Char Hor Fun

    Hor Fun and kway teow are strictly and technically not the same (the latter being essentially ricecakes sliced into strips) and the Min Nans in general still consciously make a distinction between hor fun and kway teow in their speech. Hor Fun is often stir fried with meat and vegetables in a dish called chao fen (炒粉; pinyin: chǎo fěn). While chao fen is a transliteration of Mandarin, chow fun from Cantonese is the name to which this dish is most often referred in Chinese restaurants in North America.
     
     
     
    Char Hor Fun Recipe (炒河粉)
     
    Ingredients

    1/2 pack hor fun or flat rice noodles (32 oz pack) 1/2 pack vermicelli (14 oz pack) 3 tablespoons oil 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon kecap manis.

    Toppings:
    12 shrimp (peeled and deveined) 12 thin pieces of pork meat 12 bay scallops 12 thin pieces of fish cake 1/2 can chicken broth (14 oz can) 5 stalks chinese mustard green/choy sum (cut into 2-inch length) 1 1/4 cup water 3 cloves garlic (minced)

    Starch:
    2 tablespoons corn flour 1/4 cup 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

    Instructions
    • Soak the vermicelli 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 tablespoon of cooking oil. Toss in the vermicelli and do a quick stir. Add 1/2 tablespoon of soy souce and 1/2 tablespoon of kecap manis and continue to stir the vermicelli until the soy sauce and kecap manis are well blended with the vermicelli. Continue to stir until the vermicelli are lightly burned or charred. Dish up and set aside.
    • Repeat the same for the flat rice noodles. Dish up and set aside.
    • Add some oil in a wok and stir-fry the minced garlic until fragrant.
    • Add in the pork, shrimp, bay scallops, fish cake and do a quick stir.
    • Add the chicken broth and 1 1/4 cup of water immediately.
    • Add in all the seasoning and bring it to boil.
    • Add in the starch mixture to thicken the gravy.
    • Add in the mustard green, do a quick stir and turn off the heat.
    • On a plate, place the fried vermicelli and flat rice noodles equally.
    • Pour the gravy and toppings on the noodles and vermicelli. Serve hot.