Cooking your favorite Singaporean dishes abroad often comes with a frustrating hurdle: missing ingredients. You want to whip up a comforting bowl of laksa or a fragrant plate of chicken rice, but your local grocery store does not carry Southeast Asian staples. Do not let a missing herb stop you from enjoying the foods you love. With a few smart ingredient swaps, you can easily adapt traditional recipes for global kitchens.
Here are the best practical substitutes for hard-to-find Singaporean ingredients.
Smart Substitutes for Classic Flavors
Pandan Leaves
Pandan gives desserts and rice dishes their signature sweet, grassy aroma. If you cannot find fresh or frozen pandan leaves, vanilla extract makes a highly effective substitute. Use a teaspoon of high-quality vanilla to replicate that floral sweetness. If you want to mimic pandan’s bright green color and slight earthiness, add a tiny pinch of matcha powder to your liquid mixture.
Laksa Leaves (Daun Kesum)
Laksa leaves deliver a distinct peppery, zesty punch to curries and broths. When fresh daun kesum is unavailable, you can create a custom herb blend. Mix equal parts fresh cilantro and mint to capture both the herbaceous and slightly spicy notes of the original plant. Vietnamese coriander (rau răm) also serves as an almost identical alternative if you have access to a local Asian grocery store.
Belacan (Shrimp Paste)
Belacan provides the deep, pungent umami foundation for many rempahs (spice pastes) and sambals. To replace this crucial ingredient, swap in an equal amount of anchovy paste or fish sauce. For a plant-based alternative that still delivers incredible savory depth, use dark miso paste. Miso replicates the fermented, salty profile perfectly without overpowering the rest of your dish.
Keep Cooking and Experimenting
Recreating authentic dishes outside of Singapore requires a little flexibility. These simple swaps ensure you can still enjoy your favorite meals no matter where you live. Start experimenting with these alternatives today, and bring the taste of the Lion City straight to your own kitchen. Let us know which ingredient swaps work best for your home cooking!
