Singaporean Recipes

10 Singaporean recipes. Page 1 of 1. Compare ingredients and cooking times. Chwee Kueh (Steamed Rice Cake with Chai Poh).

Asian Medium

Chwee Kueh (Steamed Rice Cake with Chai Poh)

Small steamed rice cakes with a shallow dip in the middle, each one topped with a spoonful of chai poh: preserved radish fried with garlic and soy until salty and browned at the edges. The cake itself is just rice flour, water, and salt, so it tastes of almost nothing and stays soft. All the seasoning sits on top, with sambal chili on the side for heat. Teochew hawkers in Singapore and Malaysia sell it for breakfast, often from stalls that make nothing else.

Prep 25min Cook 20min 4 servings

Rice Medium

Hainanese Chicken Rice (Poached Chicken on Fragrant Rice)

One pot does double duty: the water that poaches the chicken thighs becomes the cooking liquid for the rice. The heat stays low enough that only small bubbles rise at the edge, because a rolling boil splits and dries the meat.

Prep 20min Cook 45min 4 servings

Stir-fry Hard

Singapore Chili Crab (Singaporean Whole Mud Crab in Sweet Spicy Sauce)

Ketchup, chili sauce and sugar form the base, and sweet-tangy comes through before any heat. The sauce is thickened twice: first with starch slurry added a little at a time, then with a beaten egg trickled in around the edge of the wok for soft ribbons. Bread or rice goes on the side.

🏠 Everyday

Prep 25min Cook 25min 4 servings

Noodles Medium

Hokkien Mee (Prawn Broth Stir-Fried Noodles)

Two noodles share the wok in this Singapore dish: springy yellow wheat noodles and softer rice noodles. A splash of prawn stock goes in near the end and is cooked down until the noodles have drunk most of it, so the seafood flavor ends up inside the strands rather than in a pool on the plate. Squid and shrimp are seared briefly and set aside first so they do not overcook while the noodles finish.

Prep 20min Cook 15min 2 servings

Asian Hard

Fish Head Curry (Coconut Tamarind Curry)

It began in 1940s Singapore, when M.J. Gomez, an immigrant from Kerala, put whole fish heads, which his Chinese customers loved, into a South Indian curry. Okra, eggplant and tomato cook along with the head in coconut milk and tamarind, and collagen from the head gives the gravy a slight stickiness. The first bites go to the cheeks and the soft parts around the eyes, which have soaked up the most curry.

Prep 25min Cook 35min 4 servings

Rice Medium

Hainanese Curry Rice (Mixed Curry Gravy Platter)

Breaded pork cutlet, boiled potato, and softened cabbage share the plate, all under a single coconut milk curry sauce. Singapore's Hainanese curry rice usually comes with braised pork and several gravies; this home version drops those and keeps one sauce. The cutlet is a fully cooked store-bought one that only needs reheating, so there is no frying involved. Pour the sauce over just before eating, or the crust turns soggy.

Prep 25min Cook 25min 2 servings

Noodles Medium

Hokkien Prawn Mee (Spicy Prawn Noodle Soup)

Shrimp shells fried with garlic until red and fragrant set how far this broth can go. Pork stock is added and simmered with them, then strained into a soup that looks almost clear but tastes concentrated. The peeled shrimp go in only at the end, with the egg noodles, and come out as soon as they turn opaque. A spoonful of sambal on top slowly melts into the hot broth, and the heat builds as you eat. It is a mainstay of Singapore's hawker centers.

Prep 25min Cook 35min 2 servings

Asian Easy

Kaya Toast (Singaporean Coconut Jam Butter Toast)

Kaya, a pale green jam of coconut, egg, and pandan, goes between thin slices of crisp toast along with cold slices of butter that melt slowly from the center against the hot bread. The floral sweetness of the jam and the richness of the butter build in layers. In Singapore's kopitiams it comes with soft-boiled eggs seasoned with soy sauce and pepper for dipping, and a strong coffee sweetened with condensed milk.

⚡ 20-Minute Recipes

Prep 10min Cook 8min 2 servings

Noodles Medium

Coconut Shrimp Laksa (Spiced Coconut Broth Noodle Soup with Shrimp)

Laksa paste fried in oil until it bleeds red does most of the work, and coconut milk and chicken stock turn it into a spicy, creamy broth. Fried tofu puffs act like sponges, soaking up that broth so they burst when bitten, while the shrimp spend just 3 minutes in the pot and stay plump. This style of curry noodle soup is everyday food in Singapore and Malaysia. Coconut milk turns thick and heavy as it cools, so the bowls go to the table as soon as the broth is poured.

Prep 20min Cook 18min 2 servings

Noodles Easy

Mee Siam (Singaporean Tangy Tamarind Shrimp Rice Vermicelli)

Tamarind leads the flavor, sour and fruity, with fish sauce and sugar rounding it into a sweet-salty tang. Despite a name that points to Siam, the dish belongs to Singapore and Malaysia rather than Thailand. Thin rice vermicelli is soaked, then stir-fried hard and fast so the sauce soaks in without the noodles breaking down. The shrimp are only seared at first and finish cooking alongside the noodles and bean sprouts, which go out with some crunch still in them.

🥗 Lighter Meals

Prep 15min Cook 15min 2 servings