Happy February! It’s my birthday month, so you know what that means – it’s time for a recipe featuring noodles and chicken! In Chinese culture, long noodles are traditionally served at birthdays and banquets to symbolize longevity and a long and healthy life.
My family has a tradition where you have to eat long noodles and chicken on your birthday to celebrate long life and good luck for the upcoming year. So I decided to whip up one of my new favorites, Singapore noodles!
Singapore noodles is a stir fry noodle dish featuring curried rice noodles and a combination of vegetables and proteins. It’s typically made with shrimp and pork, but in this birthday version I used chicken instead of pork. It’s commonly seen on Cantonese Chinese restaurant menus as Singapore Mei Fun, but contrary to the name, it is unclear where this dish originates from. Either way, it is delicious!
This dish is known for its spicy curry flavor and yellow color, courtesy of curry powder. Curry powder is typically a blend of spices that can include turmeric, ginger, peppers, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, fennel and more. Many of these spices have warming properties in Chinese medicine food therapy, making it a good dinner choice for you if you tend to run cold, or as a dish to enjoy in the winter months.
It might seem like a lot of prep work, but once you start cooking, the meal will come together in no time. Grouping the ingredients to cook in small batches makes for quicker cook time. You can also use whatever combination of vegetables you have on hand, so this is also a great way to use up leftovers or clean out the fridge.
This dish is a great combo of:
Comforting carbs in rice noodle form
Spicy and warming curry
Crunchy and colorful fresh vegetables
Savory chicken and shrimp
Quick cooking stir fry and 1 pan meal
Ingredients
Serves 4
1 6 oz. package dry rice noodles (rice vermicelli, rice stick noodles, or similar)
3-4 chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
12 shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 eggs, beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece ginger, diced into thin matchsticks
2 large carrots, sliced into thin matchsticks
1 red bell pepper, de seeded and sliced into thin matchsticks
½ large yellow onion, sliced thin
3 green onion, chopped
½ small red cabbage, sliced thin
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (optional)
2 tablespoons curry powder
Salt and white pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon sesame oil, plus more for cooking (see below)
Chili oil or hot sauce (optional)
Directions
Open the pack of noodles and place them in a large heat proof bowl. Cover the dry noodles with boiled water and let it sit for about 15 minutes, or until soft. Drain the water from the noodles, and (optional step) cut the noodles to make them a little shorter and easier to stir fry.
While the noodles are soaking, prep the vegetables. Try to chop the vegetables into thin matchstick shapes for easier stir frying and more uniform cook times. Put the garlic, ginger and onion in 1 bowl, the carrots and bell pepper in another bowl, and cabbage and green onion in a third bowl (vegetables are grouped by approximate cook times).
Heat a large saucepan or wok over medium high heat and add about 1 tablespoon sesame oil. Add the beaten eggs and scramble until cooked through but still soft. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Add a little more sesame oil if needed, then add chicken, garlic, ginger and onion to the pan. Add 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (if using). Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are soft. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Add a little more sesame oil if needed, then add shrimp to the pan and 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (if using). Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until shrimp is starting to turn pink. Add carrots and bell pepper to the pan and stir fry for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the cabbage and green onion, then add back in the chicken mixture, egg, and noodles. Stir fry everything for 1-2 minutes (if it seems like the noodles are just getting pushed around as one big clump of noodles, you can use a pair of tongs to lift and separate the noodles as you stir fry).
Add curry powder, salt and pepper, soy sauce and sesame oil. Continue to mix and combine the noodles, vegetables, chicken and shrimp and mix the spices to incorporate throughout. If it seems like the noodles are getting dry, add a little water to keep the noodles moist and not overly dried out.
The food is ready to plate once everything is heated through – the chicken, shrimp and egg should be cooked through, and the vegetables are warm but still have some crunch to them. Serve hot, with chili oil on the side, and enjoy!
Substitutions / Alterations
This dish can easily be made vegetarian or vegan by removing the shrimp, chicken and egg.
You can add or substitute other vegetables that sound good to you – mushrooms, snow peas, sugar snap peas, green bell pepper, bok choy, etc.
References
Wang, Y., Sheir, W., & Ono, M. (2010). Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen: Recipes from the East for Health, Healing, and Long Life. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.
Recipe adapted from The Woks of Life.