Recipe: Fried Bee Hoon

Whenever I cook this dish, I think of my grandma. 

For as long as I can remember, my grandma has been cooking almost every meal. The only time she doesn't cook is when we go out for dinner. 

Once, I arranged for my friends to come over for a BBQ and borrowed her kitchen to cook this dish because her kitchen was equipped with huge woks and pans. 

I regretted borrowing her kitchen. 

While grandma didn't know how to drive, she sure knew what backseat drivers, or in this case, backseat chefs, do. She stood by me in the kitchen, telling me my bee hoon would not taste nice because there was not enough oil and that she was sure it wouldn't taste nice without the oil. Countless times, she asked if she could take over. 

I was sooooo frustrated. 

I mean, I wasn't stepping into the kitchen as often as I do now, but I was pretty sure I knew how to cook beehoon, using water instead of oil. 

And so, I ignored her and kept telling her to go out of the kitchen. I knew what I was doing. 

At the end, she ate my beehoon and said she didn't actually think it would taste nice, but it was actually alright in taste. I had to resist the urge to tell her that fried beehoon can be cooked in a healthy yet tasty way too. *She never told me, but I know that she still felt that hers tasted better though, I just know it. She was politically correct that way.* I'll have you know that my friends enjoyed it, grandma! 

And so, in tribute to my grandmother, a woman who loved cooking, here's my own rendition of the fried beehoon - the healthy version.

INGREDIENTS

1 package 400 g rice vermicelli

2 tbsp. chicken stock

3 eggs, beaten and seasoned with pepper and ½ tbsp. soy sauce

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, julienned

10 pieces shiitake mushrooms, sliced

½ cabbage, sliced 

200 g diced meat, marinated with 2 tbsp. sesame oil, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. rice wine, 1 tsp. sugar

2-3 tbsp. Oyster sauce

2 tbsp. Soy sauce

Pepper to taste

Spring onions, for garnishing 

METHOD

1. Soak rice vermicelli in water for 20-30 minutes. In the water, add 2 tbsp. chicken stock. Drain, but keep the stock.

2. Heat wok with some oil, then fry egg till both sides are cooked. When cooled, cut omelette into thin slices and set aside.

3. Heat wok with 1 tbsp. oil (I use sesame oil) and fry the garlic. When fragrant, add carrots (~1 min). Season with pepper and some stock.

4. Then, add the mushrooms, frying for a while (~2 min) before adding cabbage. Simmer ingredients for about 5 minutes. 

5. Add in the marinated meat and mix well in wok.

6. Add in the vermicelli, and mix well to combine. 

7. Pour in 2-3 cups of the stock, then season with 2-3 tbsp. oyster sauce, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, and pepper to taste. Adjust taste accordingly, by adding more soy sauce if not salty enough.

8. Allow the vermicelli to absorb stock and cook till stock has been absorbed, mixing now and then to ensure that stock is evenly absorbed.

9. Mix in the cut egg strips and serve, garnished with spring onions. 

Enjoy!

Something I learnt from this - there is no hard and fast rule with this dish.