Singapore Noodles
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
One of (not so many) restaurants we’ve found to be consistently good here in New Smyrna Beach serves Singapore Noodles and it's a consistent take-out favorite. As with anything we can’t stop craving, we decided to make it ourselves. Singapore Noodles are dry-rice noodles bathed in curry, garlic, and ginger and the recipe works with chicken, shrimp, or tofu; all three if you’re feeling adventurous! I tried to deep-dive into the origins of this dish and I found a lot of information but the consensus is the dish isn’t necessarily popular in Singapore and early suppliers of this style of noodle in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia were mostly Cantonese. The noodles might’ve spread among these Cantonese immigrants as a culinary exchange and the theory regarding the curry powder version — it was created in Hong Kong and spread in the west through migration. On the curry note, using hot curry powder with ingredients like paprika and chili powder will give the noodles a little kick but you can also use regular curry powder if you prefer.
Ingredients
2 tablespoon mirin cooking wine
2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoon fish sauce
2 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons high temp oil
8–10 ounces chicken, patted dry and cut into bite-size pieces
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
2 eggs, whisked with a fork, with ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 onion, sliced thin
1 carrot, shredded
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 bok choy, chopped, about 3 cups
1 fresh red chili pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons hot curry powder
6 ounces vermicelli rice noodles
½ teaspoon fine sea salt, and more to taste
1 teaspoon turmeric
¼ cup cilantro, torn, for serving
Preparation
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.
In a small bowl, add mirin, sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir to combine and set aside until step 9.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or large, high-sided frying pan over medium heat. Add ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt directly to the oil and swirl it around. Add freshly cracked black pepper. When the oil is hot, add the chicken. Stir the chicken cubes and flip them around until golden, about 5 or 6 minutes. Remove chicken from oil and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate. Turn off the heat and leave the wok or skillet to sit.
Whisk two eggs with ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
Add the onion to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-high and stir until onions are fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add carrots, bell pepper, bok choy, fresh chile pepper, and garlic. Continue stirring for a few minutes until veggies are slightly softened and wilted. Make a well in the center of the veggies. Add a drop of oil and pour in the eggs. Scramble them, chopping and moving them with the spatula, and stir to mix with the veggies. Slide the veggie/egg mixture onto a plate and set it aside. Turn off the heat and leave the pan to sit.
Add the noodles to the boiling water and turn the heat off. Let stand for 3-4 minutes before draining (read directions on the package and follow those if they are different) Drain noodles when they are al-dente. Fluff them up a bit by pulling them apart with tongs.
Heat 1-2 teaspoons oil over medium heat in the pan. Add the curry powder, swirl it around, and then add the cooked noodles and stir fry to soften them, about 2-3 minutes.
Spread the noodles out in the pan and slide the cooked veggies and chicken over the noodles. Sprinkle with fine sea salt and turmeric. Toss and stir until evenly coated.
Pour the sauce you set aside into the noodles. Toss and cook until noodles are almost dry, about 1-2 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and heat.
To Serve
Divide between plates and garnish with cilantro.
Note* This dish is not meant to be saucy!
