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 (227 g) shrimp , peeled and deveined
- 4 oz (113 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.
Another great recipe: quick to put together and full of flavor. Made extra char sui for some pork buns later on. Keep the noodle dishes coming.
THANKS Ms. Zhu !!!
So delicious and quick to make. I used ground chicken instead of pork and the flavour was so authentic. I love your recipes!
Unreal; so good. Exceptional, intense, authentic flavor without even any unusual ingredients. This is a must-make.
Thank you, Maggie, I love your site and your recipes. And I am extremely grateful that you go the trouble of telling us how to adapt the recipes to make them gluten-free. I have missed Chinese food since being diagnosed with celiac and, thanks to you, am making yummy, authentic Chinese and Asian foods that are safe. Thank you SO much!!
I definitely need to make this, although sadly I’ll have to do it on a day my husband isn’t home for dinner. He is extremely picky and I can guarantee he won’t like it (because of the curry). However, curry powder is a staple in my kitchen. I have a gas stove and two fantastic woks, so I’ll have no trouble making it. I know the daughter who lives near me and her fiance will love this, too!
Edit needed, Maggie:
In number 5, i think you meant “shrimp turns PINK. ”
And. . .
We greatly enjoyed this delicious version of Singapore Noodles, the leftovers of which were very good the next day. Thank you!
Thanks for the correction! Just updated the recipe. I’m glad to hear you like the dish 🙂
This was perfect. I was craving Singapore Noodles and haven’t found a local restaurant with a recipe I liked yet. My first try with this recipe and it was exactly the right amount of curry and noodles, meat and veg. Thank you so much. This is a keeper.
Very good, but I would include more vegetables. I made it including zucchini and corno di toro peppers from my garden. Ended up as an excellent dish. Next time I would also cut down the curry a bit. Thanks again.
Thanks for the suggestion! Zucchini and pepper sound so delicious. Would love to try it out myself the next time 🙂
Cooked, had all ingredients, interesting recipe, new combination for me shrimps and meat.But was not enough flavor for me, add some more soy sauce and spicy chilly source. I used light soy sauce in recipe, like you recommended, may be I should use dark one, dish didn’t have dark color like on the picture .
EVERY WEEK I’VE PROMISED MY FAMILY I WOULD MAKE A DISH FROM YOUR WEBSITE!
TONIGHT WAS SINGAPORE NOODLES WERE FANTASTIC!!!!!
This was my first attempt at Singapore fried noodles which is ordinarily a dish we enjoy from the take away. We really liked the dish. We mad so much, doubling the ingredients. Made such a good dish and we all had seconds! Very tasty, Maggie, thank you.
Terrific recipe! Took the step of making my own char sui beforehand. A big “thank you” – for getting me over my hesitation to cook noodle dishes at home.
Fantastic! It tastes just as good, if not better than a restaurant! Pescetarian so added more shrimp in place of pork. tip: If too thick (as in noodles not loose enough) just add the broth of your choice (chicken, bone etc,) a little at a time till desired noodle looseness. will not change flavor much if at all. I will be making plenty more of these recipies!
Great recipe! I’ve made this twice, and I would opt for the Madras curry powder – the Japanese S&B curry doesn’t have the same kick.
This was outstanding; absolutely the best singapore noodles I’ve ever had and I made them myself (i made my own char siu for the first time as part of this too) – actually still in a bit of shock how amazing it turned out, I will absolutely be making this again, thanks so much.
Delicous! I used a small amount of leftover ground beef, thinly sliced cabbage also. Quick and makes large amounts to satisfy all.
My father and I have been making singapore noodles together since I was about 6. Our version has its own sort of flavor and charm that I’ve yet to see recreated in any other version, but yours is certainly very similar to any sort of restaurant version, and well worth trying.
I was wondering why ny local restaurant uses a white sauce like on goo goo guy pan sauce on it instead?
Great recipe, simple to make, delicious and autrhentic taste.
Hats off to you Maggie. I fell in love with Singapore Noodles experiencing the dish at the Flying Monk Noodle Bar in Savannah, GA and Hawkers in Jacksonville, FL I’ve been trying to find a similar recipe for years. Yours is special, so much so I think they must have copied your recipe. 🙂 It’s one of my new favorites!