Curry is one of the many favourites here in Malaysia. It’s also a go-to broth or ‘kuah’ to put on rice for anyone who wants a quick meal. There’s different types of curry such as chicken curry, beef curry, fish curry, lamb curry and so on. You can never go wrong with curry. Or can you?
Ever heard of crocodile curry? They say “don’t knock it until you’ve tried it” and that is true. One should always keep an open mind and try new things but this particular curry dish that’s making waves is also making people to wonder if it’s safe or halal.
Last week (Thursday, 17th March), a certain curry dish was posted on a Facebook group and got everyone talking. The post is a photo that shows a curry dish named ‘Crocodile Curry’ with a caption that is written in a style of a video game description at the end.
The caption reads, “A bowl of curry with crocodile’s meat. Commonly known as the C.C. The meat is cooked perfectly until it’s soft, making it easier to eat. Special : Increases cold resistance for the player. Decreases fire resistance for the current enemy. Effects lasts for 900 seconds.”
The Facebook post has since gained over 200 comments by netizens and they were surprised to say the least. Those who have never seen the dish were shocked and asked if the dish was really made out of crocodile meat. One Facebook user even shared some info on whether it’s halal to eat crocodile meat.
Despite the name and the way it looks, it’s not actually crocodile in the ‘Crocodile Curry’. The animal in the dish is actually an alligator gar. The alligator gar is a type of fish which bears no relation to alligators, but got its name due to its wide, crocodilian head and razor-sharp teeth. This particular type of fish is related to the bowfin.
There were actually netizens in the comment section on the Facebook post that knew exactly it was an alligator gar rather than an actual alligator or crocodile. Some of them assured everyone else that there is nothing to be alarmed about by sharing information about the alligator gar.
With a dish like that, you can’t necessarily blame anyone for mistaking it for an actual crocodile or alligator. It definitely got people talking though. Now knowing that it’s actually a type of fish, will you be trying the ‘Crocodile Curry’?
