The Gullah Geechee contributions to Charleston and beyond are innumerable and incredible, from music to the arts to cuisine. Dishes like Hoppin’ John and shrimp and grits were born in the Gullah Geechee culture, and they have become an indelible part of the culinary landscape in the Lowcountry.
As National Geographic wrote in a 2023 story, “Gullah Geechee people brought rice farming and cultivation with them, having lived along the West African ‘rice coast’ from Senegal to Sierra Leone and beyond … Seafood is also a staple of the Gullah Geechee diet, with shrimp, crab, oysters and fish being essential components of many recipes.”
Anyone who has been lucky enough to eat the crab rice at the East Side’s Hannibal Kitchen’s — a perfect mix of crab meat, sauteed onion, bell peppers and white rice — has had a taste of heaven. While Hannibal’s version is the standard bearer for many — and rightfully so — these other Charleston versions are unmissable iterations of the classic dish.
Topped with a softie
The shito spicy crab rice is a standout on the menu at Bintü Atelier. Executive Chef Bintou N’Daw, a native of Senegal, serves her version with broken rice, stir fried with greens, yam and spicy shito (a Ghanaian, seafood-forward hot pepper sauce) paste with a soft-shell crab on top.
“This dish is my favorite. I love seafood, and I think crab is fun,” N’Daw said. “As a young girl, I used to play with crabs on the beach. To me, crab is a delicacy. My island in Senegal — we have a lot of crab, and we use crab as a seasoning. We put it in stocks, and it always ends up somewhere in a recipe.”…