Singaporean food. But for those who may be put off by the ‘hot’ name – worry not for chilli crab is not a very spicy preparation.
The crabs are stir fried in a chilli sauce, though the chef first has to steam or lightly fry it in ginger before this. The crab’s shell is also cracked partially for it to be eaten more easily, and also for the flavours of the sauce to seep in. Usually, the crabs are garnished with cilantro.
Nowadays, the dish has many incarnations – some are packed with fresh spices, some are sweet-sour with tomato, others are ribboned with beaten egg, and others carry the sting of chilli oil. Beware, each dish is to be tackled with gusto – plus a nutcracker for the shell, and some bread to savour every last drop of the slightly spicy sauce. Breads are commonly served with chilli crabs to mop up the sauce: steamed or fried mantou, French loaves, toasted sliced bread. Plain white rice may be eaten with chilli crabs too.
Another popular Singaporean way to prepare crab is the BLACK PEPPER CRAB. Instead of chilli paste, hard-shell crabs are cooked in a gravy made with black pepper. Many locals and tourists though favour the black pepper crab over the chilli crab, mainly because of its somewhat drier and more aromatic nature. A new trend is to mix the crab with jackfruit sauce. Despite this popularity, the dish was not nominated for Singapore’s National Food. Black pepper crab started becoming popular in the 1980s, and now most crustacean-themed restaurants offer crabs stir-fried with black peppercorns along with chilli crab.
SEAFOOD RESTAURANTS
Venture and explore other seafood specialties. You may want to indulge in a dim sum fest all day. If dim sum cannot sate your craving, sample mouth-watering dishes from seafood restaurants. Lobsters, crayfish and crabs typically line the menu in seafood restaurants. Also, you may be in for some authentic ambience, as some restaurants offer the ‘Tapino’ dining style.
HUNGRY NOW FOR SINGAPOREAN FOOD? Check out these items for a mouth-watering feast: Seafood Express, Seafood Dishes Delivery. Also, try Seafood Restaurants, Dim Sum Restaurant for your seafood pig out! Bon appetit!
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