Each bite of these noodles is just a little bit different, ranging from deeply savory to bright and sweet, all thanks to its star ingredients: so so many damn vegetables. If you ever want to trick someone into eating more veggies, this is the recipe to do it. Everything is cut to be long and thin so that the textures mimic one another; it feels like you’re eating a ton of noodles, but you aren’t. Don’t be deterred by the initial volume of vegetables before you start stir-frying, they all cook waaaaay down.

Your palate (and your guts) will thank you if you make this.

Singapore Noodles with Lots and Lots of Vegetables

Protein

• 4 oz protein of choice (we always use 2 oz of pork and 2 oz of shrimp, and it’s awesome)

Note: You have complete freedom here. If you want to use the pork and shrimp combo, we would highly recommend it. But if you want to use beef or chicken instead? Go for it. Do you have an irrational love of shrimp? You do you. Wanna make it vegetarian? Tofu would work wonderfully in this recipe. I’d recommend using extra firm since it’s going to need to hold its structural integrity in the face of getting tossed around so much; just make sure that there’s 4 oz in there, and you’re good to go!

• 1 tsp light soy sauce

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp sugar

Vegetables

• 1/4 large red bell pepper (or 1/2 of a small one), thinly sliced

• 1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced

• About 1/2 cup finely shredded cabbage

• 1/2 cup bean sprouts, tightly packed

• About 1/4 carrot, cut into very thin matchsticks

• 1 red chili, sliced (optional, but encouraged)

• 1 tsp curry powder

Sauce

• 1 Tbs xiaoxing wine (or dry sherry)

• 1 Tbs water

• 1/2 Tbs light soy sauce (or use a full tablespoon for a vegetarian version if omitting fish sauce)

• 1/2 Tbs fish sauce

Everything else

• 1 Tbs neutral oil with high smoking point (we use grapeseed oil)

• 1 egg, beaten

• 2 oz vermicelli rice noodles

• Chopped cilantro and lime wedges for garnish

This recipe has a “wait and hurry up” trajectory, so do all the things that require waiting first (before you cut all your vegetables) so you don’t go stir crazy. 

Prepare your protein. If you’re using meat, I’d recommend slicing it really thin if you can. If you’re using shrimp, make sure that the shells are removed and that they are deveined. If you’re using tofu, I’d recommend cutting it into small cubes (around 1/2 inch in size). Place all of your cut protein in a small bowl and add the 1 tsp of light soy sauce, 1/4 tsp of salt and sugar, then toss to coat evenly. Allow the protein to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Note: This is a step you can (and should!) do ahead of time. If you want, you can even stockpile marinated stir fry protein in your fridge to use at any notice! We certainly do. The marinade provided in this recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, quadrupled etc. depending on how much protein you’re preparing. If you’re just making enough for a single batch and you’re going to wait out the 30 minutes, I’d leave the protein at room temperature since it’ll cook better if it isn’t cold, but if you’re waiting any longer, store your protein in the fridge inside of an air-tight container; it should last for a few days.

Start soaking your rice noodles in room temperature/lukewarm water until they are pliable, but not cooked all the way. This will take about 20 minutes. Before using them, fish them out of the water and drain them in a fine mesh strainer, making sure you get as much water out of them as you can.

Now is the time to cut your vegetables. Take your time with this process. Getting vegetables thin takes a little patience, but it’s worth it when they all come together in the final product. Place all of your chopped viggles in a bowl along with the teaspoon of curry powder and toss until they’re all well mixed and covered in the spice mixture. Set aside.

Make the noodle sauce by mixing the xiaoxing wine (or sherry), water, light soy sauce, and fish sauce together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Alright, it’s time to fry. Do a check-in. Make sure your noodles are out of the water and drained. Have your protein portioned and at room temp. Have your vegetables at arm’s reach. Have your egg beaten and ready to be thrown into the pan, and then…

Heat up your pan (a wok or cast iron skillet is ideal) up to medium high heat, then add your oil. Once it shimmers, pour in the beaten egg; it should fizzle and spatter the second it hits the surface of the pan. Stir it around almost immediately, roughly scrambling it, then add your protein and stir to evenly incorporate. Let the protein sit and fry a bit on one side to get a little bit of caramelization (about 30 seconds), then add all of your vegetables and stir again.

Once everything in the pan is all mixed together, let it sit for about a minute, allowing the vegetables to cook and get a little caramelization as well. Stir again, then add your rice noodles to the pan. Now is the time to get everything in your pan all tangled up in your rice noodles: the goal is to make sure that every part of them is yellow. Alternate in between stirring your rice noodles around and using a folding motion, moving all the ingredients in the pan on top of themselves. This will make it easier to coat all the noodles in the spices.

Once this process is done (it’ll take around 30 seconds), add your sauce and let it deglaze the pan for about 3–5 seconds, then quickly remove it from the heat. If you leave your pan on the heat for any longer, you run the risk of having your sauce vanish completely, then everything will burn. Stir all your noodles together with the sauce once your pan is off the heat, then let everything cool down in the pan for a couple of minutes while the noodles cover the entirety of the pan’s surface. This allows for any final crispy bits to be released, adding more flavor to your dish, and also decreasing the amount of clean up you’ll have to do later. After the noodles have cooled a bit, they’re ready to serve. Garnish with a big lime wedge, some chopped cilantro, and maybe some extra fish sauce if you’re feeling it.

Serves one hungry person.