Top 10 local foods to try in Singapore

Atash Mammadov 16 January 2022 1522 views 6 min. read

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Top local food in Singapore / Singaporean cuisine history

famous singapore cuisine

The country of Singapore contains a diverse focus on cuisine, merging the rich heritage of many cuisines with the influences and imports of the inhabitants of Indonesia. If you are a native of Singapore, you may have seen such dishes in hawker areas, on the ground floors of residential buildings, in advertisements for residential homes, and other people's homes. Shop downstairs in a two-story old house, strange and familiar, existing for several decades.

The following article will introduce and point out 10 delicious dishes of Singaporean cuisine you should try when you have the opportunity to come to Singapore. Singaporean cuisine recipe is very different. It is useful to search for Singaporean cuisine recipe when we go there.

Singaporean cuisine history is very interesting. Currently, 75% of Singaporeans are Chinese. Many people came from Fujian and Hainan Island in southern China. Therefore there are many dishes brought from southern China. Facing Taiwan across the Taiwan Strait, Fujian has a long coastline, many islands, and a thriving fishing industry. For this reason, many dishes are made with dried fish and other dry foods, and you can enjoy a deep flavor. In addition, since garlic is used a lot, many dishes are appetizing only with their aroma. 

Hakka cuisine is usually eaten in the western part of Fujian, so Hakka conveys is rooted. Many paprikas for flavoring are used for Hakka cuisine, so many dishes are made with chili sambal. Locals often sprinkle large quantities of cayenne pepper at food courts before eating their meals. There is an expensive food price in Singapore. As the country is expensive, the food price in Singapore is also high. Let's analyze it together.

1. Chicken rice

dinner meal

Chicken rice is one of Singapore's most famous local dishes. This dish is a famous food in Singapore. It is said to be a dish brought by people from the Hainan region of China in the 1950s, and the Chinese character name is written as "Hainan chicken rice." A set of delicious rice cooked with soft-boiled juicy chicken and chicken soup with ginger and garlic.

Chicken soup is also served in another bowl. Add a small plate of hot pepper and eat it little by little with chicken. It will stimulate and deepen the taste again.

Rice dipped in chicken's umami is refreshing and elegant. The combination with juicy chicken is perfect. You can eat anywhere, including restaurants, hawkers, and food courts. Try it once when you come to Singapore.

2. Bak kut teh

bak kut teh

It is also Singapore's national menu. Derived from the Fujian language, the Chinese character name is "Bak kut teh". The pork ribs are simmered with garlic and spices, and the tenderness of the shredded meat is irresistible. Delicious soup and moderately effective pepper are also tasty.

Bak kut teh is eaten with freshly cooked rice and Chinese fried bread called "Yotiao." Sprinkle soup over astragalus rice or remove pork bones and taste. Sliced long, thin toast has a rich texture when eaten, but when dipped in soup, the flavor becomes wet, and the texture softens.

3. Hot Crab

singapore chilli crab

Speaking of Singapore's feast, chili crab. It is said to be a menu created in the 1950s by a female cook named Char Yam Tian, a Chinese immigrant, at a seaside counter. Crab is a spicy yet sweet and sour, rich-tasting dish blended with pepper and tomato-based sauce. Remove quick and rich meat using the crab shell breaker with the plate. 

Juicy crab meat is perfect for sweet and spicy chili sauce. The usual way to eat leftover chili sauce is to soak Chinese toast or French bread and eat it all the way through. The famous pepper crab shops are always crowded on weekends. So if you want to dine in, we recommend making a reservation in advance.

4. Yong Tau Foo

bowl of singapore laksa yong tau foo

Locally popular Hakka cuisine is very similar to Japanese den. Put your favorite ingredients like tofu, fish cakes, fried foods, and vegetables sandwiched between fish paste in a bowl and have the shop staff bring them to a boil. Surimi is sandwiched between some vegetables, and the colors are vibrant. It is common to put the noodles in a bowl with the soup and eat it. The price will vary depending on the number of materials you choose.

The soup prepared with soup broth is light and suits the taste of the Japanese. Locals put too much chili pepper in it. Yontarou is also attractive because it has a wide variety of vegetable ingredients, among the dishes of Hawkers and food courts where vegetables tend to run out. This dish is one of the most famous food in Singapore.

5. Fried Hokkien Mee

homemade soup

This dish ranks high among the top local food in Singapore. It is a seafood fried noodle introduced by the people of the Hokkien area, and its Chinese character name is "Stir-fried Hokkien". It is said that among the local foods in Singapore, the Japanese taste the most. The noodles are fried in savory dashi stock with shrimp, squid, and bean sprouts, and their mild flavor is popular. The noodles are a combination of thick yellow noodles (Hokkien mee) and rice noodles.

If you ask for Fried Hokkien Mee, it will come with lemon and chili sambal. Squeeze the lime on the salty side and eat it with some spicy sambal for a moderately stimulating taste.

6. Kueh Cake

kue dadar

Que Paiti is a cute appetizer. As the name suggests, a small tart-like bowl that looks like an upside-down hat contains sugar, shrimp, and gravy eggs.

Chili sambal hangs over the shrimp, and you can enjoy the exquisite harmony between mild sweet ingredients and hot pepper. The crispy tart bowl goes well with the contents and looks great in photos. It is a dish that makes the most of the sensibilities of Nyonya and others who appreciate the gorgeous decoration. Peranakans ate this elegant dish on New Year's Day. Today, Singaporeans know it as a side dish and as a useful snack. Food is one of the popular food in Singapore.

7. Popiah

teochew popiah

Nyonya-style fresh spring rolls are wrapped in a thin flatbread-style crust made of eggs and flour. The pale color looks cute and is popular as an appetizer. Thin shell shrimp, radish, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, bean sprouts, peanuts, etc. The fluffy thin skin and the crunchy texture of the ingredients are perfect.

It is a menu usually found in street vendors and snack bars and can be eaten as a snack when you are hungry. But be careful because the inside of the lovely thin crust is covered with sweet miso with garlic and chili and hot sauce. Food is one of the popular food in Singapore.

8. Buakurua

Buakurua is a black nut, which is a chicken dish that has been boiled with these nuts over time. Split the Buakurua, which you soaked for two nights, crush the contents, mix with the spices and shrimp, and cook the reconstituted one with the sauce.

The flavor created by Buakurua, prepared with great effort, is delicate, and the sauce's sourness and spiciness are a perfect balance. The deboned chicken disperses in the mouth, and its texture blends perfectly with the sauce. The paste in Buakurua is also delicious. Remove from the sauce and use a spoon to scoop out the contents. There is no doubt that you will be addicted to the deep flavor.

9. Laksa

laksa

A specialty of the region around the Malay Peninsula, Laksa is originally a Peranakan dish. Laksa soup in Singapore is mainly based on coconut milk. Smooth and thick rice noodles contain plenty of ingredients like shrimp, shellfish, kamaboko, fried tofu, and eggs.

The soup is slightly spicy as it contains cayenne pepper, but as a whole, it has a mild flavor as it is loosened with coconut milk. Rice noodles with a chewy texture go well with rich soup. Laksa always has a counter in every street vendor and food court.

10. Fish Head Curry

fish curry head

The head of a large fish such as sea bream is made with tamarind and cumin in curry soup. It was originally produced by Indians who came to Singapore from the southern Indian state of Kerala. The dish was invented in the 1950s to effectively use the heads of fish cut in the fish market.

Curry soup is spicy but sour, easy to eat, and deep taste appealing.

It also includes okra and eggplant, well-boiled with fish's head, and an excellent nutritional balance. Surprisingly, white fish has a mild flavor and goes well with spicy soup. It is a dish that reacts extraordinarily to food and affects appearance.

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