Singapore Laksa Fried Rice

Friday 2 June 2017
Inspired by a stay at Hotel Jen Orchard Gateway this fragrant seafood fried rice dish will transport you to the Hawker Centres of Singapore. A variation on the popular spicy noodle soup of Peranakan cuisine.





If asked to think of food and drink in connection with Singapore I'm guessing nine out of ten would say Singapore Sling and Singapore Noodles. I already covered the sling in my recent post - Little Red Dot Singapore Sling and my Singapore Top Ten and today should be time for the noodles... However I'm afraid I have some bad news. They don't actually exist! They're something that's been created purely for western palates. Ask for Singapore noodles in Singapore and you'll be met with very puzzled looks. That said you won't be stuck for choice as Singaporeans live to eat and the melting post of cultures that is the little red dot has a seriously good food scene. For me that's best demonstrated in the street food Hawker Centres where the cuisine covers Chinese, Indian, Malay, Indonesian, Peranakan and more.


On our recent trip to Singapore we stayed at the 4 star Hotel Jen Orchard Gateway. It was ideally located on the main shopping street of Orchard Road just above the Somerset MRT station. We were in a club room on the seventeenth floor which was modern, clean and stylish with a super comfy king sized bed. This also gave us access to the Club Lounge on the nineteenth floor with the additional benefits of exclusive check-in and check-out, complimentary drinks and snacks all day long, early evening cocktails and a breakfast buffet. Also on this level was the rooftop infinity pool which was an oasis of calm and had absolutely fantastic views across the city.


We were invited to dinner in the hotel restaurant Makan@Jen with Elsa and Nikki from the communications team for a Lets Makan Buffet. For SGD 42++ you get to feast on a fantastic spread of local Hawker style food including live cooking stations. Watch my Facebook Live video to see the full selection. It was great to have Elsa and Nikki to guide us through the food on offer and advise us which dishes were unmissable. We even braved century eggs! Not exactly appetising to look at, I didn't mind the taste but the texture was rather odd to say the least. It was a fantastic way to sample a wide selection of local delicacies all within one meal. My particular favourites were the seafood, roasted meats, lok-lok and satay. We rounded off proceedings with Ice kachang and multicoloured desserts. Special thanks to Nikki for mixing up the perfect Rojak and educating me in the art of Ice Kachang. Meanwhile Elsa has promised to try haggis if she visits Scotland.


During our stay we were also invited to a cocktail event where Chef Chef Lee Hoong Wan demonstrated his signature dish - Laksa Fried Rice. You can see him in action on my Facebook Live Video. This had been one of my favourite dishes at the Let's Makan buffet and in the Club Lounge. We were provided with the recipe to recreate at home however alas many of the Singaporean ingredients aren't readily available in Scotland so I've come up with my own version using ready made Laksa paste. However I picked up lots of great tips from Chef Lee and I've definitely upped my fried rice game as a result. 
  • Always use cooked and cooled rice - I use the ready cooked pouches. 
  • If the rice has dried out add a splash of chicken stock during cooking. 
  • Don't skimp on the oil. 
  • Turn up the heat and really fry the rice. 
  • Keep everything moving in the pan. 
  • Always make sure the egg is scrambled/cooked before mixing it into the rice or everything will be come sticky.
  • Add vegetables such as beansprouts at the very end to ensure they remain crisp.
For my version I incorporated fish balls from a Chinese Supermarket but you could use crab sticks and/or substitute the seafood for Chicken. I got Laksa paste in Sainsbury's but also spotted some in the Chinese Supermarket which may have been more authentic. Either way feel free to use more or less to suit your own preferences for heat. The other main ingredient that unfortunately I couldn't get hold of were fried tofu pouches so I improvised with shredded omelette as a replacement. I'll be honest and say that it's not nearly as good as Chef Lee's but it's fragrance and flavours still managed to transport me back to the little red dot.


Singapore Laksa Fried Rice

Vegetable Oil
3 Free Range Eggs, beaten
6 spring onions, sliced and separated into white and green
250g Mixed Cooked Seafood (I used sliced fish balls, squid and prawns)
500g cooked rice
4 Tbsp Laksa Paste (use more or less to taste)
100g beansprouts
I am Sauce
Desiccated Coconut

Prepare all the ingredients as above.
Heat a splash of oil in a wok and use half of the beaten egg to make two very thin omelettes. Shred the omelettes and set aside along with the remaining beaten egg.
Add some more oil to the wok and fry the white parts of the spring onions for a couple of minutes.
Then add the pre-cooked and cooled rice. Keep it moving constantly over a high heat and fry for a couple of minutes.
Push the rice to one side of the wok, add the beaten egg and scramble.
Once the egg is cooked mix it into the rice and add in the shredded omelette pieces.
Next add in the Laksa Pate to taste and mix through before adding in the seafood. 
After a further couple of minutes add the beansprouts and toss everything together for 30 seconds.
Season to taste with soy sauce and serve topped with the reserved spring onion greens and desiccated coconut.


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www.foodiequine.co.uk Inspired by a stay at Hotel Jen Orchard Gateway this fragrant seafood fried rice dish will transport you to the Hawker Centres of Singapore. A variation on the popular spicy noodle soup of Peranakan cuisine.

Disclosure: Hotel Jen Singapore Orchard Gateway provided us with an upgrade to club status plus dinner for two at their 'Let's Makan' Buffet. 

As always, all views expressed are my own.

11 comments

  1. Ooooh that swimming pool area looks perfect! Sounds like you had a great trip and the food looks amazing! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x

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    1. The swimming pool was to die for! Such great views across the city and the giant beanbag loungers were ace.

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  2. Wow, everything sounds delicious! This recipe looks great and easy to 'vegify' :-D
    I love recreating holiday dishes at home. Yum.

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    1. It's so nice to be able to take a wee bit of your holiday home in food form.

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  3. I love fried rice and I will absolutely have to try this!
    Oh gosh my tummy is rumbling already

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    1. Fried rice has always been one of my absolute favourite dishes, so versatile too in terms of what you can add.

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  4. I have a Singaporean friend who is way too easy to wind up by discussions on Singapore Noodles! I love laksa, so this laksa fried rice looks like something I'd really enjoy!

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    1. We seem to have a number of foods in the west that simply don't exist in their supposed home countries!

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  5. Oh my! this looks like heaven! My dad lives in Singapore as a child but still makes fried rice the Singapore way, so I make it now, just like he does. This is a totally different style and I'd love to give it a go and see if it conjurers any memories for him!

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    1. How do you make yours? Always interested in different techniques for fried rice.

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  6. Oh I just love the look of Singapore, I think this might be next years holiday destination. How do they not do Singapore noodles in Singapore, that is so funny. Although I can't imagine they have Chicken Korma in India either!!! haha!!

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