Chicken rice
It’s everywhere, at hawker stalls, food courts, luxury hotels and even at the zoo, but Singaporeans just can’t get enough of it. Chicken rice is often called the “national dish” of Singapore. Steamed or boiled chicken is served atop fragrant oily rice, with sliced cucumber as the token vegetable. Variants include roasted chicken or soy sauce chicken. Don’t miss out on the dipping sauces,premium dark soy sauce, chili with garlic, and pounded ginger. Play around with different combinations to discover new tastes.
Char kway teow
There is no stopping Singaporeans from indulging in this high-fat hawker favorite. Flat rice noodles stir-fried with lard (for best flavor), dark and light soy sauce, chilli, de-shelled cockles, sliced Chinese sausage, bean sprouts, Chinese chives and sometimes prawns and egg. Essential to the dish is good “wok hei” or breath of wok, the qualities and tastes imparted by cooking on a wok using high heat. Many now choose to omit the cockles but char kway teow will always be incomplete without the sinfully rich fried pork lard pieces.
Fried Hokkien mee
Yet another dish favored by hardworking laborers of the past. Thick yellow egg noodles mixed with rice vermicelli are cooked in a rich seafood stock, and tossed with prawns, squid, small strips of pork belly and deep-fried lard pieces. A small kalamansi lime is always given should you prefer some tangy juice to cut through the greasiness of the dish.
BBQ chicken wings
In many a hawker center, you will see rows of chicken wings glistening and turning on a roasting spit. Singaporeans love ordering these wings as a side dish, frequently as a large plate to share among family and friends. Best eaten hot and with a garlic chili dip. A spritz from calamansi limes add sweet tang to the wings. This finger food is great with beer or sugarcane juice.
Satay
This is Southeast Asia’s rendition of the kebab with a few unique twists. There’s the peanut dip, sweet and spicy. The marinade of local spices that totally transforms the meat. The thin wooden skewers made of bamboo or stem of coconut leaves. And the refreshing sides of chopped raw cucumber and onions, along with ketupat (rice cakes steamed in woven coconut leaves). It’s a joy to watch your satay being grilled over an open charcoal fire. The aroma heightens the anticipation and the enjoyment.
