Food Dictionary
Singapore’s menus can be full of unfamiliar terms. Even seasoned diners can find them baffling. This Singapore Food Dictionary aims to make local culinary terms easier to understand, with entries covering regional dishes commonly found in Singapore’s eateries. We include pictures wherever possible.
Tap a letter to jump to that section.
A (5 entries)
Ah Baling
A Teochew dessert. Glutinous rice balls with filling in clear sweet soup. The filling could be peanuts, red bean paste, green bean paste, yam or sesame paste. Also referred to as โtang yuanโ in Mandarin.
Ang Ku Kueh
Literally means Red Tortoise Cake. A small Chinese pastry having a soft sticky glutinous rice flour skin with a sweet filling of bean or peanuts. It is molded to resemble a tortoise shell and is traditionally considered auspicious as it symbolises longevity and good fortune.
Apom
(also appom or appam): Indian pancakes made from rice flour, with a soft, billowy bum in the centre and soft thin crispy edges. The plain version is usually eaten with sugar and desiccated coconut.
Ayam Buah Keluak
A Peranakan (Straits-Chinese) dish made with chicken (ayam) braised in a thick, spicy tamarind gravy with buah keluak (the black nuts of the Pangium edule found in mangrove swamps).
Ayam Penyet
Smashed fried chicken; a Javanese dish where fried chicken dish is smashed with pestle against mortar to make it softer, and served with sambal, slices of cucumbers and fried tofu.
B (7 entries)
Bak Chor Mee
A noodle dish served with minced meat or pork slices, with other ingredients such as pork liver, stewed sliced mushrooms and bits of deep-fried lard. An important component of the dish is the sauce which consists of chili, vinegar and other condiments such as soy sauce and pepper.
Bak Kut Teh
Pork Ribs cooked in broth of a variety of Chinese herbs and spices. There are different versions including the Hokkien style, Teochew style and Klang style.
Bak Chang
Steamed glutinous rice dumplings, usually filled with pork and mushrooms, and wrapped in bamboo leaves.
Bakwan Kepiting
A Straits Chinese pork and crab meatballs soup dish. Meat balls of minced pork mixed with crabmeat and crunchy bamboo shoots are boiled and served in a light soup (usually chicken & fish stock).
Ban Chang Kueh
(or Ban Jian Kueh also Min Jiang Kueh): Pancakes made from flour, and traditionally filled with crushed peanuts and sugar. There is a thin & crispy version and a thick & fluffy version. Contemporary pancakes can have all sorts of fillings, including red bean paste, grated coconut, and sesame paste.
Ban Mian (ๆฟ้บต)
A Chinese handmade flat noodle dish, typically with rich anchovy broth and topped with minced meat and vegetables.
Beef Rendang
A Malay dish made by simmering beef in coconut milk and spices until the meat is coated with a thick sauce; sometimes described as caramelised beef curry.
C (16 entries)
Carrot Cake
It is also known as โfried carrot cakeโ or โChai Tow Kuehโ but it not made of carrot. It is in fact stir-fried cubes of radish and flour cakes. There is a โwhiteโ version and a โblackโ version with sweet soy sauce.
Century Egg
Also known as โpidan,โ century eggs are made by preserving duck, chicken, or quail eggs in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, quicklime, and rice hulls for several weeks or months, resulting in a dark brown egg with translucent, jelly-like texture and a unique and intense flavour.
Chap Chye
A mixed vegetable stem comprising mainly cabbage stewed with timchok (sweet beancake) and bean curd skins.
Chapati
An Indian unleavened flatbread made from wholewheat flour.
Char Kway Teow
Fried flat rice flour noodles. The dish is stir-fried with soy sauce and common ingredients include eggs, slices of Chinese sausage, cockles and fishcakes.
Char Siew
Roasted seasoned pork which is sweet and savory and sliced into thin pieces. Char Siew is usually served with steamed white rice or noodles.
Char Siew Pau
(or BBQ Pork Bun): Soft, fluffy steamed bun filled with sweet-savoury barbecued pork.
Char Siew Soh
A dim sum pastry consisting of a small, often triangular or oblong parcel of flaky, layered baked pastry filled with sweet-savoury barbecued pork (char siew).
Chendol (Cendol)
A traditional South-East Asian dessert made from shaved ice, coconut milk, palm sugar and jelly noodles made from rice flour with green food coloring (usually derived from the pandan leaves).
Chee Cheong Fun
A rice noodle roll filled with shrimp, pork, beef, vegetables, or other ingredients; or without filling and eaten with soy sauce, sesame oil, sweet sauce, chilli or a combination of sauces.
Chicken Rice
Cut pieces of chicken, served with fragrant rice cooked in chicken broth.
Chilli Crab
A Singaporean dish where the crab is stir-fried in a sweet savoury thick gravy created with a base of chilli and tomato sauces, thickening flour and eggs.
Chwee Kueh
(also Shui Kueh): Literally means water rice cake; it is a saucer-shaped steamed rice cake topped with diced preserved radish and served with chilli sauce.
Claypot Rice
Rice cooked in a traditional claypot with ingredients which include chicken or other meat, Chinese sausages, Chinese wine, sesame oil and soya sauce. The rice on the side of the claypot is crisped up.
Congee
Rice porridge or gruel which can be plain or cooked with various ingredients. Also Juk in Korean.
Curry Puff
A deep-fried or baked pastry with curried fillings, typically chicken, potato and boiled egg. The pastry shell is made of flour, folded around the filling and crimped at the sides.
D (2 entries)
Devilled Eggs
Also known as stuffed eggs or angel eggs, are hard-boiled eggs, shelled, cut in half lengthwise, and filled with the eggโs yolk mashed and mixed with other ingredients such as minced herbs, mayonnaise and mustard.
Duck Rice
Cut pieces of braised or roast duck, served with rice.
E (1 entry)
Egg Tart
A traditional pastry consisting of a smooth, lightly sweetened egg custard baked in a crisp, flaky pastry shell. The Singapore version is inspired by Cantonese pastries. Hong Kong style and Portuguese style egg tarts are also popular in Singapore.:
F (3 entries)
Fish Ball Noodles
Local street food consisting of noodles, a savoury soup and fish balls. The noodles could be served in the soup or separately with a chilli seasoning.
Fried Hokkien Mee
Literally Fried Fujian Noodles, a dish of egg noodles and rice noodles stir-fried with egg, slices of pork, prawns and squid and garnished with small pieces of fried lard.
Fried Mee Suah
Fried Chinese flour vermicelli.
G (1 entry)
Gado Gado
An Indonesian-origin salad dish typically consisting of blanched or steamed vegetables, (such as cabbage, long beans, bean sprouts, and potatoes, along with tofu, tempeh, and sometimes hard-boiled eggs and rice cakes, served with a rich, thick peanut sauce or satay sauce.
H (3 entries)
Har Kau
Prawn dumplings with translucent skin; a dim sum staple.
Hashima
Chinese delicacy made from the fallopian tubes of frogs. It has a white-yellowish, semi-transparent appearance and a glutinous texture when boiled, and is usually served as an ingredient in a dessert.
Hor Fun
A stir-fried rice noodles dish where the noodles are first pan-fried and a thick sauce with various ingredients (like seafood or beef) is then poured on top of the bed of noodles.
I (2 entries)
Ice Kachang
Means โice beansโ; a dessert of finely grated ice with fillings consisting of red beans and other ingredients like corn and attap seeds, drizzled with coloured sugar syrups and condensed milk.
Ikan Asam Pedas
Literally means โsour spicy fishโ in Malay; asam referring to the sourness from tamarind and pedas to the heat from chillies. A hot, tangy, aromatic fish curry with a thin-to-medium gravy, traditionally made with firm white-fleshed fish.
J (1 entry)
Jawa Mee
(also Mee Jawa) A Malay noodle dish of yellow noodles stir-fried with ingredients such as egg, potato, tofu, vegetables, and a sweet-spicy sauce.
K (1 entry)
Kueh Lopes
A Malay kueh made from glutinous rice, typically served with grated coconut and gula melaka (palm-sugar) syrup.
L (3 entries)
Laksa
A spicy soup noodles dish consisting of rice noodles in a spicy gravy of coconut milk, with toppings of prawns, cockles and slices of fishcake. There are different varieties such as Curry Laksa, Penang Assam Laksa and Katong Laksa.
Lontong
A Malay dish made of ketupat (compressed rice cake) cut into small pieces in a vegetable stew with coconut milk.
Lor Mee
A Hokkien dish of braised noodles with thick dark gravy made with starch, spices and eggs. Other ingredients like fish, meat dumplings, fish cake and hard boiled egg may be added.
M (3 entries)
Mee Rebus
Literally means boiled noodles in Malay. A yellow egg noodles dish with a thick, spicy, slightly sweet gravy made out of potatoes, curry powder and dried shrimps, often garnished with boiled eggs, sliced green chilies, spring onions, fried tofu, fried shallots and bean sprouts.
Mee Siam
A noodle dish where a slightly sweet-tangy gravy is poured over a plate of fine rice noodles (bee hoon) which had been seasoned. The dish is often garnished with boiled eggs and spring onions.
Murtabak
An Indian stuffed pancake or pan fried bread, where the filling is a mixture of beaten eggs, minced meat, diced onions and spices.
N (5 entries)
Nasi Briyani
(also Nasi Biryani): A localised version of South Asian biryani โ fragrant basmati rice cooked with ghee, whole spices, herbs, and aromatics, typically served with spiced chicken, mutton, beef, egg or fish, and accompanied by lentil curry and pickles.
Nasi Goreng
Malay fried rice.
Nasi Lemak
A Malay dish that comprises rice made fragrant with coconut milk and pandan leaves, often served with chilli, fried crispy anchovies, peanuts and cucumber.
Nasi Padang
Padang-style rice meal which originated from Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, Indonesia. Steamed rice is served with various pre-cooked dishes of meats, fish, eggs and vegetables.
Ngoh Hiang
A roll of meats and vegetables with five-spice powder wrapped in beancurd skin โ eaten with sweet sauce.
O (3 entries)
Or Luak
Oyster Omelet, Teochew style. Tapioca flour is mixed into the egg batter, giving the resulting egg wrap a thick gooey texture.
Or Nerng
Another version of Teochew oyster omelet, same as Or Luak but without any flour.
Osmanthus Jelly
Chilled dessert commonly served in Cantonese restaurants. It is a jelly made from an infusion of dried sweet Osmanthus flowers which have a delicate fruity aroma.
P (7 entries)
Pad Thai
(or Phat Thai): A Thai stir-fried rice noodle dish.
Papadum
(also Papadam): A thin Indian crispy cracker or flat bread, typically served as an appetizer to an Indian meal.
Peking Duck
A Chinese delicacy dating back to the twelfth century. Specially bred ducks are roasted until evenly golden brown. The crispy skin and meat are eaten with sweet sauce, cucumber and spring onion in a thin flour wrap.
Popiah
A spring roll where the โskinโ is a soft, thin paper-like crepe made from wheat flour, filled with a mix of turnip, carrot, French beans, bamboo shoots, fried tau kwa, prawns and pork, and topped with sausage, bean sprouts, egg, chilli paste and sweet sauce.
Prawn Mee
(or Hae Mee): A noodle soup dish topped with large freshly cooked prawns. The soup is a rich shrimp or seafood stock, often with pork bones added to enhance the flavour.
Putu Mayam
A South Indian snack of plain white noodles made of rice flour mixed with salt and water. The steamed noodles are eaten with coconut shavings and brown or red sugar.
Putu Piring
A steamed rice cake with a filling of melted gula melaka (palm sugar), topped with slightly salted grated coconut to add a savoury touch. A Malay delicacy.
Q (0 entries)
No entries yet for this letter โ check back as the dictionary grows.
R (4 entries)
Rempeyek Cracker
A deep-fried savoury Indonesian cracker made from flour with crispy bits like peanuts and ikan bilis (anchovies).
Rojak
Malay for โmixtureโ โ a vegetable and fruit salad dish typically made with cucumber, pineapple, bean sprouts, taupok, youtiao and sometimes raw mango, dressed with belacan (shrimp paste), sugar, chilli and lime juice.
Roti John
Sliced halves of a local bread loaf fried with a topping of minced mutton (or beef, chicken and sardine), onions and egg, usually served with tomato sauce and sweet chilli sauce on the side.
Roti Prata
Literally means Flat Bread. A fried flour-based pancake cooked over a flat grill, most commonly served plain with curry, though egg prata is also popular. In Malaysia it is called Roti Canai.
S (2 entries)
Satay
A Malay dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sweetish peanut sauce.
Siew Mai
Pork dumpling; a dim sum staple.
T (3 entries)
Tau Kwa Pau
Bean curd crisply fried and stuffed with a filling of chopped crispy fish cake, egg, cucumber and fried yam, served with gravy and chilli sauce.
Ter Kar Bee Hoon
Fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli) with canned stewed pork trotter.
Thosai
A South Indian savoury thin pancake made from a batter of fermented pulses and rice flour, cooked on a flat griddle and usually eaten with vegetable stew, curry and chutney. Also called โdosaโ.
U (1 entry)
Uttupam
A thick South Indian pancake made from rice and dal batter, traditionally topped with tomatoes, onion, chillies, capsicum and coriander.
V (1 entry)
Vadai
(also vada, vade) An Indian savoury fritter made from soaked lentils seasoned with spices, curry leaves and chilli, then deep-fried until crisp.
W (1 entry)
Wonton Mee
Thin yellow noodles with Chinese dumplings, originally from Guangzhou. In Singapore there is a soup version and a dry version โ the dry version served with char siew and deep-fried wontons, or wontons in a separate bowl of soup.
X (2 entries)
Xiao Long Bao
Its name means dumpling in a small bamboo basket. A steamed dumpling with a thin skin enveloping a meat filling and broth, usually eaten with cut ginger and a vinegar dip.
XO Sauce
A spicy sauce made of chopped dried seafood, including dried scallops and dried shrimps, red chilli pepper, garlic and spices. An all-purpose condiment often used in Southern Chinese cuisines.
Y (2 entries)
Yong Tau Foo
(also spelled yong tau fu, or yong tau hu): A dish consisting mainly of beancurd filled with either a ground meat mixture or fish paste. Fish balls, vegetables and mushrooms stuffed with ground meat may also be added.
You Tiao
(also called Yu Char Kueh): Dough fritters or Chinese crullers โ long and golden brown, often eaten with porridge or soya milk.
Z (1 entry)
Zhi Char
(also spelled Zi Char or Tze Char): Literally means โCooked and Friedโ and refers to home-styled Chinese food cooked to order at coffee shops or hawker stalls.
The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog
Awesome initiative. This list will definitely benefit people reading about food. A pleasure to read your blog as always ๐
Thanks, Janel. That’s encouraging. It is a pleasure to read your blog too; we especially like the beautifully taken photos in your Lookbook.
Aww thanks! Keep in touch ๐
Love this food dictionary <3 Really useful for non-Singaporeans to understand some of the terms commonly used.
Thanks for your encouraging comments.
A very useful learning materials to teach our little ones to appreciate food in Singapore, thank you very much!
These are very useful. Sometimes I don’t even know the actually food name this really helps.
This is such a useful idea! With Singaporeโs rich mix of cuisines, a food dictionary makes dining experiences more accessible and enjoyable. I love that itโs a work in progressโit feels like a true reflection of the ever-evolving food scene.