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The 70 Year-Old Woman Behind Singapore’s Beloved Chili Crab Dish

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The 70 Year-Old Woman Behind Singapore's Beloved Chili Crab Dish

Chili crab, or mud crabs cooked in savory tomato and chili sauces with eggs, is a popular Singaporean cuisine. It all started with an accident, as so many great innovations do. Cher Yam Tian received a request from her husband Lim Choon Ngee, a police officer who enjoyed fishing and gathering mud crabs on the seashore, more than 70 years ago: might she try something else instead of steaming the crabs?

As a result, she stir-fried the crabs in tomato sauce. Her husband felt it was tasty but a little too sweet, so he suggested she add some chilli to the sauce. According to Dr. Leslie Tay, the famed Singaporean cuisine blog ieatishootipost, this is the story.

Ms Cher died on Wednesday at the age of 90 in Singapore. According to local media, she suffered a lung infection that progressed to pneumonia. Soon after, tributes began to flood in, honouring the originator of what has now become a world-renowned dish, beloved in Singapore and routinely listed among the most delectable dishes anywhere.

Ms Cher cooked the dish for family and friends, and it was such a hit that she began selling it on a push cart. It was the year 1950. She referred to it as chili crab.

chili crab

Six years later, she moved to a small shanty illuminated by hurricane lamps, until the Lims founded Palm Beach Seafood in 1963. The palm trees that bordered the surrounding shore inspired the name.

Hooi Kok Wai, a prominent Singaporean chef, later updated the dish by adding eggs and sambal, a combination comprised of chilli peppers and shrimp paste.

And this is the modern-day chili crab that Singaporeans adore: stir-fried crab floating in a rich, sweet-and-sour sauce, generally served over fried or steamed mantou.

“The eggs thicken and flavor the sauce,” Dr Tay told the BBC.

As popular as the meal is to Singaporeans now, culinary experts believe there was nothing exactly like it when Ms Cher first experimented with it.

“When someone creates an ambitious dish, it piques people’s interest. They eat it because it is a memorable dish. “These are flavors you remember,” said KF Seetoh, a Singaporean food critic who considers Ms Cher a “culinary icon.” “of the country.

“She devised a dish that soared above the rest. It is the most well-known seafood dish in the area.”

chili crab

Mr Tay also believes that chili crab, along with the ubiquitous chicken rice, are the two dishes for which Singapore is most recognized on a global scale.

In a country with a dazzling diversity of food from several cultures, that takes some doing. Not to mention the expensive price tag: a meal of chili crab in Singapore typically starts at roughly S$80 (£50; US$60), depending on weight and variation.

“Getting Singapore and chili crab on the map is quite an accomplishment,” he said. “Nothing like this is planned. Nobody says, I’m going to develop a dish and take over the world.”

Dr Tay initially met Ms Cher in 2009 in order to learn more about the dish’s history. This followed Malaysia’s previous tourism minister Ng Yen Yen’s allegation that chili crab was one of several Malaysian dishes incorrectly attributed to foreign countries. Singaporeans are still outraged by the remark.

“She was a little irritated that somebody would make such statements,” Dr Tay recounted of the “spritely lady” in her 70s. “‘I was the one who came up with it,’ she explained. She considered it as something she gave to Singapore culture.”

The gastronomy of Singapore and Malaysia, which were previously part of the same country, reflects their long-standing rivalry. Forget about territorial claims or economic difficulties – there are few things that can enrage individuals on both sides like food, especially when it comes to claiming cuisines shared by both countries.

Dr Tay’s dismissal of Ms Ng’s statements as “ludicrous assertions” is an example. He insists that, while other locales may claim to provide chilli crab, Singapore’s version is unique.

“Ms Cher was the one who got everything started. When you visit Singapore and order chilli crab, you will only get one version.”

Chili crab, in his opinion, is a “wonderful Singapore food” and a cultural icon.

Dr Tay describes Ms Cher as an innovator, noting that she invented other well-known Singaporean cuisines such as tao you prawns (prawns cooked in caramelised black soya sauce) and sotong you tiao (squid fritters).

These dishes, along with the original chili crab, are still offered at the 1,000-seat Roland Restaurant, which is owned by her sons Roland Lim, 65, and Richard Lim, 60. Palm Beach was sold in 1985, and Roland Restaurant was established in 2000 after Roland took over and renamed his godfather’s eatery.

“The chili crab sauce is still a family secret today. I couldn’t get anything from them “With a giggle, Dr Tay stated.

Would people still be eating chili crab in 30 years? Mr Seetoh thinks absolutely, because the meal has been around for seven decades and is still popular.

“If you pass 50 years, people will eat it indefinitely, unless you run out of crabs.”

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