Chilli Crab and Black Pepper Crab: Dining Out in Seafood Restaurants

The all-popular CHILLI CRAB, despite its wide renown among locals and tourists alike, originated from, uh, 'muddy' beginnings. More than 5 decades ago, an entrepreneur set up a hawker stall on the seashore, and here she spent her time everyday from dusk till the wee hours of the morning cooking by the light of a kerosene lamp. And her specialty? No, it's not the fact that she was on a beach and using obsolete kerosene lighting. This setup made a mark in history, becoming a 'shrine' if you will, because the first chilli crab sprang from this humble origin.

Real estate development has erased the original stall, but the culinary trail it blazed will remain forever. As in the old formula, mud crabs are still commonly used and are stir-fried in a semi-thick, sweet and savoury tomato and chilli based sauce. 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. Also, the shells are cracked a little prior to cooking, to facilitate eating later. It is commonly garnished with coriander leaves.

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. All are meant to be attacked 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 seafood restaurants offer crabs stir-fried with black peppercorns along with chilli crab.

SEAFOOD RESTAURANTS

Enjoy other seafood specialties at local restaurants. 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.

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