NON-HALAL: There is a myth in Penang about Char Hor Fun that if a man wants to woo his girlfriend, he would find the best Char Hor Fun in town and make sure he took his girlfriend there, frequently.
And to win the hearts of his future parents-in-law, he would ta pau (take out) for them, too.
There are many variations to this traditionally Chinese dish. In Kuala Lumpur it is called Wat Tan Hor.
The concept is the same but the presentation is slightly different and eggs are used in the gravy, hence the words “wat tan” which mean “smooth eggs” in Cantonese.
In Thai cuisine, there is a similar dish called Rad Na and the Vietnamese have their own adaptation as well. But the best one is, of course, from Penang.
So, guys, if you want to capture her heart, try this dish made with your own hands. And while you’re at it, make some extra for your future parents-in-law too.
Ingredients
- 450 g hor fun or flat rice noodles
- 400 g mee hoon
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
Toppings
- 12 prawns, peeled and deveined
- 12 bite-sized pieces of pork
- 12 scallops
- 12 thin pieces of fish cake
- 200 ml chicken broth
- 5 stalks Chinese mustard green/choy sum, cut into 5cm lengths
- 300 ml water
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch combined with 60ml water
Seasoning
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 dashes white pepper powder
- Salt to taste
Method
- Soak the mee hoon in warm water for 15 minutes or until soft. Drain the water and set aside.
- Break the flat rice noodles off by peeling the layers. Set aside.
- Heat up a wok and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Toss in the mee hoon and do a quick stir-fry.
- Add 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1/2 tablespoon of sweet soy sauce and continue to stir-fry the mee hoon until all the sauces are well blended with the mee hoon.
- Continue to stir-fry until the mee hoon is lightly charred. Set aside.
- Repeat the same for the flat rice noodles and set aside.
- Put some oil in the wok and stir-fry the minced garlic until fragrant and add the pork, prawns, scallops, fish cake and do a quick stir-fry.
- Add the 200ml of chicken broth, 300ml of water and seasoning and bring it to a boil.
- Stir in the cornstarch and water to thicken the gravy.
- Add in the mustard green, do a quick stir and turn off the heat.
- On a deep plate, place equal amounts of mee hoon and flat rice noodles and pour the gravy over it and serve hot.
This recipe can be found in Rasa Malaysia.
Low Bee Yinn is a food blogger and cookbook author.