Singaporean Cuisine - Common Main Dishes and Snacks - Chinese

Chinese

Many of these dishes were adapted by early Chinese immigrants to suit local circumstances (such as available ingredients) and cannot strictly be considered mainstream Chinese cuisine due to the presence of Malay, Indian, and other influences. Singaporean Chinese cuisine is largely derived from the cuisines of the Hokkien, Teochew, Hainanese, Cantonese, and Hakka dialect groups that comprise the majority of the Chinese population in Singapore.

• Bak kut teh (Chinese: 肉骨茶; pinyin: ròu gǔ chá), pork rib soup made with a variety of Chinese herbs and spices
• Bak Chang (Chinese: 肉粽; pinyin: ròu zòng), savoury glutinous rice dumplings, usually filled with pork, mushrooms and stewed egg, steamed in bamboo leaves. Chinese in origin, but a longtime favorite in Peranakan cuisine
• Bak chor mee / minced pork noodles (simplified Chinese: 肉脞面; traditional Chinese: 肉脞麵; pinyin: roù cuò miàn), egg noodles with minced pork or chicken and other ingredients, served dry or with soup; usually the flat, tape-like mee pok noodle is used; a variation on fishball noodles
• Ban mian (simplified Chinese: 板面; traditional Chinese: 板麵; pinyin: bǎn miàn), hand-made flat noodles served with vegetables, minced meat, sliced mushrooms, and an egg in an anchovy (ikan bilis)-based soup; noodle variations are common, Ban mian usually refers to flat, long noodles; mee hoon kuay (Chinese: 米粉粿; pinyin: mí fěn guǒ; literally "rice vermicelli cake") refers to squarish flats; you mian (simplified Chinese: 幼面; traditional Chinese: 幼麵; pinyin: yòu miàn; literally "thin noodles") refers to thinner noodles
• Chai tow kway / carrot cake (simplified Chinese: 菜头粿; traditional Chinese: 菜頭粿; pinyin: cài tóu guǒ), also known as Char kway (Chinese: 炒粿; pinyin: chǎo guǒ), radish (or daikon) cakes that are diced and stir-fried with garlic, egg, chopped preserved radish, and sometimes with prawns that comes in black (sweet dark soy sauce) or white (savory) versions, with a chili paste added sometimes
• Char kway teow (simplified Chinese: 炒粿条; traditional Chinese: 炒粿條; pinyin: chǎo guǒ tiáo), thick, flat rice flour (kuay teow) noodles stir-fried in dark soy sauce with prawns, eggs, beansprouts, fish cake, cockles, green leafy vegetables, Chinese sausage, and some fried lard
• Char siew rice (simplified Chinese: 叉烧饭; traditional Chinese: 叉燒飯; pinyin: chā shāo fàn) / Char siew noodles (simplified Chinese: 叉烧面; traditional Chinese: 叉燒麵; pinyin: chā shāo miàn), Cantonese dish of rice or noodles served with barbecued pork in a thick sauce
• Chee cheong fun (simplified Chinese: 猪肠粉; traditional Chinese: 豬腸粉; pinyin: zhū cháng fěn), a thick, flat sheet of steamed rice flour made into rolls, sometimes with a pork, chicken, or vegetable filling; it is served with a sweet soy bean sauce
• Chok (Chinese: 粥; pinyin: zhōu), Cantonese congee in various flavours including chicken and pork, often served with anchovies and either sliced century egg or fresh egg
• Chwee kueh (Chinese: 水粿; pinyin: shuǐ guǒ), steamed rice cake topped with preserved radish; usually eaten for breakfast
• Claypot chicken rice (simplified Chinese: 砂煲鸡饭; traditional Chinese: 砂煲雞飯; pinyin: shā bāo jī fàn), rice cooked with soy sauce in a claypot, then topped with braised chicken and Chinese sausage; it also may include salted fish and often is enjoyed when the rice at the bottom is charred
• Curry chicken noodles (simplified Chinese: 咖喱鸡面; traditional Chinese: 咖喱雞麵; pinyin: gā lí jī miàn), yellow egg noodles in chicken curry
• Drunken prawn (simplified Chinese: 醉虾; traditional Chinese: 醉蝦; pinyin: zuì xiā), prawns cooked with Chinese rice wine
• Duck rice (simplified Chinese: 鸭饭; traditional Chinese: 鴨飯; pinyin: yā fàn), braised duck with rice cooked with yam and shrimps; it can be served simply with plain white rice and a thick dark sauce; side dishes of braised hard-boiled eggs, preserved salted vegetables, or hard beancurd (tau kua) may be added; Teochew boneless duck rice is a similar, but a more refined dish; due to the slightly tougher texture of duck, the duck is artfully deboned and sliced thinly for the convenience and ease of the diner, allowing the sauces to seep into the meat, making it a more pleasant experience on the whole; Hainanese chicken rice and other similar dishes have followed this style due to the popularity
• Egg tart (simplified Chinese: 蛋挞; traditional Chinese: 蛋撻; pinyin: dàn tà), a Cantonese pastry of yellow egg custard baked in a pastry shell that commonly is served at dim sum meals and bakeries; another variation is the Portuguese egg tart that has caramelized sugar on the top
• Fishball noodles (simplified Chinese: 鱼丸面; traditional Chinese: 魚丸麵; pinyin: yú wán miàn), usually of the Teochew variety; any of several kinds of egg and rice noodles may be served either in a light fish-flavoured broth or "dry" with the soup on the side, with fishballs, fishcake, beansprouts, and lettuce; as with bak chor mee, the most commonly ordered noodles are mee pok although kway teow soup versions also are popular
• Fish head bee hoon (simplified Chinese: 鱼头米粉; traditional Chinese: 魚頭米粉; pinyin: yú tóu mǐ fěn), a type of noodle soup in which the main ingredients are rice vermicelli and fried fish head (separated into chunks); this dish is notable for the creamy, rich soup, which typically is made using a mixture of fish stock and milk – the latter being an uncommon ingredient in Chinese cuisine; a variant using ordinary fish meat also exists
• Fried rice / char png (simplified Chinese: 炒饭; traditional Chinese: 炒飯; pinyin: chǎo fàn), rice is fried with various meat chunks and vegetables, along with eggs
• Hainanese chicken rice (simplified Chinese: 海南鸡饭; traditional Chinese: 海南雞飯; pinyin: hǎi nán jī fàn), steamed chicken served with rice cooked in chicken stock; normally eaten with chili sauce, dark soy sauce, and ginger paste; a common variation is using roast chicken instead of steamed chicken; this is considered the landmark dish of Singapore; it is available in Hainan, where it originated in WenChang City, however, the Singapore variation of the dish bears only a slight resemblance to the original dish as served in Hainan
• Hae mee / prawn noodles (simplified Chinese: 虾面; traditional Chinese: 蝦麵; pinyin: xiā miàn), yellow egg noodles in a rich broth made from prawn and pork rib stock, topped with whole or sliced fresh boiled prawns
• Har Cheong Gai (simplified Chinese: 虾酱鸡; traditional Chinese: 蝦醬雞; pinyin: xiā jiàng jī; literally "shrimp paste chicken"), chicken wings fried in a batter with fermented shrimp paste
• Hokkien mee (simplified Chinese: 福建炒虾面; traditional Chinese: 福建炒蝦麵; pinyin: fú jiàn chǎo xiā miàn), rice vermicelli and yellow egg noodles fried with shrimp, sliced cuttlefish, and lard bits
• Hor fun (Chinese: 河粉; pinyin: hé fěn), flat rice noodles in gravy often served with fish or prawns; a common variation is using beef instead
• Hum chim peng (simplified Chinese: 咸煎饼; traditional Chinese: 咸煎餅; pinyin: xián jiān bǐng), a deep-fried bun-like pastry sometimes filled with bean paste
• Kaya toast, a traditional breakfast dish; Kaya is a sweet coconut and egg jam, and this is spread over toasted bread; combined with a cup of local coffee and a half-boiled egg, this makes a typical Singaporean breakfast
• Kuay chap / kway chap (Chinese: 粿汁; pinyin: guǒ zhī), a Teochew dish of flat, broad rice sheets in a soup made with dark soy sauce, served with pig offal, braised duck meat, various kinds of beancurd, preserved salted vegetables, and braised hard-boiled eggs
• Lor mee (simplified Chinese: 卤面; traditional Chinese: 滷麵; pinyin: lǔ miàn), a Hokkien noodle dish served in a viscous, dark soy sauce-based broth with meat roll slices, fishcake, and beansprouts
• Mee Sua (simplified Chinese: 面线; traditional Chinese: 麵線; pinyin: miàn xiàn), not a dish but a type of thin, wheat vermicelli; usually found in fishball noodles, or served with pork, kidney, or chicken meat
• Min Chiang Kueh (Chinese: 面煎粿; pinyin: miàn jiān guǒ), a thick chewy pancake with a ground peanut and sugar filling; other variations include grated coconut and red bean paste; this traditional snack also is served in blueberry, cheese, and chocolate varieties
• Ngo hiang (Chinese: 五香; pinyin: wǔ xiāng), a dish composed of combining various vegetables, seafood, or meats and commonly served in other dishes such as rojak or added as a side dish to a Tse Cha meal
• Oyster omelette / orh luah / orh luak (Chinese: 蚝煎; pinyin: háo jiān), oysters fried with a special flour and egg mixture
• Pau (Chinese: 包; pinyin: bāo), steamed bun with wide assortment of fillings such as char siew, minced pork, red bean paste, lotus paste, or vegetables
• Pig's organ soup (simplified Chinese: 猪杂汤; traditional Chinese: 豬雜湯; pinyin: zhū zá tāng; literally "pig spare parts soup"), a soup-based variant of kuay chap
• Popiah (simplified Chinese: 薄饼; traditional Chinese: 薄餅; pinyin: báo bǐng), Hokkien / Teochew-style spring roll or rolled crêpe, stuffed with stewed turnip, Chinese sausage, shrimp, and lettuce
• Chinese rojak, a vegetable salad with a topping of dark prawn paste that differs from traditional Malay rojak and the Mamak (Tamil Muslim) variety
• Soon kway (Chinese: 笋粿; pinyin: sǔn guǒ), a white vegetable dumpling with black soy sauce
• Teochew fish porridge (simplified Chinese: 潮州鱼粥; traditional Chinese: 潮州魚粥; pinyin: cháo zhōu yú zhōu), rice porridge with sliced fish meat, spring onions and other garnishing
• Vegetarian bee hoon (simplified Chinese: 斋米粉; traditional Chinese: 齋米粉; pinyin: zhāi mǐ fěn), thin braised rice vermicelli to which a choice of various gluten, vegetable, or beancurd-based delicacies may be added
• Wonton noodles / wanton mee (simplified Chinese: 云吞面; traditional Chinese: 雲吞麵; pinyin: yún tūn miàn), yellow egg noodles with chicken, pork, or prawn dumplings; often served with slices of barbecued pork
• Yong Tau Foo (simplified Chinese: 酿豆腐; traditional Chinese: 釀豆腐; pinyin: niàng dòu fǔ; literally "fermented bean curd"), a variety of vegetables stuffed with fish and meat paste cooked in a light anchovy-based soup; may also be eaten "dry" with sweet bean and chili sauces
• Youtiao (simplified Chinese: 油条; traditional Chinese: 油條; pinyin: yóu tiáo), fried dough crullers similar to those served in other Chinese cuisines around the world
• Yusheng (simplified Chinese: 鱼生; traditional Chinese: 魚生; pinyin: yú shēng), a raw fish salad traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year; the modern version of the once simple Teochew raw fish salad, which is now ubiquitous in Chinese restaurants during Chinese New Year celebrations was developed in a Singaporean restaurant called Lai Wah Restaurant by chef Than Mui Kai during the 1960s