Beef Hor Fun

Yeah, I know that I've been on a roll lately. A foodie roll that is.

Don't ask me why. It's just that I've been coming across so many lovely recipes online (thru Facebook) that I can't wait to try them out before baby #2 makes an appearance.

My latest accomplishment has got to be my favourite one thus far!

Beef hor fun is a staple at many Singaporean hawker centres. It's comfort food and hubby loves it. One can either cook it dry or wet (my version). The dry version is a bit difficult to replicate at home because the flat rice noodles break easily and when one does not have a fire stove, it's like a suicide mission.

The wet version on the other hand, is pretty simple to cook and I must say that I enjoy having my noodles with sauce. Sammy loved this dish so much, he slurped up spoon after spoon of noodles and gravy.

Oh, another advantage about cooking this dish by yourself? You get to add as much ingredients as you want, compared to measly portions one usually gets when one eats out. For us though, we don't have the luxury to get this at restaurants here, so home-cooked food is the way to go!

One can use beef fillet, but I opted for the slightly-cheaper rumpsteak portion which tasted just as amazing. It has a higher fat content but taste-wise I felt that rumpsteak suited this dish just as well. I didn't use any beef tenderizers either since a good steak cut does not need to be tenderized.

Ingredients:-

- 300 g of flat rice noodles (get the wide 10mm types)
- 300 grams of beef fillet / rumpsteak (thinly-sliced)
- 5 cm ginger (thinly sliced)
- 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 3 spring onions (cut into 6 cm lengths)
- 400 ml of meat stock

Seasoning for gravy:

- 1 tbsp light soy
- 1/2 tbsp dark soy
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- dash of sesame oil
- pepper to taste
- corn starch solution (2-3 tbsp corn starch mixed with a bit of cold water)
- 2 egg whites

1.  Marinate the beef slices with a little soy, sesame oil, pepper and corn flour.

2. Mix 1/2 tbsp of dark soy with rice noodles.

3. Fry rice noodles in a smoking hot wok with a little oil. Do not move the noodles too much to prevent breakage. Set aside.

3.  Fry marinated beef with a little oil until about 50% cooked. Remove from wok and set aside.

4. Saute garlic and ginger for 15 seconds then add in spring onions and continue to cook for a further 30 seconds. Add stock and seasonings and bring it to a boil.

5. Drizzle in the egg whites and give it a light stir.

6. Gradually add in the corn starch solution to thicken the sauce until desired consistency. Finally stir in the beef and allow it to cook completely without overdoing it.

7. Pour gravy over the noodles and serve immediately with green pickled chilli.

Cook's notes:

- You can save time by peeling the ginger using a spoon instead of a knife.

- I used Lacroix meat stock. Initially I was a bit concerned since this is a "western" meat stock after all. But after experimenting with this, I'd give it the green light for this dish! Super yummy and healthy (ie. no residual fat from boiling stock from meat bones).

Recipe adapted from here
Recipe for green pickled chilli