Fried Hokkien Noodles (福建炒麵)

As a famous Chinese food critic 蔡瀾 stated on his blog, the original version of Hokkien Noodles is hardly found in Fujian (福建) province, China nowadays. The dish has become a fusion styled, deep black in colour served in many modern Malaysian restaurants. The underlined meaning of his post is that the original version of Hokkien Noodles was not as black as we see in today’s restaurants. Yet people are still arguing about the way how this noodle dish should be cooked.

This is my take on the traditional fried Hokkien noodle dish replicated to the nearby Chinese restaurant, got thumbs up from my family.

Well, as a home cook, I can take the advantage of modifying and twisting the cooking way as I want. If you like darker noodles, put more dark soy sauce into the sauce then. When it comes to cooking Hokkien noodles, the very basic thing is quite simple.

The Hokkien noodles have to be simmered in long-cooked, tasty stock, so that the noodles absorb all the flavours. Many Malaysian friends of mine use shrimp shells to make the broth. I just simply use the ready-made chicken stock to cook the dish on the go. It turned out to be a simple and quick lunch for my family.

Fried Hokkien Noodles Recipe

(Printable recipe)
By Christine’s Recipes
Course: Noodles
Cuisine: Chinese
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

• 500 gm Hokkien noodles, available from Asian grocery stores
• 80 gm bean sprouts
• 100 gm Chinese cabbage, shredded
• 4 to 6 medium prawns/shrimps, peeled and deveined
• 90 gm pork, julienned
• 4 to 6 slices BBQ pork/char siu
• 1 tsp shallots, minced

Marinade:

• 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cornflour / corn starch
• Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp water

Sauce:

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 200 ml chicken stock

Method:

1. Blanch noodles in boiling water according to the instructions on the packet and rinse away any access oil. Drain well. Mix pork with marinade well and leave for 20 minutes.
2. Heat oil in wok or frying pan over medium heat. Add pork and stir fry until cooked. Set aside. Add bean sprouts, cabbage and cook until soft. Set aside.
3. Add more oil in wok. Toss in Hokkien noodles. Pour sauce over the noodles and stir to combine. Simmer for a few minutes until the noodles absorb the flavours of sauce. Add prawns, pork and vegetables. Cook until the prawns are almost done. Add BBQ pork. Taste by your yourself. Add soy sauce or salt if necessary. Dish up and serve hot.