The dish everyone thinks is Singaporean? It’s not (but here’s how to cook it)

Name: The dish everyone thinks is Singaporean? It’s not (but here’s how to cook it)
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 450g dried rice vermicelli noodles; 6 tbsp vegetable oil; 150g raw peeled prawns; 1 small carrot, thinly sliced; 1 red capsicum, thinly sliced; 200g char siu pork (see note), thinly sliced; 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 1cm piece of ginger, finely chopped; 3 eggs, beaten; 1 tbsp curry powder; 1 tsp chicken stock powder or ¼ tsp MSG; 1 tsp salt; 2 tbsp soy sauce; ½ tsp caster sugar; 4 thick spring onions, white and green parts, diagonally sliced on a sharp angle; 80g bean sprouts

What if Australia’s favourite “Singaporean” dish isn’t Singaporean at all? Adam Liaw busts a culinary myth, and shows how to make these noodles at home.

Adam Liaw

August 20, 2025

The secret to a great stir-fry is frying the noodles, not stewing them.Steve Brown; styling Emma Knowles

easyTime:< 30 minsServes:6

Singapore noodles are one of the most popular noodle dishes in Australia, but mastering them takes a bit of understanding. The combination of rice noodles and curry powder speaks to the classic flavours of Singapore, but where are Singapore noodles really from?

Ingredients

450g dried rice vermicelli noodles
6 tbsp vegetable oil
150g raw peeled prawns
1 small carrot, thinly sliced
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
200g char siu pork (see note), thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
3 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp chicken stock powder or ¼ tsp MSG
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp caster sugar
4 thick spring onions, white and green parts, diagonally sliced on a sharp angle
80g bean sprouts

Method

Step 1
Pour boiling water over the vermicelli noodles, allow them to stand for 5 minutes only, then drain well. Allow the noodles to continue draining in a colander while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Step 2
Place the wok over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the prawns, carrot, and capsicum to the wok and toss for a minute. Add the char siu, garlic and ginger and toss for another 1-2 minutes, until the prawns are nearly cooked through. Remove the contents of the wok to a plate and return the wok to the stove.
Step 3
Add the remaining oil and the eggs. Stir the eggs vigorously in the oil to form threads, then add the drained noodles. Toss to combine and fry for 2-3 minutes until the noodles are lightly toasted. Return the fried ingredient mixture to the wok and add the curry powder, stock powder, salt, soy sauce and caster sugar. Toss to combine everything, adding a little water or stock to moisten the dish, if required. Add the spring onions and bean sprouts and cook for 1 minute, then serve immediately.

Masterclass

No, it’s not Singaporean

While “Singapore noodles” are a globally popular dish, they’re not actually from Singapore. This Cantonese creation, which originated in Hong Kong, cleverly incorporates elements that reference Singapore’s diverse population. It combines rice vermicelli noodles, a staple of the Hokkien people from China’s Fujian province, with curry powder, a nod to the large Indian migrant community in Singapore. Both groups arrived in Singapore in large numbers after it became a British colony in 1824, seeking economic opportunities.

But the dish was not developed until the 1950s. After World War II, British navy-style curry became popular in Hong Kong, and innovative chefs at the booming cha chaan tengs (Hong Kong-style diners) sought ways to incorporate curry powder, toast, spaghetti, and other Western-influenced ingredients into Cantonese cuisine.

It’s also worth noting that while “Singapore noodles” use a type of rice vermicelli popular with the Hokkien people, what we call “Hokkien noodles” is something else entirely. In Singapore and Malaysia, this refers to a variety of dishes featuring thick, yellow alkaline noodles, while in Australia, we use the term to describe that type of noodle.

Use your noodles

The main challenge in making fried rice noodle dishes is achieving the perfect noodle texture. With Singapore noodles, you’re using rice vermicelli, not bean thread or glass noodles, which look similar when dry, so check the package carefully.

The most common mistake is overcooking the noodles before they hit the wok. Stir-frying is incredibly effective at rehydrating and softening them; if you boil the noodles for too long beforehand, they will become overcooked, soggy, and break apart during the final stir-fry.

Before frying, there are three simple methods for preparing the noodles. I’ve gone with option 3 in this recipe:

Soak: Submerge the noodles in room-temperature water for about 20 minutes.
Boil: Cook them in boiling water for one to two minutes only.
Steep: Pour boiling water over the noodles and let them stand for five minutes.

Drain the noodles immediately and let them dry in a colander. This step is important to let the noodles hydrate without overcooking. They should feel slightly dry to the touch before you add them to the wok, ensuring they don’t become soggy during frying.

Tip: Divide the noodles into thirds and cook in three smaller batches.Steve Brown; styling Emma Knowles

Cook in batches

This recipe is designed for cooking all the noodles together, but the real secret to a great stir-fry is frying the noodles, not stewing them. A common mistake is overcrowding the wok, which traps steam and makes everything soggy. To prevent this, cook the other ingredients first and set them aside. Then, fry the eggs and noodles in the hot wok. If you’re concerned about handling a large quantity of noodles in your wok, simply divide the recipe into thirds and cook it in three smaller batches to ensure every strand gets perfectly fried.

Unsung heroes

Bean sprouts are the secret weapon for many fried noodle dishes. Their shape mirrors that of the noodles, and their texture provides a perfect contrast to the soft noodles, helping to prevent them from clumping together.

For the best results, add a handful of sprouts right at the end of cooking. The residual heat from the noodles will soften them just enough to remove their raw bite while keeping them crunchy. I also think they help prevent the noodles from overcooking, much like adding a splash of lemon juice stops brown butter from burning.

I never bother to “top and tail” bean sprouts – that is, snapping off the root and bud. It’s a tedious task and something I was certainly never taught to do when I was growing up.

An authentic touch

Char siu (Cantonese barbecue pork) is delicious on its own, but it’s also a key ingredient in Cantonese cuisine, the offcuts used to flavour dishes such as fried rice and Singapore noodles. Its sweetness helps balance the other savoury seasonings, so using good-quality char siu is important.

Unfortunately, some cheaper restaurants cut corners by making their char siu by smearing lean pork in commercial sauce, which is never as good. For an authentic flavour, buy your char siu from a Cantonese barbecue shop. If you aren’t using char siu, a great substitute is lap cheong, a sweet Cantonese-style cured sausage available at most Asian grocers. Its flavour profile is an excellent match.