Top 10 Seafood Dishes in Singapore
Singaporeans love seafood. As an island surrounded by water it is no wonder Singaporeans are spoilt for choice with both local and imported seafood playing a big part in our cuisine. From chilli crab to fish head curry and everything in between, here is our list of the top 10 seafood dishes in Singapore.
Chilli Crab
If you were to choose just one dish to represent Singapore cuisine, the ever recognisable chilli crab would be one of your first options. Hailed as one of the World’s 50 Most Delicious Foods by CNN Go in 2011, nothing beats dipping your crab into the sweet, spicy and savoury tomato-based sauce and licking your fingers after. It even comes with a side of mantou so you can mop up all that flavour.
Forget about looking presentable, eating chilli crab is a messy affair and there’s no other way around it.
Cereal Prawn
A staple on every zi char menu, cereal prawns are sweet, savoury and exceptionally crunchy thanks to the crispy prawn shell and cereal crumbs. Fresh, meaty prawns are trimmed and coated with a batter of egg yolk, curry leaves, chilli padi and cereals. The prawns are deep fried and drained before being finished off in a wok with the cereal mixture made from cereal, milk powder, sugar, salt and chicken powder.
Sambal Sotong
Sambal is a concoction of chilli, shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallots, scallion, palm sugar and lime juice beloved by all Singaporeans. Sambal sotong is an all time favourite at hawker centres and nasi padang stalls. Grilled and generously heaped with sambal chilli, we love this dish for its succulent texture and spicy kick.
Sambal Stingray
Another sambal dish on this list, sambal stingray shares the same spicy kick found in sambal sotong. Great sambal stingray is easily pulled apart with a stringy texture unlike any other. Grilled in a banana leaf, the stingray flesh should be delicate and light to offset the fiery sambal. Of course, sambal stingray is not complete without chinchalok; a light pink-coloured dipping sauce made from fermented shrimp, onions and lime juice which we love for the tanginess it adds to the dish.
Laksa
Laksa in Singapore typically comes in two variations. Assam laksa and the coconut-based curry laksa. The curry version is the more popular local option and has its roots in Peranakan culture. Although the core of laksa is the rich and creamy broth; prawns, cockles and fishcakes impart an ocean flavour that goes brilliantly with the spicy notes of the dish.
Fish Head Curry
Fish Head Curry is an iconic dish unique to Singapore and Malaysia. It is made by stewing the head of a Red Snapper (angkoli) in a pot of curry with various vegetables. The result is an extremely aromatic and fragrant concoction that will make your mouth water! A helping of tau pok (fried bean curd) adds crunch, while Singaporeans love to spoon the curry over rice and eat it as is.
Be sure to use fresh Red Snapper to ensure that the meat has no fishy aftertaste.
Fish Head Bee Hoon Soup
It is said that fish head became a delicacy in Singapore because workers did not want to waste any part of the food they were cooking. Fish Head Bee Hoon Soup involves either boiling or frying sliced fish heads before it is dunked into a light, creamy and milky soup punctuated by greens and clear noodles. The fish used for this dish can be snakehead, promfet, batang or garoupa.
Fish Head Bee Hon soup is a popular choice for comfort food that is both healthy and delicious.
Sweet and Sour Fish
Another zi char staple, sweet and sour fish is typically made with red snapper, grouper, batang or mackerel. Generally, white-fleshed fish with light flavours are the best option.
The fish is marinated and coated in a crispy batter before being fried til golden brown. From there, the sweet and sour sauce is created by mixing tomato sauce, chilli sauce, sugar, sweet rice vinegar, chinese wine and lemon juice. The battered fillets are finished in the sauce to ensure each piece is evenly coated with the sauce.
Finished with spring onions, sliced peppers and pineapples, sweet and sour fish is an extremely versatile and comforting dish.
Thinking of whipping up one of these dishes for yourself? Fresh seafood is the most important ingredient to the success of any seafood dish. But you don’t have to visit the fishmonger in the morning to get it.
Tankfully Fresh offers the freshest catch, delivered to you anywhere in Singapore on the next day (Mondays excluded) if you order before 11.59 pm. Visit our website at www.tankfullyfresh.com/ to find out how you can get a variety of fresh and frozen seafood direct to your door with just a click.