My chilli crab

I have a penchant for crabs. Chilli crabs, in particular. So you can imagine how my interest was piqued when I read in the papers that my beloved crab dish - spicy, tangy and succulent is now touted to have originated from Malaysia. They are thus calling it Malaysia’s dish, along with Hainanese chicken rice, laksa, bak kut teh and nasi lemak, all my favourites. Alamak, I say, how can like that??

After the initial knee-jerk reaction, I actually found this piece of claim rather cute and entertaining. True enough, The Sunday Times (20 Sept 09) reiterated with a list of 'Uniquely Singaporean' dishes like Hokkien mee, yu shen, minced meat noodles , etc. Where does it end then? My Malaysian friends also shake their heads in wonder.

In my humble opinion, food should bring people together regardless where it originates from. Wherever it goes, a little more is added to the dish depending on culture, lifestyle and availability of ingredients. Some cultures prefer their dishes spicy, some tweak the ingredients for a milder flavour while others develop new twists and snazzy versions to the dish.

My girlfriend who lives in New York has a well-thumbed and colourfully-tagged Singapore cook book I got her when I visited in 1993. She calls it her 'culinary bible' and swears by it to whip up Asian fare to the amazement and delight of her family and friends. I don't think they care whether the fragrant chicken rice or the mouthwatering rich satay peanut sauce she makes is truly Malaysian, uniquely Singaporean or even enchantingly Indonesian. All that matters is she makes the dishes with her heart and how good they taste pipping hot from the stove.

Incidentally, I also had the most memorable meatball spaghetti...... not in a cozy restaurant at a small Italian town but at Pier 39 of Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco. The world is so well connected that no one culture can claim total monopoly or patent rights to a dish anymore. There is hardly anything no one can replicate or even improve upon these days. So I think we should just let the dishes be as long as they bring people together. After all, being able to sit down and enjoy a meal together in these tumultuous times is already a blessing in itself.

Now, if you'd excuse me...... I need to go whip up some French Fries for my mid-afternoon snack!