Singapore curry powder is a general classification of spices that are used in preparing a number of staple foods in Singapore’s local restaurants. This spice blend goes from traditional wet markets’ food carts to five-star restaurants, giving its unique scent and flavor profile to a breadth of food.

Curry powder and the use of alternative spices are parts of the essential components in food preparation and are considered as traditional cuisines in Singapore and many other Asian countries.

While the Indian or Thai curries use fresh ground spices, Singaporean curry instead uses ready-made curry powder which are commercially available and common ingredients include coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves and chili peppers. It originated from the gourmet seasonings brought by south Indian settlers who later moved to Singapore in the 19th and 20th century to find employment. In time, the blend was adjusted further to local conditions in Singapore, the aroma became stronger and less sharp due to the reduction of the chili content. It also made curries easy to prepare in urban homes because it was easy to measure the content of the powder without the need for spoons. Nowadays, Singapore curry powder is an irreplaceable ingredient in hawker food as well as the fine-dining renditions of the classics.

Street Food Classics

Well-known dishes sold on the streets in Singapore such as rojak, laksa, and Gong Xi Tang, are made using curry powder. These fast food and very cheap meals have sustained the people of Singapore for generations and remain common to this day.

The simple and humble Hainanese Chicken Rice is a curry powder added rice that was originally intended as a one pot meal for the Hainanese immigrants, who worked as factors on the docks and also the clear soup that the chicken is poached in is flavored with ginger and served as a dipping sauce. This powder is very subtle and gives an extra layer of aroma to this dish, which is quite simple and has a very comforting flavour.

Likewise, curry powder plays a fundamental part in the ingredients for Singaporean curry noodles such as kuey teow and mee pok. This mouth-watering, cannot-stop-order comprises rice noodles which could be flat or egg ones smothered in coconut milk gravy enriched with curry powder spices. Common garnish is sliced fishcake, fried beancurd puffs, egg and fresh lime, and is one of the perennial favorites of hawker centers.

In addition to noodles, curry powder is also used in a myriad of typical hawker dishes consisting of nasi briyani (fried rice with spices), mee rebus (sweet potato noodle served with tangy and spicy gravy), fish head curry (pieces of fresh snapper cooked in curry soup) and potato murtabak (thin and flaky pastry filled with mashed potato and curry powder).

Refined Restaurant Interpretations

An indispensable ingredient in hawker fare, curry powder has come a long way in its journey; it has moved from its plain beginnings to become part of sophisticated restaurant fare. Popular local chef, Violet Oon is also known for using Singapore curry powder to give an extra edge to her traditional meals in her up market restaurants here and in New York City.

One of her hallmarks is her dry laksa, which comes with al dente noodles, prawns, cockles, crispy tau pok (fried beancurd puffs), and omelette strips accompanied by a curry gravy mix, which is based on powder and made with coconut milk. Her chicken rendang recipe is a little different and involves using kampong chicken which is braised till tender in a curry powder and coconut milk stew that is cooked with candlenuts and galangal. Violet Oon then goes further in her narrative and use of curry powder in dressing up a dish demonstrates that curry is not merely a lowly street fare.

Other creative chefs such as Bjorn Shen and Damian D’Silva have also incorporated Singapore curry powder to incorporate local elements to dishes that would not normally be considered curry. This curry powder agar agar is made by Bjorn Shen from restaurant Artichoke is served with cured salmon belly and ikura. Chef Damian D’Silva incorporates curry leaves and curry powder for the Southeast Asian taste that he has incorporated in the Euro-Portuguese menu at Folklore.

International Fusions

Singaporean curry powder has also been incorporated into other cultures and cuisines that are far apart from the Asian region due to its flexibility and appeal. Steady is not only innovative but also audacious: a French-Malaysian fusion restaurant, Madame Fan offers wagyu beef cheek rendang with tempura enoki mushrooms, using Japanese techniques with seriously Malaysian-Singaporean gusto.

Wild Rocket is one of Singapore’s most popular restaurants, run by an Australian chef Willin Low, preparing modern, farm-to-table food with a pinch of Asian influence. Some of his specials are; Hokkaido scallops with red capsicum coulis in Singapore curry powder served with black olive crumble. Japanese ingredients and Southeast Asian seasonings produce the kind of modern cross-cultural fusion that strikes a balance.

Singapore curry is also used outside Asia, especially in some fusion food restaurants all over the United States. Another example, in Los Angeles, Niki Nakayama, the owner of the popular n/naka restaurant, combines pastrami slices and ramen noodles in an untraditional curry broth inspired by both Japanese and Singaporean cuisines.

The exportation of Singaporian curry powder indicates how the range of Singaporean food is global and versatile, how it invites reimagining and fusion with other cultures – like Singaporean curry powder, Singaporean food itself is a blend of different cultures.

After the day of Street stals and food joints, there are many fine dining restaurants available.

Still, it remains a local dish originating from the local street and thus has evolved to fit into the higher classes of restaurants. It is also important to note that creative chefs have been able to demonstrate how to prepare dishes using these spice blends, either in their traditional form or by developing new ones. In this same way, Singapore curry powder blends and melds together different elements and components of cultures, and has come to represent a dynamic, multicultural, and ever-evolving food culture of the country. As an ever-present part of street centre fare to gourmet banquet feasting, this all-purpose seasoning will undoubtedly remain an essential part of the Singaporean dining experience in the years to come.