Food of Singapore
Singapore's food is a hawker-centre culture where Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Peranakan traditions sit side by side. Rice, noodles, chicken, seafood, coconut, and chili sauce feature widely, and dishes are affordable and eaten quickly in open-air food courts. Spices and sauces such as sambal, curry, and dark soy are everyday seasonings.
Hainanese chicken rice
Poached chicken with fragrant rice and three sauces.
How to make Hainanese chicken rice- Main dishes (10)
- Breakfast (4)
- Street food (7)
- Soups (4)
- Salads (3)
- Desserts and sweets (6)
- Drinks (6)
- Fruits and produce (5)
Staples
- rice, noodles, chicken, seafood, coconut, fish cake
Signature flavors
- sambal, chili, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, curry leaves, pandan, tamarind
Main dishes
Poached chicken with fragrant rice and three sauces.
Key ingredients: chicken, rice, gingerFull guide →
Crab in a sweet-spicy tomato chili sauce.
Key ingredients: crab, tomato, chili, eggFull guide →Crab stir-fried with crushed black pepper.
Key ingredients: crab, pepper, butter
Coconut rice with sambal and sides.
Key ingredients: rice, coconut milkFull guide →
Fish head in tangy curry with okra and eggplant.
Key ingredients: fish head, curry, okra
Pork ribs in a peppery broth.
Key ingredients: pork ribs, garlic, pepper
Stir-fried noodles with prawn and squid in rich stock.
Key ingredients: noodles, prawns, squid
Grilled skewers with peanut sauce.
Key ingredients: chicken, peanut sauceFull guide →
Peranakan chicken stew with black nuts.
Key ingredients: chicken, keluak nuts, tamarindGrilled stingray topped with sambal.
Key ingredients: stingray, sambal, limeBreakfast
Toast with kaya and butter plus soft-boiled eggs.
Key ingredients: bread, kaya, eggsFull guide →
Crisp flatbread with curry.
Key ingredients: flour, ghee, curryFull guide →
Rice porridge with toppings.
Key ingredients: rice, ginger, eggFull guide →
Steamed rice rolls with sweet sauce.
Key ingredients: rice flour, sauceStreet food
Wok-fried flat noodles with cockles and sausage.
Key ingredients: noodles, egg, sausageFull guide →
Fried radish cake with egg.
Key ingredients: radish cake, egg
Crisp egg omelet with oysters.
Key ingredients: oysters, egg, starch
Fresh rolls with turnip, egg, and sauce.
Key ingredients: popiah skin, turnip
Fruit and fritter salad in prawn paste sauce.
Key ingredients: fruit, fritters, peanutsFull guide →
Stuffed flatbread.
Key ingredients: flour, egg, meatBBQ chicken wings at hawker stalls.
Key ingredients: chicken, sambalSoups
Spicy coconut noodle soup.
Key ingredients: noodles, coconut milk, cocklesFull guide →Clear fish soup with ginger and vegetables.
Key ingredients: fish, ginger
Minced pork noodles in vinegar sauce.
Key ingredients: noodles, pork, vinegar
Egg noodles with wontons.
Key ingredients: egg noodles, wontonsSalads
Fruit salad in shrimp paste sauce.
Key ingredients: pineapple, cucumberFull guide →
Raw fish salad tossed for good fortune.
Key ingredients: raw fish, carrot, radish
Pickled vegetables.
Key ingredients: cucumber, carrot, vinegarDesserts and sweets
Pandan jelly with coconut and palm sugar.
Key ingredients: pandan jelly, coconut milkFull guide →
Shaved ice with beans and syrup.
Key ingredients: ice, beans, syrup
Layered rice-flour cake.
Key ingredients: rice flour, coconut
Sweet potato and coconut dessert.
Key ingredients: sweet potato, coconut milkWarm silken tofu with ginger syrup.
Key ingredients: soy milk, ginger syrupLayered cake with a coconut custard top.
Key ingredients: glutinous rice, coconutDrinks
Strong coffee with sweetened condensed milk.
Key ingredients: coffee, condensed milk
Pulled milk tea.
Key ingredients: tea, milkFull guide →Freshly pressed with lime.
Key ingredients: sugarcaneChocolate malt drink served hot or iced.
Key ingredients: Milo, milk
Rose syrup and milk.
Key ingredients: rose syrup, milkChilled barley and pandan drink.
Key ingredients: barleyFruits and produce
Popular Mao Shan Wang type.
Key ingredients: eaten freshFull guide →
Eaten fresh or in desserts.
Key ingredients: eaten freshFull guide →
Red sweet fruit.
Key ingredients: eaten freshFull guide →
Juicy star-shaped fruit.
Key ingredients: eaten fresh
Sweet golden pods.
Key ingredients: eaten freshFull guide →Dish guides from Singapore
More cuisines of South-Eastern Asia
Descriptions written by Intercontinental Chef. Dishes are listed as commonly eaten today; many are shared across neighbouring countries.
- Hainanese Chicken Rice: No machine-readable author provided. Terence assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Chilli crab-02: megawatts86, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Nasi Lemak dengan Chili Nasi Lemak dan Sotong Pedas, di Penang Summer Restaurant: Meandkancil2020, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Fish head curry peranakan z: Chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Song Fa Bak Kut Teh, New Bridge Rd, Singapore (2023) 06: Chainwit., CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Newton HokkienMee: Jpatokal, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Sate Udang: Gunawan Kartapranata, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Buahkeluak: Chensiyuan at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Kaya toast on a plate: Pinklily08, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Making Roti Canai: AssFeder, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Chinese rice congee: Daiju Azuma, CC BY-SA 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons)
- A Steam White Rice Noodle Rolls from KC Chinese Restaurant: Peachyeung316, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Char kway teow: Elizetang, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- 香煎蘿蔔糕 “Fried Turnip Cake”, 利苑酒家午市點心 Lei Garden Lunchtime Dim Sum SML.20120925.G12.00418 (8085981921): See-ming Lee from Hong Kong SAR, China, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Billyfoodoysteromelette: Archon6812, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- LunBhia: Sjschen., CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Rujak Buah (Indonesian Fruit Salad): Sofiah Budiastuti, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Murtabak: Mojackjutaily, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Nyonya Laksa: Giddy98, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- FishBallMeePok: Lai Seet Ying, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- HK SW 上環 Sheung Wan 皇后大道中 303 Queen's Road Central 權記雲吞麵 Wonton noodle soup shop June 2020 SS2 10: Gadium irggvbobjv, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Prosperity toss during Chinese New Year: Jayden Teo, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Acar mentimun: tokyofoodcast.com, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Kampung Paya Jaras Tengah, Selangor 20250112 111330: Wiki Farazi, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Ais kacang: Andrew Bogott, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Kue Lapis: Shitadevi, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- 摩摩喳喳: Canichildmama, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Teh Tarik at the Iskandar Curry House at One Riverside (DSCF0286): Yu Chu Chin, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Bandung Drinks: Kyle Lam, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Durian in black: مانفی, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Mangos - single and halved: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Buds on branch of rambutan tree: DXLINH, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Averrhoa carambola ARS k5735-7: Unknown, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- The jackfruit is holding on to the tree: This work was made by Tushar Hossain and released under the license(s) stated below. Please feel free to use it for any, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
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