What's up everyone? Today we're making Singapore Noodles! My name is Randy And we are the Laus We're on a mission to celebrate And pass down our Chinese heritage One meal at a time. After 50 amazing years as a Chinese chef My dad's finally retired And he's here to teach you all of his secrets To make the perfect Singapore Noodles A dish he's made thousands of times. Hello, my friends! Today we're going to learn how to make Singapore Noodles. We'll first soak the noodles in hot water. Audrey, Amy, Belinda, and Nancy from Patreon They asked what are your favorite brand of noodles to use? -Really really thin -This is from Taiwan? Do you usually buy noodles from this brand? Yeah, most of the time. We only buy this one. It's a little expensive compared to other rice stick noodles But when you cook it, it won't stick to the wok. This rice noodle itself is not sticky. It's dry and doesn't stick to the wok. Other noodles feel sticky when you touch them That means they are too soft, but this one is not. We'll use around 1/2 lb of noodles. First, let's soak the noodles in hot water. Then, we'll use chopsticks to loosen the noodles. We'll soak the noodles for 1-2 minutes. It doesn't need to soak for long. Here, my dad cooked the noodles for just a little over 2 minutes. We'll take the noodles out after turning off the heat. No need to cover the pot when soaking the noodles, it cooks quickly. We'll drain the noodles. We'll drain and separate the noodles for about 30 to 60 seconds. Since we want these to be pretty dry Use a pair of chopsticks to loosen it up. We have a lot of noodles, it's around 1/2 lb. Prepare less if there's fewer people. After loosening the noodles, we'll use a plate to cover it Then, leave it for some time. During our Meal Time, my dad goes into detail on why quickly boiling And covering with a plate leads to the best noodle texture And why you shouldn't rinse the noodles afterwards. You shouldn't put it... Didn't I just cook rice noodles? Don't cook them for too long. Put the noodles in after the water boils. Cook for 2 minutes and loosen them after that. You don't have to rinse them afterwards. Some people like to rinse the noodles in cold water after cooking. You don't need to do that with this noodle. You just have to cover the noodles after you drain them. The reason why you cover the noodles Is to make sure the noodle texture doesn't get too soft or too hard. Then, we'll loosen it after a while. This way, the noodles will be dry and not sticky. If you rinse it after, the noodles will be wet. But if you just cover it with a plate, then it'll be dry. I also wanted to make a special shoutout to thank all of our Wonderful Patreon supporters to help bring this video to life. If you enjoy our videos and are interested in supporting us directly, Head on over to patreon.com/madewithlau to learn more! We're done with the noodles, set them aside for now. Here are all the ingredients that we'll be using. We'll use 3-4 oz Char Siu. For those who are interested in making the Char Siu themselves Please watch our Char Siu recipe in the links below. This Char Siu is fresh from the oven. For chicken, just 3 oz is enough. You don't need too much. We'll slice the chicken into strips. Place the sliced chicken on a plate. Add 1/2 tsp cornstarch to the chicken. This will make the chicken tender. Just add 1 tbsp water. Mix it all together. Okay, we've finish preparing the chicken. Let's prepare the other ingredients. This is an onion, we only need half of it. Cut this into strips too. Green bell pepper. Here, my dad is using about a third Of several different colors of bell peppers. But if you want to keep it simple You can just use an entire, single bell pepper. This is a red bell pepper. I use different color bell peppers just for appearance. For normal cooking, you don't have to use this many. Audrey from Patreon asked "Is there a rule about what types of vegetables to use?" Don't use veggies that have high water content. For example, bok choy. Bok choy has high water content. Usually restaurants add green peppers, onions, celery and sprouts to the stir-fry. I also added red pepper and carrot. To make the dish more colorful, right? And we don't have too much. We'll also add 2 scallions. Oh, cut it this way? Yeah. -For stir-frying. -Why? It's not that important. Put it here. Cut the celery into strips as well. We'll be cutting 2 stalks of celery. And Char Siu, I'll use 3-4 oz. Since it's for ourselves, let's cut 2 more pieces. It's freshly roasted, son. This morning? Yeah, I prepared it this morning So it's still fresh. We'll also prepare 10 - 12 pieces of shrimp. Cooking for yourself, it doesn't matter if you want to add more We'll use 2 eggs. We'll add a little salt to the eggs. Just a little is enough. All the ingredients are basically ready. This time, we'll use 1 tsp curry powder. This curry powder tastes great! It's a gift to me from Randy and Kat, from their trip to India. It's very good. For some quick context, my wife and I Spent about a month backpacking through India one of our five stops along our 5 month Asia trip in 2013 For thousands of years prior, travelers and traders Sought after the many spices the Indian subcontinent had to offer. The technique of grinding up spices into powders for food Dates back at least 4000 years in India And spice trade played an enormous role in the world's economy And balance of power over the millennia. The western word "curry" is an adaptation of the Tamil word kaṟi Which means 'sauce', and over time Countless varieties of curries and curry dishes emerged all around the world. Curry powder is absolutely essential for Singapore noodles. With so many options, the type of curry powder you use for this dish Really impacts the final flavor profile So you might want to experiment with several options Until you land on something you love. If you don't have any I've included a few curry powder options to start with in our description. For this dish, we'll be using 1 tsp curry powder. You can add more if you're preparing more noodles. Or if you love spicy food It all comes down to preference. If you don't like the taste, you can also add less. For the flavors, we'll be mixing 1 to 3 tsp of curry powder 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, and 2 tbsp water. 1 tsp of curry powder is definitely on the more mild side So if you prefer a stronger flavor, add more curry powder. We have all of these ingredients listed on our blog at madewithlau.com Along with step-by-step instructions and video clips To guide you as you make the recipe at home. We'll mix this with the noodles when stir-frying later Or if you feel like adding chicken bouillon to the noodle That's okay too, it's not a problem. But this time, I won't add chicken bouillon to the noodles Why did I mix them well before stir frying the noodles? Because if you don't mix the curry powder well first It'll stick together when stir-frying later Then it'll be hard to mix them. That's why I mix them beforehand And pour it into the noodle like this. It's easier to distribute the sauce evenly. When we announced that we were doing this dish on Instagram and Patreon We got a lot of comments from our friends in Singapore That they'd never heard of this dish And, of course, I went digging. According to the renowned Singaporean chef, Damian D'Silva The dish actually originated in Hong Kong in the 50s and 60s At the time, Hong Kong was still a British colony And a booming international trade hub. Spice powders and curries from previously British-ruled India were abundant Which inspired more than a few chefs To start tossing them into their stir-fried noodle dishes. The name seems to be coincidental As the chefs felt it might add some mystique or exotic appeal to the dish. It was a favorite amongst the many cháhchāantēngs 茶餐廳 or Hong Kong style cafés And quickly gained popularity overseas as Hong Kong chefs fanned out across the world. Even though Singapore noodles are definitely not from Singapore Some Singaporeans would say that the dish is a good metaphor For the eclectic mashup of all of the different cultures and cuisines That Singapore has become famous for. Okay, preparation work is all done. Now it's time to stir-fry The rice noodles look good. Let's loosen the noodle first. When cooking this dish We'll want to get our wok really hot before adding oil. While loosening up the noodles, heat the wok for 2-3 minutes on high heat. We're going to cook a lot of noodles. We'll stir fry our eggs first. Whip the eggs. Add a little oil into the wok. 1 tsp oil is enough. Spread the oil in the wok evenly. Another sign that both our wok and oil are hot enough Is when we can see the oil shimmering or forming ripples across the surface. Okay, pour the egg into the wok. We’ll start by frying the eggs. So we cook with high heat? Yes, with the highest heat. My dad is cooking the eggs very gently Leaving the first side intact for 20-30 seconds Before starting to flip and scramble the eggs. We want the eggs to be really soft. In total, we're cooking the eggs for about a minute here. And tossing them back in later Break the egg into smaller pieces And put them into a bowl. Next, we'll add another tablespoon of a high-smoke point oil like corn oil And roll it around the pan. We'll be cooking the chicken now, so remix the chicken And marinade around with chopsticks for a few seconds. We'll stir-fry the chicken now. Cook the chicken for 30-45 seconds before adding the shrimp. Okay, we'll set aside the chicken And put in the shrimp. We'll be cooking around 10 shrimp. How long does it take to cook? Until the shrimp start to change color. Shrimp cooks quickly. When the chicken is done, the shrimp is also done. So a change in color mean it's cooked? Yeah, the shrimps are cooked when they turn red. What about the chicken? The chicken is cooked when it turns white. Raw chicken is not this color, right? The chicken has turned white, it's cooked now. Can you see? It turned red. It's done. Okay, now we'll stir-fry the vegetables. Add some oil to the wok. Time to stir-fry the vegetables. Okay, the vegetables are done too The ingredients are all cooked. Now, we'll add 1 tbsp oil into the wok. Okay, add in the rice noodles. After adding the noodles, don't stir/flip it immediately. Let it fry for a bit. This make the bottom crispy and fragrant. Okay, now we can stir it around and flip to the other side. Cooking methods differ a bit between home cooking and restaurant cooking. You know? For home cooking, the tools used are different from restaurants, right? So for home cooking, we'll do it slowly. We don't have to rush. Restaurants cook very quickly. They use higher heat, so it takes less time to cook, right? Can you hear the noodles crackling underneath? How do you know it's cooked enough? The noodles are already cooked, we soaked them in the boiled water just now. Now, we fry it to make it taste better. When you hear the noodles crackling Then it's done. You can look at the bottom and hear the crackling. The sauce that we made earlier, mix it well with the noodles We'll use tongs to stir fry the noodles We don't have to use a spatula to stir-fry noodles. You can use tongs too. It's very convenient to use tongs, don't you think so? If you don't want to use chopsticks then just use tongs. When I was cooking for restaurants Sometimes I used tongs to stir fry noodles too. It's fast, easy, and convenient. Okay, the sauce is mixed in with the noodles. We'll add all the other ingredients into the noodles. Over the course of about 2 minutes We'll be progressively adding the vegetables Followed by the chicken and shrimp, the char siu Bean sprouts, and lastly, some eggs. Evenly mix the ingredients in well with the noodles. What we've made is more than 2 orders at a restaurant. That's why cooking time is different. It's a lot of noodles. We'll add the shrimp and chicken. It's a big portion, isn't it? Now, we'll add everything into the noodles. Time to add the bean sprouts. This is enough for 5-6 servings, son. Pour in the egg. Now we've added everything. We'll add 1 tbsp sesame oil. Let's add more since we've prepared a lot. Mix everything for another 30-45 seconds. Okay, we've finished stir frying the noodles. Let's see if it tastes good enough Wow! With char siu! Ahhh Okay! Is there enough curry flavor? Yeah! It's a large portion. It's equivalent to 3 orders from a restaurant, son. It's around $20-30 if you buy it from a restaurant, you know? Okay, done! Wow！ Doesn't the color look beautiful? Okay, Singapore Noodle is ready to eat! Isn't it pretty? -Oh my god! -Happy Birthday Hong Doy! Happy Birthday! We're doing noodles… Yeah For you birthday, long life for you baby! Long life! Cheers, Cam Cam! Happy Birthday! ♪Laughter♪ Cheers! Let's feast! Is that good? Yeah, it's so good! You can have the whole bowl I will ♪Laughter♪ How many people do you think asked questions? 10? (scoff) This is the most we ever got Um… at least 50 people 75! Wow! 75 people asked ♪Laughter♪ Isn't that crazy? ♪Laughter♪ How do you stop the noodles from breaking? The noodles are very long. It's impossible to not break the noodles when cooking, understand? As long as it's not too short, then it's fine. They always break, there's no way to cook them without breaking. But I think for Daddy I've never seen him cook noodles until they break If you buy this kind of noodle, I believe it has higher chance of success. Yeah. Because the texture of the noodle is really good. If somebody is making this dish and they keep getting soggy noodles They first maybe boiled it for less than 2 minutes, or boiled it too long? They boiled the noodle for too long That's why it would get soggy when frying. You don't soak the noodles first, right? I don't do that If you soak the noodle before you cook, that will be really soft. Too soft. Uh-huh. I think you have to control the timing so it’s just soft enough in hot water When you're cooking the rice noodles, will you soak them in cold water? You keep it in a pot, right? I don't do that. The same goes for restaurants? Restaurants don't do that either. That's my way. Now I learned something new. (laugh) So I think we should emphasize this. So I think the most important step that maybe people aren't doing Is they're maybe doing the cold water afterwards, or even hot water afterwards. So most important is to put in a pot with the lid on That keeps it warm and soft, but not sticky and wet. What other types of noodle can you use? Is it possible to use glass noodles? Sure. What other noodles besides that? You don't have to use these rice noodles. You can use any brand of rice noodles. It doesn't matter whether you use glass noodle. The most important part of Singapore Noodle is the curry powder. Without curry power, it's not "Singapore Noodle". We had people asking about how to make sure The vegetables and the meat are evenly mixed into the noodles and not just on top? After stir-frying everything, I used tongs to mix them well Yeah, you can also use chopsticks to do that. Mix them around slowly so it's evenly mixed, right? How do you make this vegetarian? For the ingredients that we used, if you don't add any meat into the dish You can add any vegetables that you want. The most common ingredient is fresh mushroom. There's shiitake mushroom, king oyster mushroom, enoki mushroom, etc. You can use many different types of mushroom. How about tofu in there?! Can you use tofu? You can use dried tofu. This one. Spiced Jumbo Thick Dried Tofu. THICC BOI Cut it into strips First, cut one in half then cut them into small strips. Normal tofu is too wet? Normal tofu is too wet, and it breaks easily. It can't be used for stir-fry. For these, you don't have to worry about breaking them when stir-frying 15 people asked, what is the best type of curry to use? Curries from India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines are all renowned. Curry is very fragrant. People who love curry like it because of the fragrance and aromas. If you don't like curry, you won't like any type of curry. Mommy Lau doesn't really like curry. So when I cook at home, I rarely use curry powder. This one that we're using is the Indian one. Yeah, from our travels. From India as a gift for us. Yeah. I can't believe it lasted this long. I know! It's a big box Is there a specific brand? Not really. The one that you brought back from India tastes good though, If you want to make it spicier, what should you do? Just add more to make it spicier. You can also add chili sauce if it's not enough. The amount of curry we used today is not very much. At restaurants, because most people like stronger flavors So they'll add more curry and it'll be more yellow. When I cooked this, I only use 1 tsp curry powder Because I don't want it to be very spicy. So we have a lot of friends from Singapore And like every, almost everyone was like - I've never had this dish ♪Laughter♪ So why do you think it's called Singapore Noodles? ♪Laughter♪ I don't understand why Singapore doesn't have this dish yet But every Cantonese-American restaurant will have Singapore Noodles. For Singapore Noodles, don't add the ingredients in one by one Because it'll be hard to mix them well this way. For example, this part would be salty and that bit won't be salty enough. It's not evenly mixed, right? Please remember this, it's important for stir-frying noodles. What if you try it and say "Ah! I didn't put enough curry" But you already mixed the noodles in? What's the best way to add more curry? Use water to mix in with the additional curry powder Before adding it to the wok. Don't add the curry powder directly into the noodles Because it'll be hard to mix it evenly. Uh. You fart? ♪Laughter♪ You farted! Hello, dear friends and audience! Thank you!
