Like many items on a Chinese-American menu, Singapore Noodles aren’t actually of the provenance that its name implies. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a dish called “Singapore Noodles” on a menu in most of Asia, much less in Singapore itself. So how did it get its name?
My best guess is that a creative chef was trying to recreate Hokkien Mee or Kerabu Bee (both dishes from the area) and they added curry powder because it’s a prominent flavor in the region’s cuisines. Instead of calling the creation something that Americans wouldn’t recognize, they went with the simple, exotic sounding solution of naming it after the region by which it was inspired.
So Singapore Noodles may not be a traditional dish, but it is a delicious one, and the spindly, vibrant, curry flavored impostor has found its way into the hearts of food lovers across the English speaking world. Growing up, it was my favorite dish from our local Chinese take-out and our standard order always consisted of Singapore Noodles (my favorite), Sweet and Sour Pork (step-dad’s favorite), Mongolian Beef (mom’s favorite), and Cashew chicken (sister’s favorite). Driven in part by my need to scratch a nostalgic itch, and in part by a desire to make awesome versions of each dish, I’ve created my takes on each one, which you can get to using the links above.
As you might expect in a dish this colorful, it does require a fair number of ingredients, but none of them should be too hard to find. I tried to stay true to my taste memory of this dish, but you can substitute out most of the vegetables and use proteins that work for you (beef, chicken, squid, and tofu are a few that come to mind).
The noodles for this dish are very thin rice noodles which are usually labeled rice vermicelli, bee hoon, or maifun. I’ve found that the best way to work with these, is to soak them in boiling water just long enough so that they aren’t brittle anymore. Once they’ve become flexible, you can rinse them in cold water and pull them apart so that they don’t stick together when you stir-fry them.
The proteins get marinated to infuse them with flavor and to lock in their juices with starch so that they don’t get dried out in the intense heat of the wok.
The sauce for my Singapore Noodles is a blend of chicken stock, fish sauce, and oyster sauce, which imparts a ton of umami into the noodles while keeping them from sticking into a clumpy mess. Finally, I like to stir-fry the curry powder together with the vegetables before adding the sauce, as the high heat helps to release the aromatic oils in the spices.
Because Singapore Noodles (or any stir-fry for that matter) come together very quickly, it’s imperative to have all the vegetables prepped and ready. Otherwise, your food is going burn while you’re running around your kitchen. I know it’s no fun having extra dishes to clean up, but this is one dish you want to set up like a cooking show, with all the ingredients prepped and in bowls so that they’re at hand when you need them.
Ingredients
- 160 grams rice vermicelli dried a.k.a. mai fun or bee hoon
For shrimp & pork
- 130 grams small shrimp peeled and deveined
- 130 grams pork loin sliced into strips
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon potato starch
For sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 3/4 cup
For eggs
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
For stir-fry
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 12 grams garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced 16
- 85 grams onion 1/2 medium, sliced
- 85 grams red bell pepper 1/2 pepper, sliced
- 85 grams green bell pepper 1/2 pepper, sliced
- 140 grams bamboo julienned
- 110 grams bean sprouts
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 2 scallions finely chopped, for garnish
Steps
- Put the noodles in a heat-proof tray or shallow bowl and cover with boiling water. Start separating the noodles with tongs or chopsticks and when the noodles are no longer brittle, drain and rinse them with cold water. Put the noodles back in the tray and cover with cold water, pulling them apart so that they don't stick together. Drain and set aside.
- Put the shrimp, pork, soy sauce, Shaoxing and potato starch in a bowl and mix well to combine. Let these marinate while you prepare everything else.
- In a small bowl, combine the fish sauce, oyster sauce, and chicken stock.
- Once you've prepped the vegetables for the stir-fry, heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat until very hot. Add a tablespoon of oil, and swirl to coat the pan. Add the egg, swirling, and then scrambling. Transfer the egg to a plate and set aside.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil, and then add the garlic and ginger. Fry until fragrant.
- Add the marinated shrimp and pork and stir-fry until the pork just loses its pink color (it doesn't have to be cooked all the way).
- Add the onion, red and green bell peppers, bamboo, and bean sprouts. Stir-fry, alternating between tossing the ingredients in the pan and stirring vigorously until the vegetables are a bright color.
- Add the curry powder and stir-fry until fragrant.
- Add the noodles and return the egg to the pan. Pour the sauce mixture over the noodles and use chopsticks or tongs to toss the noodles and evenly coat them with sauce. If the noodles start sticking, add a bit more water.
Garnish your Singapore Noodles with scallions and serve hot.
While I adore the softer Asian noodle dishes, there’s just something about the drier Singapore style noodles that makes my heart skip a beat. I’m a happy camper
As a follower of your blog for a the last year, I was a little taken aback at your description of Chinese American food as commonly full of “grease, sugar, and MSG”. As an Asian-American, my friends and I know that when we hear a description like that it usually means Chinese food from non-Chinese cooks or from a place in the American Midwest. If you live in U.S. areas that have a vibrant Chinese population and culture, places that serve food you describe probably would not lot last very long. It pains me that the perception of Chinese food… Read more »
I like your makeovers! It’s really the thing when cooking at home – you can use lots of fresh ingredients and less of the oil.
I think I’ve seen a similar dish using big flat rice noodles, lots of seafood (mainly squid and shrimp), beansprouts, and some other vegetables, with bits of fried egg scrambled throughout just like this recipe. Maybe they’re related?
As a follower of your blog for a the last year, I was a little taken aback at your description of Chinese American food as commonly full of “grease, sugar, and MSG”. As an Asian-American, my friends and I know that when we hear a description like that it usually means Chinese food from non-Chinese cooks or from a place in the American Midwest. If you live in U.S. areas that have a vibrant Chinese population and culture, places that serve food you describe probably would not lot last very long. It pains me that the perception of Chinese food… Read more »
I live in a large, densely populated city without a vibrant Chinese culture and there is a Chinese restaurant in every strip mall and next to every grocer, 9 in 10 are full of grease, sugar, salt and often MSG (less so since it has a stigma now).
The description isn’t a misrepresentation, just the food.
In fact, you can get Singapore noodles in just about every cheap diner (cha chaan teng, HK-style tea cafe) in Hong Kong. I would assume that’s where the dish originates from, even though it’s become popular as American-Chinese takeout food.
Now I’m going to crave this dish all day. We are not Asian and as Americans loving Asian food, this just calls our name, even if it’s only made in America.
Now I’m going to crave this dish all day. We are not Asian and as Americans loving Asian food, this just calls our name, even if it’s only made in America.
I know where you’re coming from being Japanese-American myself and seeing the liberties that restaurants take on “Japanese food.” However, I didn’t read the comment made as an attack against Chinese cuisine, but an observation on American Chinese cuisine — pepper steak, crab rangoon, beef broccoli, bourbon chicken (I adore!), General Tso’s chicken, etc. stuff you’d find at Panda Express.  I’m not associated with the blog in any way, so this is just my perception. This dish is on our rotation of meals at home since I love mai fun. Thanks for the tip on placing shrimp and pork in… Read more »
how many does the recipe serve?
This dish reminds me of my late grandfather! We had to get it for him every Sunday from his favorite Chinese restaurant. Thanks for sharing this recipe, looks great 🙂
You must have been reading my mind, I just had this dish last night and was betting I could find a recipe to cook at home. And here it is! Thanks so much, you are making my repertoire even more diverse!!
Anyone know what a good oyster sauce brand is? Most seem to have nothing to do with oysters and more to do with thickeners and faux flavoring.
It so delicious!
great post1 thnk you for sharing!
I’ll be saving this recipe. Whenever I have a craving for noodles at work, I always order Singapore noodles from the nearby restaurant. Today might be another one of those days–I just want to dig in to that first photo!
I’ll be saving this recipe. Whenever I have a craving for noodles at work, I always order Singapore noodles from the nearby restaurant. Today might be another one of those days–I just want to dig in to that first photo!
You beat us to it (once again!) These have been on our “to make” list for forever. I love them like nothing else available from Chinese take-out menus. The dash of curry powder and the heat make this dish for me. It’s even better cold the next day.
You beat us to it (once again!) These have been on our “to make” list for forever. I love them like nothing else available from Chinese take-out menus. The dash of curry powder and the heat make this dish for me. It’s even better cold the next day.
I’m still wondering what Singapore noodles taste like, even though I am from Singapore hehe… Your plate looks really good, and I like the touch of curry powder.
I become so hungry !
I’d still love to see what your version looks like!
While there are some all-natural brands of oyster sauce that don’t have MSG, I haven’t had any luck finding one that I like. You can actually make your own oyster sauce by drying oysters for about a week (or buy them dried), sautéing with garlic and ginger, then adding soy sauce and sugar and cooking down, and pureeing after the oysters soften.Â
It depends on whether you’re serving this as a main or as one of many dishes, but it should feed 2-3 comfortably as a main.Â
Interesting theory! This dish is also found in the UK, so I wonder if it went from Hong Kong to the UK, or the other way around.Â
How true…
I was curious when I saw Singapore noodles in the menu here in the US, cos there is definitely no Singapore noodles done this way in Singapore.
One of my favorite dishes. Yours looks delicious! So easy to make mush out of these noodles but yours  looks perfect
I haven’t had this dish since I was..well, in Singapore a few years back (when I say a few, that means more than 10 years ago). This gives me inspiration on what to cook for dinner tonight. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
I haven’t had this dish since I was…well, in Singapore a few years back (when I say a few, that means more than 10!). This gives me inspiration on what to cook for dinner tonight. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe 🙂
We tired your recipe, it was great! Â Thanks for sharing.
yes they do have these kind of noodles in Singapore. It’s called Sinchow mai fun which translates to singapore noodles. I dont know how come many singaporeans dont know this. Maybe their chinese is not very good..
Thanks for the oyster sauce recipe, Marc! I’ve also been having trouble finding MSG-free oyster sauce.
I was wondering how many people this recipe is for? I had saved it to make tonight, but have no idea how much to make. Thanks!
It should comfortably feed 4.
Yes, i done it for 4 people, and i can say everyone is satisfied 🙂
Thank you!!!
Yes, i done it for 4 people, and i can say everyone is satisfied 🙂
Thank you!!!
This was delicious, I’ll definitely be making it again – if only prawns weren’t so fiddly to de-vein. Only question I’ve got is, when do I add the egg back to the mix? I popped it in at the end, just to re-heat through but it got a bit lost in everything else.
This was delicious, I’ll definitely be making it again – if only prawns weren’t so fiddly to de-vein. Only question I’ve got is, when do I add the egg back to the mix? I popped it in at the end, just to re-heat through but it got a bit lost in everything else.Â
Nice catch! The egg is supposed to go back in when you add the noodles. They do get a bit lost, but they’re more for color and added protein.
I just finished your recipe and of course, I tasted it. It is excellent. At the beginning I was a bit afraid because of the quantity for the fish/oyster sauce but it is an amazing recipe.
Thank you Marc Matsumoto
Thanks a ton for this recipe! It tastes just like the one I crave from a local restaurant, but I can make it with less oil than they do. I also added some sambal oelek for extra heat. Delicious. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
Glad I found your site – great pics and a few recipes that I’ve been experimenting with myself… It will be nice to see how your interpretation compares. I’m optimistic. A question before I start… I go to the best Asian supermarket in Toronto (IMHO) – Toronto has one of the largest Asian populations outside of Asia, so we’re qualified… So yes… back to the supermarket. They have an incredible prepared foods section, and while I’m not a big fan of Singapore noodles, I got them last week for a change and fell in love with them again. I note… Read more »
Thanks for your note! As with many dishes, an “authentic” recipe for Singapore Noodles does not exist. I modelled this dish after the Singapore Noodles I ate growing up in Northern California, but if you find that local eateries in Toronto are including 5 spice, I say go for it! As for the mystery ingredient, you’re sure it wasn’t Chinese black cardamon? They’re much rounder and plumper than the Indian version. If you send me a photo it would help in identifying it.
Singapore noodles are actually not made in Singapore. They were created in the UK/US and have since become popular in Asia. So despite the name and yumminess, its not an “authentic” dish.
A fantastic recipe, even though I didn’t use any ginger (not a fan of it) and I will definitely make it again. Instead of using dried noodles and soaking them, several supermarkets sell ‘ready to wok’ noodles which make life so much easier.
here’s a link that compares several brands of oyster sauce: http://www.flavorandfortune.com/dataaccess/article.php?ID=158
I don’t have to order this anymore when I have a craving from the chinese restaurant next door. It is just like the one I crave, but even fresher tasting, and cheaper to do at home, plus it is so easy!
Singapore noodles does exist in singapore, though it is less commonly served now. Our version does not include the use of curry powder, but the rest of the ingredients are somewhat similar to what you are using. Just fyi, it is known as 星洲米粉in some of the more traditional eating places.
Thanks for sharing all these recipes, I really enjoy trying them out, and they taste great. 🙂
This was really yummy, but I doubled the broth because I was using much more noodles/meat/veggies but that turned out to be too much and the noodles became watery. Otherwise the flavor was spot on!