Allie makes pretty good Singapore Style Noodles for a white girl living in a small town in Chile.

I wanted Chinese take out... again. Needless to say, I couldn't have it.... again.

While thinking about my favorite Asian takeout foods, I had an inkling that Singapore Noodles couldn't be that hard to make. It turns out I was right.

I was going to write a schpeel about how this recipe isn't traditional because it's vegetarian rather than including roast pork and shrimp and it uses angel hair pasta instead of vermicelli rice noodles, blah blah blah. Then, I did some research and learned that this dish isn't even from Singapore. It started out in European Chinese restaurants and made its way around the world. Why? Because it's really good.

That said, even though Singapore Noodles isn't traditional Singapore fare, it still has a traditional ingredient list widely utilized in Chinese restaurants around the globe- vermicelli rice noodles, Chinese roast pork, shrimp, onions, bell peppers, bean sprouts, curry powder. I had it this way in what seemed to be a very authentic Chinese restaurant (assortment of Chinese roast animal parts hanging in window, menu in Chinese, lots of Chinese people) in San Francisco's China Town. It was quite good. I've also had many vegetarian versions, my favorite of which was at Pacific Rim in Burlington Vermont, but that could just be out of nostalgia.

Regardless, I really really liked the way these turned out! They make me feel like I am capable of cooking great Asian inspired food anywhere, even in a Chilean cow town.

Don't be intimidated by the long ingredient list. You can leave out, substitute, or add any veggies you would like. You can also add meat or tofu. (Okay, you can't add tofu if you live in a Chilean cow town, but you can in most other places.) This recipe makes 3-4 servings.


Vegetarian Singapore Style Noodles

200 grams angel hair pasta (1/2 normal size package)

Sauce
1/2 cup vegetable stock (homemade or low sodium)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (vinegre de manzana in Spanish)
1/2 teaspoon corn starch (optional)
hot sauce of choice to your taste (I used about 1 teaspoon aji chileno)

3 eggs
1 small carrot, julienned
1 large green onion (cebollin in Spanish) or leek, roughly chopped
1/2 large or 1 small bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped red cabbage
1 small tomato, seeded and sliced into thin strips
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh grated or finely chopped ginger
1/2 small mild chili pepper (aji verde in Spanish), finely chopped
1-2 teaspoons (or more!) curry powder
1/4 cup (or more) chopped fresh cilantro

a few tablespoons of olive oil (or whatever oil you prefer)


Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain, toss with a bit of olive oil and keep covered in cooking pot until needed.

Mix sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. I used homemade unsalted vegetable stock. If you are using stock that contains salt, you may want to decrease the amount of soy sauce. You can always add more later! Set sauce aside until needed.

Whisk eggs in a small bowl. Heat about one tablespoon of olive oil in a large wok or frying pan. Pour the eggs into the wok and let cook until almost cooked through, about 3 minutes. Fold the egg pancake in half in order to make a plain egg omelette. Cook for about one more minute and remove from heat. Cut the omelette into strips or squares. Set aside.

Add an additional splash of oil to the wok and saute the carrots for about 2 minutes. Add the green onion and bell pepper and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Add the cooked egg, zucchini, garlic, ginger, and aji. Stir until fragrant. Add the cabbage, tomato, and sauce mixture. Let bubble for about one minute and add the pasta.

Add one teaspoon of curry powder and mix well. Add additional curry powder as needed. ( I added an additional teaspoon.) You want this mixture to be very yellow and quite dry- not at all saucy. Believe me, you want to add more curry powder than what feels logical. Ignore your gut instinct. The strangely excessive amount of curry powder in this surprisingly dry pasta dish is what gives it character and what makes it truly unique.

Serve garnished with chopped fresh cilantro.

Regardless if you are in Chile, the US, a Chinese restaurant in Europe, San Fransisco China town, or Singapore itself, enjoy!!!