Singaporean noodles used to be a street food and late-nigh dish. Nowadays it has become one of the most popular first courses in the Chinese restaurants. The way of cooking it is very similar to the classic rice noodle stir-fry with meat and vegetables. But what makes the Singaporean noodles special is the curry flavor, a typical southeast Asian kick!

THE STORY OF THE SINGAPOREAN NOODLES

Although it is called Singaporean noodles, this dish was originated from Hong Kong.

Legend says that it was invented by a vendor in the Dai Pai Dong, group of stalls opening in the night markets selling street food and midnight snacks. One day a rich businessman stopped by at a stall and asked for a quick bite. At that time, it was already the time to close for the day, the vendor had little ingredients left. So, he decided to do a spontaneous stir-fry dish using whatever left: some barbecue pork strips, shrimps, egg, bean sprouts, rice noodles and curry powder. Turned out that this randomly stir-fried noodle dish managed to surprise the hungry customer! He insisted to know the name of the dish as he had never had it elsewhere before. The vendor reacted quickly and smartly in the emergency and popped out “Singaporean noodles”.

Nowadays the Singaporean noodles has gone far beyond the Dai Pai Dong. It has become one of most popular dishes in Hong Kong style caffè (Cha Chaan Teng). So as in the Cantonese restaurants overseas.

MY RECENT EXPERIENCE AND MY RECIPE OF THE SINGAPOREAN NOODLES

My recent experience perfectly matches the spirit of the tale of the Singaporean noodles: unexpected and unforgettable!

My family was in quarantine in December for being in direct contact to a confirmed Covid case. Confinement at home means that I had to make the best of whatever was available in hand. Opening my fridge, I found this unexpected quarantine left us not much choice: two carrots, one box of bean sprouts, a bag of frozen shrimps, a pack of rice noodles and lots of onions. Since I still have a good supply of curry paste and powder in the pantry, I couldn’t think of other better dish to prepare but the Singaporean noodles!

In the original recipe, the barbecue pork, leek and some bell peppers were necessary to make a Singaporean noodle. But since this time, I made this dish in an unexpected situation, these classic ingredients were missing. But what I can assure you is that the taste is still great!

SINGAPOREAN NOODLES 星洲炒米

Recipe by Sasha WangCourse: First courseCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Media

Servings

3

persons

Preparation

20

minutes

Cooking

10

minutes

Singaporean noodles used to be a street food and late-nigh dish. Nowadays it has become one of the most popular first courses in the Chinese restaurants. The way of cooking it is very similar to the classic rice noodle stir-fry with meat and vegetables. But what makes the Singaporean noodles special is the curry flavor, a typical southeast Asian kick!

INGREDIENTS

• Rice noodles: 150g

• Bean sprouts: 100g

• Onion: 1/2

• Carrot: 1

• Eggs: 1

• Shrimps: 100g

• Yellow curry paste: 5g

• Soy sauce: 3 tbsp

• Dark soy sauce: 1 tbsp

• Oyster sauce: 1 tbsp

• Yellow curry powder: a little

• White pepper ground: a little

• Salt: a little bit

• Sunflower oil

Preparation

• Cut the onion and the carrot into julienne.
• Soak the rice noodles in steaming hot water for 10 minutes. Take them out and lay them in a flat plate to dry. Do not rinse under cold water.
• Marinate the shrimps with 1 tbsp of soy sauce and a little bit of white pepper ground.
• Put the yellow curry paste, rest soy sauce, dark soy sauce and oyster sauce in a bowl. Mix them well.
• Heat up a wok with sunflower oil. Put the shrimps into the wok and stir-fry them for 1 minute. Take them out once cooked.
• Put the carrot and onion into the wok and stir-fry them for 1 minute. Then add in the bean sprouts and stir-fry for another minute.
• Push the ingredients in the wok aside. Make a scramble egg in the wok.
• When the egg is almost cooked, add in some salt and mix everything together.
• Add in the rice noodles. Then immediately add the sauce prepared in step 4. Gently mix the sauce with all the ingredients inside the wok.
• Add back the shrimps. Taste to see if you are content with the flavor. Add in some curry powder to highlight the curry flavor if needed.
• Garnish some coriander and serve.

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