Easy Singapore noodles recipe featuring rice vermicelli noodles tossed in a curry sauce with juicy shrimp, rich BBQ char siu pork, crispy onions and peppers. It’s so scrumptious and bursting with flavor. It’s quick to make and a perfect one-pot meal for your weekday dinner. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
What is Singapore noodle
Singapore noodles, or Singapore mei fun, is a very popular dish in the US. It is made with thin rice noodles stir fried with a rich savory curry sauce and loaded with vegetables, meat and seafood.
It is a matter of debate where this dish really originated. Some sources say it’s from Hong Kong, while others say Malaysia. It’s definitely not from Singapore, I’ve been told. Back in China, this is a must-have dish on the menus of all the Cantonese restaurants. So for me, this is a classic Cantonese dish and we usually order it alongside dim sum.
That’s why I created this recipe. I want to show you how easy it is to create authentic tasting Singapore noodles that are as good as the Chinese restaurant version using ingredients that are easy to find.
Singapore noodle ingredients
1. Use the correct rice noodles
Singapore noodles always use a thin type of rice noodles, or rice vermicelli. There are two options.
- The super thin type: the noodles I usually eat at the restaurant often use this type. Erawan is a great brand for this type of noodles.
- Regular thin type: these noodles are slightly thicker than the super thin type. They are closer to angel hair pasta and thinner than spaghetti noodles. Asian Best and Three Ladies are the brands I like.
I prefer the regular thin type because these noodles have a meatier texture and do not fall apart easily during the stir fry.
If using super thin noodles, you need to pre-soak them until tender. If using the regular type, you will need to boil them in water. Follow the instructions on the package but reduce the cooking / soaking time by 1 minute, to get the al dente texture. So they will be cooked perfectly after the stir fry.
2. Flexible protein ingredients
A popular default protein for Singapore noodles is char siu pork.
When I happen to have leftover homemade char siu BBQ pork on hand, it’s rather convenient. However, more often than not, I want to use whatever I have in the fridge to fix dinner instead of running to an Asian market to buy char siu.
One great option is to use ground pork (I also like ground turkey or ground chicken) seasoned with a pinch of salt.
Alternatively, you can also use ham, leftover rotisserie chicken, or bacon.
My favorite way to prep shrimp
For Singapore noodles, small shrimp work better. If you have large shrimp, you can halve them into two thin pieces along the vein. The thin shrimp pieces absorb flavor better and will curl up during cooking for a restaurant style appearance. You will also get more bites of shrimp dispersed throughout the noodles.
Singapore noodle sauce
Singapore noodle sauce includes a few key ingredients such as light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, and curry powder.
It’s OK to use regular soy sauce, but light soy sauce won’t add too much color to the sauce so your noodles will have a beautiful yellow color at the end.
Curry powder is the main ingredient to give the dish the signature taste and bright yellow color. In China, we actually use curry powder in many dishes such as Chinese curry chicken, curry puffs, curry noodle soup with chicken, and braised beef. For Singapore noodles, I recommend a mild curry powder with a sweeter taste, such as Madras Curry or Japanese S&B Curry.
Oyster sauce is not a typical ingredient in Singapore noodle sauce, but I like to use it in my recipe to give the sauce an extra rich umami. If you don’t have it, you can replace it with soy sauce.
Mise en place
When you’re done prepping, your table should have:
- Sliced char siu pork (or other type of meat you plan to use)
- Shrimp, sliced if needed
- Mixed sauce
- Minced garlic, ginger and onion
- Rice vermicelli noodles
- Beaten eggs
- Sliced pepper
- Sliced carrots
I like to use some spicy peppers to further spice up my Singapore noodles. You can use red peppers for a sweeter taste. And you can replace the vegetables with other ingredients such as bean sprouts and cabbage if you prefer.
Singapore noodle cooking process
Once you’re all prepped, cooking Singapore noodles is super fast:
- Scramble the eggs
- Cook ginger, garlic and onion
- Sear the shrimp and char siu
- Cook the carrot
- Toss the with noodles and the sauce
- Add the egg back and pepper, give it a final toss
Final thoughts
A plate of beautiful Singapore noodles might look super challenging to make at first. But once you try it, you’ll be surprised how easy it is. And you don’t need a wok or a gas stove. I used to have an electric stove at home and I used a nonstick skillet, which worked out beautifully. As long as you follow a solid recipe and use the right ingredients, you’ll recreate the Chinese restaurant experience right in your own kitchen.
Happy cooking and I hope you enjoy the dish!
Other delicious noodle recipes you might like
- Chicken Chow Mein (鸡肉炒面)
- Stir Fried Vermicelli with Pork (Ma Yi Shang Shu, 蚂蚁上树)
- Soy Sauce Pan Fried Noodles (广式豉油皇炒面)
- Wonton Char Siu Noodle Soup (叉烧云吞面)
- Vegetable Chow Fun (蔬菜炒河粉)
Singapore Noodles (星洲炒米粉, Singapore Mei Fun)
Ingredients
- 7 oz (200 g) dried rice vermicelli noodles
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (or regular soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
Stir Fry
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 2 large eggs , beaten
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons ginger , minced
- 1/2 onion , sliced (or shallot)
- 8 oz (225 g) shrimp , peeled and deveined
- 4 oz (225 g) Chinese char siu pork (or ground pork) (*Footnote 1)
- 1 carrot , julienned
- 2 anaheim peppers , thinly sliced (or 1 bell pepper)
Instructions
- Cook or soak vermicelli noodles in boiling water according to package instructions until al dente. I like to cook the noodles 1 minute less than the package indicates. Once done, drain and set aside.
- Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Stir to mix well.
- Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add the eggs. Cook and scramble the eggs until just cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil and the garlic, ginger and onion. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Move everything to one side of the pan.
- Pour in the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil and the char siu pork and shrimp to the other side of the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are just cooked through and the char siu is lightly browned, 2 minutes or so.
- Add the carrot. Cook and stir for 1 minute, until the carrot just starts to turn soft.
- Add the noodles and sauce mixture. Toss with a pair of tongs until the sauce is mixed evenly.
- Return the cooked egg to the pan and add the pepper. Mix everything well, for 1 minute or so. Transfer everything to serving plates and serve hot as a main.
Notes
- If you do not have char siu pork on hand, you can use ground pork instead. Add the ground pork to the pan with a pinch of salt. Chop it into small pieces, then follow the rest of the recipe.
This was delicious!