Easy Singapore Sliced Fish Soup

Okay, I am busy, I am stressed, I am tired. It is Day 5 and we have been craving fish soup but honestly too lazy to leave the house. So this is my minimal effort, everything in one pot fish soup. 🫶

Why every ingredient earns its place

The thing about Singapore fish soup is that the broth is everything. Ikan bilis fried until golden, tomatoes for sweetness and acidity, all boiled together before anything else goes in. That is what makes it taste like the real thing rather than just fish in water. This version does all of that in one rice cooker, no leaving the house, no extra pots.

🐟 White snapper: lean, complete protein with omega-3 fatty acids. Light on the stomach, quick to cook, and one of the cleanest tasting fish for a clear broth

🐟 Ikan bilis (dried anchovies): the flavour backbone of the broth. Rich in calcium, protein, and natural umami. Frying them first in oil and garlic is what gives the soup that deep savoury base

🍅 Tomato: adds natural sweetness, acidity, and vitamin C to the broth. It balances the saltiness of the ikan bilis and rounds out the flavour of the soup

🤍 Egg tofu: silky, protein-rich, and gentle on digestion. It absorbs the broth beautifully and adds substance without heaviness

🥬 Napa cabbage and xiao bai cai: high in fibre, vitamin C, and folate. Both cook down quickly and add a clean sweetness to the broth

Light, nourishing, and genuinely satisfying. The kind of meal that feels like it took effort when it really did not.

This recipe is for you if

You are craving fish soup but cannot be bothered to go out
You want something warm, light, and comforting on a heavy day
You have a rice cooker and 30 minutes

Less relevant if

You do not have a rice cooker
You are avoiding seafood or tofu
You want something ready in under 15 minutes

The recipe

Lazy Singapore Sliced Fish Soup

One pot. Hawker flavour. No leaving the house.

Prep10 min

Cook20 min

Serves2-3

Ingredients

The broth
50g ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
1 tbsp garlic, minced
3 stalks spring onions
1 tomato, quartered
500ml water
The soup
400g white snapper slices, seasoned
1 egg tofu, sliced
Napa cabbage, roughly chopped
Xiao bai cai
Thick bee hoon
To season and serve
Soy sauce to taste
White pepper to taste
Spring onion greens to garnish

Method

Turn the rice cooker to Soup mode. Add a little oil, garlic, spring onion whites, and ikan bilis. Fry for 5 to 7 minutes until golden and fragrant.
Add the quartered tomato and 500ml water. Close the lid and let it boil for 15 minutes to build the broth.
Remove the ikan bilis and discard. The broth is now ready.
Add the egg tofu, napa cabbage, xiao bai cai, thick bee hoon, and seasoned fish slices into the broth.
Switch to steam mode for 5 minutes until the fish is just cooked through.
Season with soy sauce and white pepper to taste. Top with spring onion greens and serve immediately. 🐟

Fry the ikan bilis until properly golden. This is the step that makes the broth taste like a hawker stall rather than home cooking. The ikan bilis needs to be fried long enough to release its natural oils and flavour into the pot. Pale and soft does not work. Golden and fragrant is what you are going for.

The fish only needs 5 minutes. White snapper is a delicate fish. Steam mode for 5 minutes is all it needs to cook through. Overcooked fish turns rubbery and breaks apart in the soup. Add it last and do not go over time.

Tips

"The broth is everything. Fry the ikan bilis properly and the rest takes care of itself."

Tip 01

Season the fish before it goes in. A light sprinkle of white pepper and a small amount of soy sauce on the fish slices before adding them to the pot seasons the fish itself, not just the broth. Every slice tastes properly seasoned from the inside out.

Tip 02

Soak the thick bee hoon first. Thick bee hoon needs a short soak in room temperature water before going into the soup. If you add it dry it will absorb too much of your broth and leave the soup too thick. Soak for 10 minutes while the broth builds.

Tip 03

Taste the broth before adding anything else. After removing the ikan bilis, taste the broth first. This is when you know how much soy sauce and pepper you need at the end. Every batch of ikan bilis has a slightly different salt level so adjust accordingly.

Tip 04

Add the vegetables last, not first. Napa cabbage and xiao bai cai cook very quickly. Adding them at the same time as the fish means they are perfectly tender when the fish is done. Adding them too early means they go limp and lose their texture in the broth.

Something we have alongside this

This soup is already one of the lighter, cleaner meals in this series. But having it for dinner on a heavy day is a different thing entirely. That is when we reach for Night Burn Elixir.

It supports digestion, controls those late night cravings, and helps your body actually rest and recover while you sleep. One sachet after dinner, drink it straight 💛

Quick summary

Fry ikan bilis, garlic, and spring onion whites until golden and fragrant. That is your flavour base.
Add tomato and water, boil for 15 minutes, then remove and discard the ikan bilis.
Add egg tofu, cabbage, xiao bai cai, soaked bee hoon, and seasoned fish slices.
Steam mode for 5 minutes only. The fish is delicate and does not need more time than that.
Season with soy sauce and white pepper, top with spring onions, eat straight away.

Cart

Easy Singapore Sliced Fish Soup

Lazy Singapore Sliced Fish Soup

Why every ingredient earns its place

The recipe

Lazy Singapore Sliced Fish Soup

Tips

Something we have alongside this

Night Burn Elixir

Salted Egg Prawn Porridge