It’s rare that I receive a request for a recipe I’ve never heard of. But that’s exactly what happened recently when a reader wrote in requesting I remake her and her husband’s favorite takeout dish: Singapore noodles.
What? The description sounded amazing! How had I never known about this unique dish?
After trying it for myself, I’m an instant convert. Drop what you’re doing, and get on board. Let’s venture into uncharted (delicious food) territory together!
Singapore noodles isn’t necessarily a dish that originated in Singapore (it’s believed to have originated in Hong Kong). I liken it to one of the many Chinese restaurant menu items I order that likely aren’t traditional Chinese dishes at all.
No matter the origin or history of this dish, what you need to know is this:
It’s like a cross between curry and pad Thai.
It’s got noodles.
It’s got vegetables.
Its flavor comes from a tangy-sweet sauce + curry powder.
It’s insanely delicious.
Ya dig?
Based on my research, there are some not-so-common ingredients in Singapore noodles like Shaoxing wine and fish sauce that I didn’t want to a) hunt down, and b) attempt to veganize.
So I crossed my fingers, tried making it without them, and (much to my surprise) discovered you don’t really need them at all.
With that being said, this is my inspired version. Since I don’t have an authentic version to compare it to, this might not match your favorite restaurant’s version. But, what I can promise is that this recipe is surprisingly easy, intense in flavor, and 100% delicious.
Speaking of easy to make, this recipe requires just 10 ingredients (11 if adding tofu!) and about 30 minutes to prepare. Another perk? You likely have the ingredients in your kitchen right now:
Rice noodles (thin or vermicelli)
Onion
Red pepper
Snow peas
Curry powder
Soy sauce (or tamari)
Lime juice
Garlic
Coconut sugar
Sesame Oil
(Tofu – optional)
While most of the recipes I found included pork or shrimp, I kept mine vegan by simply leaving these out. But I must say, the addition of my crispy, baked tofu adds extra protein and texture and takes this recipe to a whole new level of awesome.
I think you guys are going to love this dish! It’s:
Flavorful
Satisfying
Comforting
Curry-infused
Slightly spiced
Perfectly sweet
& Quick
Keep this recipe on hand for easy, fast weeknight meals. I also think it’d be great for entertaining a crowd, especially if you have vegan and gluten-free friends.
If you do try this dish, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #minimalistbaker on Instagram. We’d love to see what you come up with. Cheers, friends!
Note: recipe updated 05/13/21 to address reader issues with flavor balance and clarity.
Vegan Singapore Noodles
Ingredients
SAUCE
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 cloves yield ~1 Tbsp or 6 g)
- 2 Tbsp tamari (or soy sauce if not GF)
- 1-2 Tbsp maple syrup or coconut sugar (to taste)
- 2 Tbsp lime juice (~1 medium lime)
NOODLES
- 4-6 ounces thin rice noodles (I used these brown rice ones, but vermicelli is great, too)
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil (divided)
- 1/2 medium white or yellow onion (thinly sliced)
- 3/4 medium red bell pepper (thinly sliced)
- 12 whole snow peas
- 1 Tbsp tamari (or soy sauce if not GF)
- 1 ½ – 2 tsp curry powder
FOR SERVING* optional
- 8 ounces extra-firm tofu (pressed dry and cubed*)
- Sriracha or chili garlic sauce
- 2 stalks green onions (thinly sliced)
Instructions
- See notes if adding tofu!
- Add rice noodles to a large bowl and cover completely with boiling water. Let cook for 5-10 minutes (or according to package instructions), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Drain and set aside.
- In the meantime, make the sauce by adding minced garlic, tamari or soy sauce, maple syrup or coconut sugar, and lime juice to a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Then taste and adjust seasonings as needed. You’re going for a savory-tart sauce with a bit of sweetness (adjust to taste). Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp (15 ml) toasted sesame oil (adjust amount if altering number of servings), onion and red bell pepper. Sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, or until onion is soft and translucent.
- Add snow peas, 1 Tbsp (15 ml) tamari or soy sauce (adjust amount if altering number of servings), and curry powder, and stir. Sauté for 2-3 minutes, then remove from pan and set aside.
- To the still-hot skillet, add remaining 1 Tbsp (15 ml) sesame oil (adjust amount if altering number of servings), cooked rice noodles, and sauce. Sauté for 1 minute, tossing frequently with tongs to disperse sauce.
- Add back in the vegetables and toss to coat. Cook for 1-2 minutes more, then remove from heat.
- Taste and adjust as needed, adding more curry powder for curry flavor or more maple syrup to balance the curry flavor.
- Serve with desired toppings. This dish benefits greatly from a little hot sauce, such as sriracha!
- Best when fresh, though leftovers keep for 2-3 days covered in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan over medium heat.
Notes
*Recipe requested by a reader, and adapted from Serious Eats!
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without tofu and with the lesser amounts of rice noodles, curry powder, and maple syrup.
Julie Duncan says
I’ve tried other recipes for Singapore Noodles, but this one is by far the most flavourful and also uses ingredients that you would normally already have without having to buy something that you probably won’t ever use again.
Whoop! We’re so glad this one is your favorite, Julie. Thank you for sharing your experience! xo
Lucie says
I made the Vegan Singapore Noodles with the tofu on the weekend. It took quite awhile to make it. It was really good. I prefer to use the coconut sugar as have tried the maple suger in other recipes and it just doesn’t taste that great.
I might make this recipe again as I have such a large pack of rice noodles now.
We’re so glad you enjoyed the result, Lucie! Thank you for sharing your experience! xo
Tiffany says
I make this on repeat. Love it! Making it again tomorrow actually.
We’re so glad you’re enjoying it, Tiffany! Thanks so much for the lovely review. xo
SBS says
What an excellent recipe! When I need a quick dinner, I lean pretty heavily on beans and rice – but my family has been getting tired of that so, after seeing that I had an abundance of rice noodles in the cupboard, I knew where to go find a delicious recipe that included them. Not only was I not disappointed, but it pleased the whole family! I was a bit concerned about the curry since not everyone in our household appreciates curry, but everyone loved it!
Whoop! We’re so glad the recipe was a hit with the whole family. Thank you for sharing! xo
Danielle says
Made this for dinner last night with tofu. So yummy!!! I was 1TBSP short of lime juice and subbed with Rice vinegar. I can’t have onions so I subbed with matchstick carrots. Thank you for including the detailed steps and notes. Definitely making this again.
Amazing! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Danielle. Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! xo
Sam says
Years ago, I had a favourite Chinese restaurant that had a similar dish with shrimp and barbeque pork. Since becoming vegan, I hadn’t had this dish in years until I found this recipe. I didn’t use tofu (probably will next time), but I did use a combination of vegetables. The flavour was spot on! So perfectly balanced of sweet, spicy and tangy. It will be an easy go-to on a regular basis. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
Whoop! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Sam. Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Chloe says
Not for me sadly- the lime juice was really overpowering and the tofu turned out very dry and chewy. I might try it again with half the lime and skip baking the tofu.
Thanks for sharing your honest review, Chloe!
Daniela says
Just had this delicious yummy recipe 😋
Tweaked it a bit – added the sauce, curry powder and 1tbsp cornflour with a cup of water all together and heated in a pan to create a thick sauce so when I added the steamed veges and noodles it stuck to it. I will be keeping this easy recipe to my favourites. Thanks 😊
Lovely! Thanks so much for sharing, Daniela!
das says
This recipe is delicious, and very adaptable. It has multiple steps, but none of them are hard (and you can usually do them in stages I have found). This may be the MB recipe that I’ve made the most…although so many of them are on solid rotation in our household. I used brown rice spaghetti as the noodles, but otherwise, I follow the recipe pretty close (I use soy sauce instead of Tamari). I’m a pescatarian, so I’ve made this recipe with tofu, shrimp, or scallops, and it’s been delicious all ways (if you make it with shrimp or scallops I recommend treating it like a normal stir fry recipe and cooking the shellfish first and removing from pan while you follow the other directions.) I’ve also substituted the snow peas for green beans multiple times due to what’s available in my fridge and/or store. It’s an awesome weeknight treat, and it’s got a wow factor enough for guests too.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Wendy says
I love to order Singapore noodles at a restaurant so was excited to see this recipe. I made it tonight with the tofu. Very delicious!! I think for my tastes I would cut the garlic amount in half for the sauce next time. We did add a spoon of chili garlic oil because it’s so good. Thanks for another fabulous recipe.🥰
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Wendy! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Mary says
I and my non-vegan husband loved this! I added pre-made honey-chili tofu from my local grocery’s salad bar, and it was perfect. Relatively simple, easy, and quick!
Whoop! We’re so glad you and your husband enjoyed them. Thank you for sharing, Mary! xo
Laura says
I’ve never had or heard of these, so have no frame of reference, but I thought the lime taste was too strong. Otherwise, it was a good way to use up random veggies and noodles. I’m glad I added the tofu – it was a great textural addition.
Hi Laura, thank you for the feedback! Did you measure out 2 Tbsp lime juice or us a whole lime?
Laura says
I measured out Santa Cruz pure lime juice. I did make four servings and added tofu, so quadrupled the measurement to 1/2 cup. It might be a scaling issue, or it could just be personal preference.
Ah, that could be the issue! We’d recommend fresh for best flavor.
Mary says
I HAD to leave a comment for this recipe because it was THAT good and tasted just like restaurant Singapore noodles. Made it last night. Instead of buying curry powder, I mixed my own batch using the recipe from this same site since I already had most of the individual spices. SO fragrant and made this dish. I followed the recipe except that I just eyeballed and adjusted amounts as I tasted for the sauce and seasoning, used brown rice noodles and added chicken at the end. This is going to be in the regular rotation and an entertaining dish as well. Thank you!!
Whoop! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Mary! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Dawn Brady says
I have never commented on a recipe before, but had to share…. my son came home from college and I got distracted and added 3 TABLESPOONS of curry powder!! I thought the dish was going to be ruined but I added a can of coconut milk and extra soy, maple syrup and lime juice and it is actually pretty good! 4 stars for user error and I can’t really rate it truly.
Janice Kay Short says
AWESOME, Dana!!! You managed to create a recipe for one of my favorites that I have been yearning for. Since the pandemic struck, I haven’t been able to visit my wonderful Chinese restaurant where the kind chef was always glad to make a vegan version of this for me. (Their menu version has egg, shrimp, etc). Your version is very similar to his and just as delicious! They always bring a side of chili crisp, so I added a generous helping of Mr. Bing’s chili crisp. OMG, this is heaven. Thank you sooo much.
Yay! We love to hear this. Thanks so much, Janice! So glad the noodles live up to your expectations!
Katie says
I have never had Singapore noodles but I thought this recipe turned out really well- the curry powder added a good kick (plus I added a line of sriracha as recommended ). Perfect meal for me tonight and easy to make!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing, Katie! xo
Ben says
This is an awesome dish. Next time I won’t be oven baking to tofu. I’ll be frying and then adding the sauce to glaze. Bloody brilliant mate. Thank you for sharing
So glad you enjoyed it, Ben! Thank you for sharing!
Gilly Stephenson says
Fabulous. Made this to exact recipe. We have Singapore noodles in UK when we have Chinese takeaway. Hubby loved it. You never fail me. Thank you. X
Woohoo! We’re so glad you enjoy our recipes, Gilly =) Thank you for the lovely review! xo
luna says
Doubled for lunch prep; upped curry powder and added whatever veggies in the fridge ( onion, pepper, broccoli, peas and some cabbage). Realized after cooking I totally forgot lime juice so squeezed over after.
Really delicious and quick. I did ‘cook’ the curry powder with the veggies for a few minutes and just used angel hair pasta as that is what I had. Cooked it under to allow for stir frying.
Thanks, love your recipes. Very delicious.
Lovely! Thank you for sharing, Luna! xo
Collette Turner says
WAY TOO complicated instructions!! Ifinally gave up and just threw it all together….Not a “quick and easy” weeknight meal
We’re so sorry for any confusion on this one, Collette. Could you share more about what you disliked about it? We’d love to help troubleshoot! Thanks for sharing your experience. xo
Madison Brand says
It honestly wasn’t complicated at all. No offense, but I don’t think you need to come complain about that when it’s a very straight forward and easy recipe. I mean let’s face it it’s only 7 steps! It only took me 30 minutes! Maybe try to prep your ingredients and it won’t take as long :) that’s helped me!
Thank you for sharing your experience, Madison! We’re glad to hear you enjoyed it! xo
Luxan says
It was an amazing recipe! The only change I made was to reduce the curry powder, which was a tad too strong for me. I used 2 tsp instead of the suggested 4. I also added cabbage and carrots to add volume since I was out of bell peppers.
The dish tasted amazing and very easy to prepare! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your experience and modifications! We’re so glad you enjoyed it.
Anya Littlefield says
Absolutely DELICIOUS! I love your pad Thai recipe and this is an easier, fun twist on the idea (I usually have to make the vegan fish sauce and that takes more time). The sauce for this is DELISH and so so easy. Plus I love curry powder which was a great twist. I did tons of veggies that I had in the fridge and doubled the sauce so the veggies got all the yummy flavor. LOVED IT!
We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Anya! Thanks so much for sharing!
Lisa says
This has been on our family rotation for about a month now and we can’t get enough! We add crispy tofu and a little bit of chinese pork and it’s out of this world! Thank you
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Lisa! Thanks so much for sharing!
Jana says
I made this tonight with air fried tofu to celebrate Chinese New Year (we’re European/American family). Both of my kids liked it which was a great success as they don’t like to try new recipes. We have a lot of Singaporean friends so this was a nice dish to make and enjoy.
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Jana!
kelly says
Thanks so much for the recipe, so quick and easy to put together…the mom in me thanks you! I added mushroom and yellow pepper (what I had on hand) and it was still delicious…I do not like mushrooms much but I love them in this!
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Kelly. We are so glad you enjoyed it! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo
lea says
this is my first recipe i’ve made from your website but i truly admire your work and have been looking forward to trying something for quite some time. anyway, i did add to tofu next time i would do without. and i reduced the curry to 2 tbsp instead of the 4. was good a little dry maybe i forgot a step? not sure, can’t wait to try more recipes. thanks for the inspo
Woohoo! Thanks for the kind review, Lea! We’re so glad you enjoyed! xo
Charlotte Elder says
Super fast and delicious, love this recipe. I double the sauce usually.
Amazing! Thanks for sharing, Charlotte!