Kacang Pool appeared in Singapore hawker centres only a few decades ago but never became mainstream. Today, only a handful of hawker stalls (less than 10) serve this dish.
Kacang Pool is actually the national dish of Egypt. The dish was brought back to Singapore (and also Johor) by local folks who travelled to Egypt for study, leisure or work. In Egypt, it is known as fūl midammis or fūl for short (hence the Malay name kacang pool which means fūl nuts)
In Egypt, kacang pool is made mainly with broad beans, spiced with turmeric, cumin and eaten with unleavened baked bread (like naan). Eating broad beans goes back to Ancient Egyptian times (earlier than 3000 BC).
So cool right? We can enjoy such an ancient dish from so far away in a Singapore hawker centre today for less than SGD$5.
Kedai Kak Nur at Yishun Park has a nice rendition of this localised Egyptian icon.
In Singapore (and Johor) it is localised for local palates and incorporates local ingredients.
Local additions are sunny side up fried egg, chopped onion, and green chili pepper.
In addition to broad beans, Kak Nur has chick peas and baked beans (pea beans) in her kacang pool stew. The stew has turmeric, cumin and other spices as well ghee (clarified cow butter). Kak Nur told me that there is also a little beef in the stew. In Egypt, fūl midammis is a vegetarian dish.
A squeeze of fresh calamansi juice gave the Egyptian icon another local flavour.
The result is a rich, thick stew with layers of different soft tenderness from the three types of beans. Three different nutty flavours overlaid with spice and a subtle beefiness. The runny egg yolk contributed an egginess to the dish. Ghee greased the stew, smoothed and held everything together.
Instead of unleavened baked bread, Kak Nur uses French loaf slices slathered with margarine and seared to a light brownness on a sizzling flat plate.
Sedap nya 😋 (It's delicious.)
Pan fried French loaf slightly sweet works well with the spiced bean stew, runny egg, onion and green chili pepper.
Instead of kaya toast all the time, sometimes try kacang pool with a kopi (bought separately from kopi stall) for about the same price altogether. Expand our culinary horizon without leaving Singapore.
Stall name: Kedai Kak Nur
Address: Yishun Park Hawker Centre, stall #01-34, 51 Yishun Ave 11, Singapore 768867
Nearest MRT: 15 minute walk from Yishun station
Hours: 7am - 7pm (Mon off. Kacang pool available from around 10:30am)
Written by Tony Boey on 22 Apr 2026
Who is Tony Johor Kaki?
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