Char Bee Hoon 炒米粉

I was supposed to be on my way to meet the girls for Boon’s going-away-to-do-her-PHD party this evening. With 15 minutes to spare before I had to get out the door, I suddenly had this compelling urge to do a blog post on Char Bee Hoon! So what’s a girl to do except sit down dutifully to write a blog post at the risk of being veryyy late.. and this same girl is now now pretty miffed because the post got accidentally deleted!

In any case, I hope (re)blogging about Char Bee Hoon cheers me up. If the Char Bee Hoon you’re familiar with is a version stir fried with light soy sauce with dark sauce added for colour, change your mindset now! Your family will thank you for it. That type of Char Bee Hoon tastes fine, like uh, how something would taste when it is stir fried with light soy sauce with dark sauce added for colour. For me, Char Bee Hoon should always be braised in stock. When the correct amount of (chicken, fish, or vegetable) stock is added to the pan, the bee hoon would have soaked up all the goodness by the time it is ready to eat.

As you can tell by my cooking, I am kinda obsessed with stock. I use them everyday.. in soups and stews, in vegetables, in stir-frys, in noodle dishes like this one. And with instant stock available everywhere, it’s not like you need to put in a huge load of effort to prepare them. I would even go as far to say that discovering stock cubes changed my kitchen life.. they are a quick and easy way to add flavour, providing you with a base to experiment.. and you do just that, knowing at the back of your mind you’re covered.

Cooking with stock is like being in a safe and long term relationship which gives you the power to explore and do a little dance in the universe, knowing that you can always go home.

Makes 6 servings

What I used:

Half packet bee hoon, soaked til just soft and drained (do not oversoak!)
1 egg, beaten, omelette it and slice. Set aside
12 prawns
1/3 beijing cabbage, chopped
4 dried chinese mushrooms, cut into strips
1 carrot, chopped into strips
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp chopped shallots
Red chillies, fried shallots, spring onions and parsley for garnish
1 tbsp oilve oil
For the flavour stock (mix everything together):
Half a stock cube (chicken or fish) dissolved in 800ml hot water
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
White pepper

1. Heat oil in pan til hot, then fry shallots and garlic til fragrant.
2. Add in the mushrooms and fry for 2 minutes, then add cabbage, carrots and prawns.
3. Add the bee hoon, then slowly pour in the flavour stock til it comes up to about half the level of bee hoon.
4. Lower the heat, allow bee hoon to absorb the stock (about 4-5 minutes) til dry. Toss with chopsticks to mix.
5. Top with omelette strips and garnish with red chillies, fried shallots, spring onions and parsley.

How much I spent:

$0.60 for bee hoon
$4 for prawns
$0.30 for egg
$0.30 for carrot
$0.40 for cabbage
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $0.94 (or $0.27 without prawns for a basic but still delish version!)

——————————————————————-

Every household has its recipe for Char Bee Hoon, and this is how I cook mine!