Singapore street noodles originated in Hong Kong in the 1950s, when Cantonese chefs, incorporating spices imported from India by the British, attempted to develop a carb-dense lunch food that would appeal to day laborers of all backgrounds in the city-state. To give their curry-spiced noodles a compelling aura, the chefs named them after Singapore, an island about which little was known in Hong Kong at the time. For our curry-less version, we sear gluten-free soba noodles with micronutrient-rich vegetables like broccoli, carrots, bok choy, and mushrooms before suffusing the mixture with tamari, mirin, ginger, chili, and sesame oil—seasonings that strike a balance of the five flavors, or wuwei, recognized by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).