Singapore Noodles, despite the name, do not originate in Singapore.

I know; we’ve been lied to.

Everyone’s favourite vermicelli-and-veggies dish in fact originates from Cantonese cuisine, and it’s a popular street food in Hong Kong. This isn’t to take away an inch of credibility from this wonderful dish, however. As anyone who has been to Hong Kong knows, there’s a rich tapestry of cultures in that small, busy place and though a breakfast of congee or a lunch of fresh dim sum is fantastic, the street food is most certainly not to be sniffed at.

Compared to other noodle dishes, Singapore Noodles are fresh, flavourful in a very simplistic way, and so easy to prepare that it almost feels like you’re cheating. They should be yellow, which can feel a little odd, but leaving out this essential trait means that you’re not really eating Singapore Noodles at all.

This is a really easy dish to make if you’re feeding both vegan / veggie and non-veggie folks, or for instance if you’re cooking at a non-veggie friend’s house. When Singapore Noodles is served with meat or prawns, they are thrown in at the very end, so you can prepare the seafood / meat in a separate pan while the main dish cooks then throw them in at the end for the meat eaters. Easy as pie!

The key to this recipe is to chop and prepare everything before you start cooking. Once everything is prepared, this is a 10-minute cooking job, so within 30 minutes of pulling your veggies out of the fridge, you’ll be sitting down to a delicious dinner!

You’ll need:
(Feeds 2)
enough rice noodles for 2 people (1 small bag works for me)
8 large blocks fried tofu, sliced in half diagonally (pre-bought, or you can fry your own beforehand)
2 teaspoons curry powder
pinch of turmeric
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 small red chilli, sliced
1 tablespoon rice wine
4 tablespoons soy sauce (be sure to use GF soy sauce if you are GF)
1/2 red pepper, sliced
6-8 water chestnuts, sliced diagonally
a good handful of green beans, sliced
a small handful of sugar snap peas, sliced diagonally
3 or 4 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal
fresh coriander
peanut, vegetable or sesame oil

Method:
Drop the rice noodles into boiling water for 60 seconds, then drain and let cool
While the noodles cool, mix together the curry powder, turmeric, garlic, sugar, ginger, rice wine, soy sauce chilli and tofu in a small bowl
Heat a little oil in a wok and add in the soy and tofu mixture. Cook for a minute until fragrant
Add in the red pepper, water chestnuts, green beans, sugar snap peas and most of the spring onion, then stir fry for a few minutes until the green beans are tender. Be careful not to overcook
Toss in the noodles and stir to mix well
Remove from the heat, add in the coriander and the remaining spring onions, and serve

Singapore Noodles mature really well overnight, so you can double this recipe and take some for lunch the next day. Perhaps add in some more fresh coriander and spring onions just to freshen up the dish, and then it will taste just perfect.

This is a great recipe for a dinner party, too, as it is just so easy to make!

What’s your favourite Asian dish? Let me know in the comments below!