Another Singapore dish has been ranked by the controversial food guide TasteAtlas, and this time, it’s our beloved chilli crab being featured.
In an Instagram post on June 13, the online food and travel guide ranked the dish at 9th place on its “10 best crab dishes” list.
TasteAtlas calls chilli crab Singapore’s national dish and describes it as a stir-fried crab covered in a “succulent, spicy sauce”.
The guide further explains that the dish originated as a street food item in the 1950s, when a woman named Cher Yam Tian modified her stir-fried crab recipe by adding bottled chilli sauce to the dish.
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Meanwhile, topping the list is gejang, a raw marinated crab dish from South Korea.
She-crab soup from Southern USA ranks second, followed by Maryland crab cakes from the US state of Maryland in third.
Other Asian dishes on the list include bun rieu from Vietnam (No. 7) and kepiting saus padang from Indonesia (No. 10).
The remaining dishes are casquinhas de siri from Brazil (No. 4), dungeness crab cake from the US state of Washington (No. 5), stone crab claws from the US state of Florida (No. 6) and pastel de jaiba from Santiago, Chile (No. 8).
However, on TasteAtlas’ website, chilli crab and pastel de jaiba have switched places, with chilli crab ranked at No. 8 and pastel de jaiba at No. 9. AsiaOne has reached out to TasteAtlas to verify the rankings.
On the website, they also spotlighted Jumbo Seafood as the “most iconic” place to enjoy chilli crab in Singapore.
In the comments section of the Instagram post, netizens expressed mixed views on the rankings.
One, who claims to be Korean, said he believes Singapore’s national dish was ranked too low.
“Even as a Korean, I think chilli crab deserves a higher spot than ninth [place],” he wrote.
While several agreed with him, others in the comments begged to differ, with one saying: “As another Korean, I personally disagree.”
Another commenter, who claimed to be Singaporean, wrote: “As a Singaporean, I like the Korean one more.”
Some were also disappointed that no Chinese or Japanese dishes made the list.
One pointed out: “No Cantonese and Zhenjiangnese crab dishes on this chart is unbelievably ridiculous. Chinese cuisines and Japanese cuisines treat crabs the most delicately.”
Another said that not having Shanghainese crab roe noodles on the list is a “hate crime”.
While gejang has been gaining in popularity, it can carry certain risks, so diners should be careful when consuming it.
For instance, in September 2022, one Singaporean woman got an allergic reaction after trying the dish in South Korea.
In the midst of her meal, she began experiencing breathing difficulties and an itchy throat. Later, her lips began to swell.
During another incident, Hong Kong-born popstar Jackson Wang had to cancel a fan-sign event in South Korea because he had gotten food poisoning after eating gejang.
Past controversies
TasteAtlas, which calls itself an “encyclopedia of flavours”, derive its food rankings based on the ratings of their audience.
On its website, it shared that it uses a “series of mechanisms” that recognise real users, and ignore bots, nationalist or local patriotic ratings.
Their rankings have caused some controversy over the past few years.
Previously, in TasteAtlas’ “best sandwiches in the world” list, the guide listed kaya toast as a sandwich from Singapore, which made Malaysians unhappy.
Some Malaysians had declared a “food war”, while others accused Singapore of “not having an identity”.
In another incident, TasteAtlas said Malaysia’s roti canai was the best-rated bread in the whole world, but recommended Singaporean eatery Mr and Mrs Mohgan as the number one place to try the dish.
Coming back to chilli crab, in a separate list, TasteAtlas listed Mahesh Lunch Home in Mumbai, India as the 9th best place in the world to enjoy the dish.
Mahesh Lunch Home’s rendition isn’t even the same chilli crab Singaporeans know and love. Instead of the crab being doused in sweet and spicy chilli crab gravy, the crustacean is instead cooked in spices, garlic and chilli.
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