The recent Lunar New Year celebration has inspired me to prepare a simple Malaysian street food known as "Wat Tan Hor." Wat Tan Hor is a Cantonese dish made from "kuey tiaw," (also called "hor fun") or fried flat rice noodles. Despite not being Chinese (although I'm often mistaken as one), I have a deep appreciation for various Chinese dishes. Wat Tan Hor stands out as one of my favorites due to its ease of preparation and cooking.
The Ingredients
I believe all of these ingredients are readily available in the Asian section of your local supermarket. I haven't included specific portions in this recipe, but please keep in mind that the amount shown here is intended for four people.
- Any green-leaf vegetable of your choice. I used "Choy Sum" or Chinese mustard.
- Small portion of slice pork.
- "Kuey tiaw" (in Hokkien) / "Hor fun" (in Cantonese) or flat rice noodles.
- Shrimps
- Fishballs and sliced fish cakes
- Sliced garlic
- Light soy sauce
- Dark soy sauce
- Salt, pepper/seasoning
Cooking Instructions
This dish is ideally prepared using a wok to achieve the delicious "wok hei" flavor, which translates to the 'breath of a wok.' To accomplish this, the cook must toss the food in the wok, allowing the cooking flames to impart their essence. However, the effectiveness of achieving the desirable "wok hei" flavor depends on the type of stove you have at home. To produce this flavor successfully, you need a stove capable of generating extra heat, similar to those used in Chinese restaurants.
If you don't have a wok and cannot achieve the "wok hei" effect, that's perfectly fine. Personally, I used an induction stove at home and prepared this dish using a frying pan instead of a wok.
- Mix some light soy sauce and dark soy sauce evenly in the noodles. Set it aside to let the flavor set in. Do not wash the noodles.
- Stir fry the noodles for 2-3 minutes and set it aside.
- Stir fry the garlic.
- Add in the pork cubes and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the shrimps and stir fry for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add in water to make the gravy.
- Beat a couple of eggs.
- We want the gravy to be slightly thick. To achieve this we need to add a corn flour mixture.
- Add in the fish balls and sliced fish cakes.
- Add in the corn flour mixture and stir until the gravy becomes thicker.
- Add in the beaten eggs and finally the "choy sum" or any
green leaf vegetable of your choice. - Add salts, pepper or seasonings.
- Cook in low heat for 1-2 minutes.
- And finally, serve the noodles on a plate and pour some gravy on top of it. Bon Appetit!
That's it for now. If you read this far, thank you. I appreciate it so much! Kindly give me a follow if you like my content. I mostly write about making art, life musing, and our mundane yet charming family life here in Klang Valley, Malaysia.
Note: All images used belong to me unless stated otherwise.
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