Hot summer days call for quick, easy recipes that don’t require slaving over the stove for hours. This is one of those low effort all-in-one dishes that produces a really satisfying meal. It’s a classic dish to order in a Chinese restaurant in Malaysia, one that I grew up with and took for granted. I never really learned to make it because it was so readily available but the longer I’ve been away, the more I’m trying to recreate food memories to soothe my little heart missing home. When I cook this I’m transported right back to the open air Chinese restaurants we used to have dinners at. The sounds of a metal spatula furiously stirring and tapping the sides of a giant wok filled with noodles, over a huge fire with a pleasant charry smell filling the air is pure nostalgia for me.
This recipe is so good I’ve made it three times already in the last few months. It’s a complete success with G as he loves noodle dishes and can’t get enough of them every time we visit.
Any sort of robust green vegetable can be used. I normally use choi sum, but didn’t have any on hand so resorted to spring greens instead. Pak choi or kale would work too. Remember to prep more than what you need as the vegetables shrink when cooked. For the meat, again pretty much anything goes but I normally use a combination of prawns and chicken. Pork slices, squid rings and fish cake slices are also good. I seem to recall it being served with pig’s liver too, but I personally give that a miss.
Sar hor fun
Serves 2 large portions
400g fresh flat rice noodles
1 large chicken thigh, sliced into 1 inch pieces
10 raw king prawns
2 large handfuls of choi sum/kale/spring greens/pak choi
4 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
For the rice noodles
2 tsp light soy sauce
3 tsp dark soy sauce
Gravy
600ml chicken stock
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
Generous dash of ground white pepper
3 tsp cornflour
4 tbsp cold water
2 eggs, beaten
- Prep the rice noodles to make them easier to fry. Separate the noodles out as much as possible and microwave on high heat for 1 minute.
- Heat up 3 tbsp oil in a wok over high heat. Add the rice noodles to the wok with the light and dark soy sauces, and stir-fry until softened and charred brown in some places. Try not to mush the noodles up too much with your spatula, instead toss the noodles using the wok itself. Then really try and scrape off any charred bits from the bottom of the wok to add to the dish as that will add lots of flavour. Place aside in two serving bowls or pasta dishes.
- Turn the heat down to medium high and add 1 tbsp of oil to the wok. Stir-fry the chicken pieces until cooked, then add to the rice noodles.
- Fry the chopped garlic in the residual oil for a couple of minutes until fragrant, then add all the ingredients for the gravy and bring to a simmer. If using stalks from kale and springs greens, add those in to cook for a couple of minutes first, before adding in the prawns and veg leaves to cook for another couple of minutes.
- Mix the cornflour with water to make a slurry, then add it into the stock to thicken into a gravy.
- Pour in the eggs and stir gently to create strands in the gravy, then pour over the two bowls of noodles.
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