List of Singaporean dishes facts for kids
Singapore is a country with many delicious foods! Its food culture is a mix of different traditions. You'll find unique dishes here. Some dishes might share names with food from other countries, but they have a special Singaporean twist. This article explores some of the most popular and tasty dishes you can find in Singapore.
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Amazing Noodle Dishes
Noodles are a big part of Singaporean food. They come in many shapes and sizes! Here are some popular noodle dishes you should know about.
Stir-fried Noodles
- Beef Kway Teow
This dish uses flat rice noodles called kway teow. They are stir-fried with tender beef. You can have it dry or with a tasty soup.
Imagine flat rice noodles stir-fried in a dark soy sauce. This dish also includes prawns, eggs, bean sprouts, fish cake, and cockles. It's a very popular street food!
This is a stir-fried dish with both egg noodles and rice noodles. It's cooked in a rich, flavorful stock.
This is another type of stir-fried flat rice noodle dish. It's popular across Southeast Asia.
Thin yellow noodles are fried with garlic, onions, prawns, chicken, or beef. It often includes chili, cabbage, tomatoes, and an egg.
Noodle Soups and Gravy Dishes
This is a Chinese noodle soup. It has tender stewed beef, a rich beef broth, and fresh vegetables.
This dish features flat, yellow Chinese noodles. They come in different thicknesses. It's a simple yet delicious noodle dish.
These are handmade flat noodles. They are served in a soup made from anchovies. The dish includes vegetables, minced meat, mushrooms, and an egg.
- Crab been hoon
This is a rice vermicelli dish. It comes with a whole mud crab in a claypot. The broth is milky and spiced, making it very flavorful.
This is a healthy and popular seafood soup. It's usually served hot with rice vermicelli noodles.
- Shredded chicken noodles
This noodle dish is topped with shredded chicken, fish dumplings, and mushrooms.
- Vegetarian bee hoon
This noodle dish is perfect for vegetarians. It has spring rolls, fried tofu skin, and mock meats made from gluten.
- Mee rebus
This dish uses yellow egg noodles. They are covered in a spicy, slightly sweet, curry-like gravy.
This dish has a spicy, sweet, and sour light gravy. The gravy is made from a special spice paste, tamarind, and salted soybeans.
This is a spicy noodle soup dish. It's a comforting meal.
- Katong Laksa
Katong Laksa is a famous spicy noodle soup. It's inspired by the Straits Chinese people in Singapore. The soup is bright orange, made with coconut milk and dried shrimp. It has ingredients like cockles, prawns, and fishcake. The noodles are often cut short so you can eat them with just a spoon!
This dish combines rice vermicelli noodles with a chili-based peanut sauce. The sauce is very similar to the one served with satay skewers.
Delicious Main Dishes
Singapore offers many main dishes, from rice to meat and seafood. They are full of flavor!
Rice and Meat Dishes
- Hainanese Curry Rice
This dish is a plate of steamed white rice. It's covered in a mix of different curries and braised pork gravy. It's a hearty meal!
This is a meat dish cooked in a flavorful broth. It's often enjoyed for breakfast or lunch.
Also known as "fried carrot cake," this is a common dish from Teochew cuisine. It's made from radish cake cubes.
This is barbecued pork from Cantonese cuisine. It's sweet, savory, and often has a reddish color.
This Singaporean Chinese dish features either braised or roasted duck. It's served with plain white rice and a thick dark sauce. You can add side dishes like hard-boiled eggs or preserved vegetables.
- Har Cheong Gai
These are chicken wings fried in a special batter. The batter includes fermented shrimp paste, giving them a unique taste.
This is a clear and refreshing soup. It's served with various side dishes and rice.
- Teochew Porridge
This is a plain rice porridge. It's served with many small side dishes. The porridge itself is not flavored, allowing the side dishes to shine.
This is a fried chicken dish. The fried chicken is gently smashed to make it softer. It's served with a spicy chili sauce called sambal, cucumbers, fried tofu, and tempeh.
- Dendeng paru
This dish features dried beef lung cooked in spices.
This is a popular stir-fried rice dish. It's a complete meal on its own.
Satay consists of seasoned, skewered, and grilled meat. It's always served with a delicious peanut sauce.
Seafood and Vegetable Dishes
- Drunken prawn
These prawns are cooked with Chinese rice wine, giving them a unique flavor.
- Sliced fish soup
This is a simple yet popular dish in Singapore, featuring tender slices of fish in a clear soup.
- Assam pedas
This dish includes seafood and vegetables. They are cooked in a tangy sauce made from tamarind, coconut milk, chili, and other spices.
This is a white jackfruit curry, a unique and tasty vegetable dish.
- Gulai daun ubi
Sweet potato leaves are stewed in coconut milk for this creamy vegetable dish.
- Lemak siput
This dish features shellfish cooked in a thick, coconut milk-based gravy.
This is a dish of mixed vegetables in a coconut milk soup. It's often served with rice.
- Cereal prawns
These prawns are stir-fried with a sweet, crunchy cereal coating. It's a popular seafood dish.
This dish uses hard-shell crabs. They are stir-fried with lots of black pepper, giving it a spicy kick.
This is Singapore's national dish! Mud crabs are stir-fried in a thick, sweet, and savory sauce. The sauce is made with tomatoes and chili.
This dish is an omelette filled mainly with small, tasty oysters.
Soups and Curries
Soto is a general term for a soup. It's mainly made of broth, meat, and vegetables.
This is a yellow, spicy chicken soup, a comforting and flavorful meal.
- Soup kambing
This is a spiced mutton soup, popular among Tamil Muslims in Singapore.
- Soup tulang
This dish features mutton or beef leg bones. They are stewed in a spicy sauce.
The head of a red snapper fish is cooked in a Kerala-style curry. It includes vegetables like okra and eggplants.
- Kari lemak ayam
This is a chicken curry with a rich coconut milk base.
- Kari debal
This is a Eurasian Singaporean curry. It has influences from Portuguese and Peranakan cooking. It includes chicken, cabbage, sausage, and bacon in a curry sauce.
Sweet Snacks and Desserts
After a delicious meal, it's time for something sweet! Singapore has many tasty snacks and desserts.
This popular snack is made with toast and kaya, a sweet coconut jam. It's often eaten for breakfast.
This is an omelette sandwich that originated in Singapore. It's a quick and tasty snack.
This is a small pastry filled with spiced curry, chicken, and potatoes. It can be deep-fried or baked.
This snack is made from bananas or plantains. They are deep-fried until golden and crispy.
These are deep-fried crackers. They are made from starch and other ingredients that give them flavor.
This is a grilled fish cake. It's made from ground fish mixed with tapioca starch and spices.
- Cheng tng
This is a light and refreshing soup. It contains ingredients like longans, barley, and lotus seeds in a sweet syrup. You can have it hot or cold.
This is a popular Malaysian dessert also common in Singapore. It's made with shaved ice, sweet syrup, and various toppings like red beans and corn.
- Cendol
This dessert has coconut milk, green jelly noodles (made from rice flour and pandan leaf), shaved ice, and palm sugar. It's very refreshing!
Refreshing Beverages
To complete your meal, Singapore offers a range of unique drinks.
This drink is made from evaporated or condensed milk. It's flavored with rose cordial syrup, giving it a pretty pink color.
- Chin chow drink
This is a sweet drink made from grass jelly. It's very refreshing, especially on a hot day.
This is Nanyang coffee, a special way of making coffee in Southeast Asia. It's mixed with condensed milk and sugar.
Milo is a chocolate and malt powder. It's usually mixed with hot water and condensed milk. You can have it hot or cold (called Milo Peng).
This is a fun drink! It's a cup of iced Milo with extra undissolved Milo powder piled on top.
This is "pulled tea." It's made from black tea blended with condensed milk. The tea is poured back and forth between two cups, creating a frothy top.
- Singapore Sling
This famous cocktail was invented at Singapore's Raffles Hotel. It's still served at the hotel's Long Bar today.
