Hokkien fried noodles (Hokkien Char Mee) originated from a hawker (street) food stall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The food stall was owned by a chef named Wong Kian Lee dated all the way back to 1920s. Up until today, the stall is still run by his decedents albeit in a different location and they are still dishing up the same popular and tasty Hokkien noodles. This dish is different from the Singapore version of Hokkien Mee (Hokkien Hae Mee) which originated from Fujian (Hokkien) province of China and does not use any dark soy sauce. Typically, Hokkien noodles is cooked with thick yellow noodles made with eggs and stir-fried in a thick dark soy sauce with ingredients like pork, prawns, calamari, fish cakes, choy sum or cabbage, cooked in a wok on intense charcoal fire. Some pork fat that are fried till crispy golden brown are added during stir-frying and as a garnish when serving. Modern variations include other types of noodles like rice noodles, flat rice noodles and tear drop noodles are also commonly used, depending on individual preferences. In addition, this all-time favourite Hokkien noodles is served at Malaysian chain restaurants and cafes worldwide. For my gluten free version of Hokkien fried noodles, I am using Chang’s Thai style noodles (pad Thai), stir-fried with chicken pieces, king prawns, choy sum and capsicums in a gluten free dark soy sauce. You can use any gluten free noodles according to your liking. This recipe is also dairy free, nut free and egg free.
For the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations, noodles is considered one of the lucky foods to eat during this festive season. The noodles can be cooked in many different ways either fried, boiled or in soups as long as you keep the noodles long and uncut. Long noodles or also called longevity noodles symbolise longevity in age for the person eating the noodles. Check out my other noodles recipes here.
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Some extra virgin olive oil for pan frying
- 1 kg 35.2oz/2.2Ib skinless and boneless chicken breasts, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1 kg 35.2oz/2.2Ib peeled raw king prawns, tails intact
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 5 cm ginger peeled and finely grated
- 500 g 17.6oz/1.1Ib gluten free Thai style rice noodles (Chang’s) or any gluten free rice noodles
- 2 bunches choy sum washed and cut into 8cm in length
- 1 red capsicum halved, deseeded and thinly sliced
- 1 yellow capsicum halved deseeded and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons pale or medium dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon gluten free corn maize starch mixed with ¼ cup water
- 1 cup water
For the Sauce:
- 6 tablespoons gluten free kecap manis dark/thick soy sauce Refer relevant recipe
- 3 tablespoons Blackstrap molasses Blue Label
- 2 tablespoon gluten free oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon pure sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons pale or medium dry sherry
For the Chicken Marinade:
- 1 tablespoon of gluten free light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of pale or medium dry sherry
- 2 teaspoons gluten free corn maize starch
- 1 teaspoon of ground white pepper
For the Prawns Marinade:
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon gluten free corn maize starch
- 2 tablespoon pale or medium dry sherry
Instructions
- Combine chicken with marinade in a large bowl and mix well.
- Combine prawns with the prawns marinade in a large bowl, toss and mix well.
- Prepare and mix the sauce ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Fill a pot half full of water, bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Add the rice noodles into the pot for 2 minutes or until the rice noodles are just soft. Separate the noodles, drain the water, remove and set aside.
- Heat up the pot half filled with water, add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, then cook the choy sum on low heat for around 2 minutes or until choy sum turns bright green, drain water and set aside.
- Heat up the wok with some extra virgin olive oil, stir-fry the chicken on medium to high heat for 3 minutes or until just cooked. Remove chicken and set aside. Discard chicken juice. Clean wok with kitchen paper towel.
- Heat up the wok again with some extra virgin olive oil, pan fry the prawn for 2 minutes on each side or until prawns are just cooked. Remove and set aside. Clean wok with kitchen paper towel.
- For stir-frying and combining the dish, heat up the wok with 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, add garlic and ginger, stir-fry until lightly golden on low heat. Add the red and yellow capsicums and return the chicken and prawns to the wok. Add the sauce, toss and mix well.
- Then return the noodles and add in the gluten free corn (maize) starch mixture plus water, stir-fry for another 5 minutes on medium to high heat or until the noodles are soft and ingredients are mixed through. Lastly, add in the cooked choy sum and stir-fry for another 3 minutes.
Notes
Disclaimer: I am NOT paid by Chang’s or Blue Label for this post!
Absolutely love noodle dishes and haven’t tried this one, so will add it to my noodle night ‘to cook’ recipes for sure. Thanks for sharing.
I love noodles dishes too. They are so tasty and easy to prepare. Enjoy the recipe. 🙂
I’ve eaten this in KL before but never made it. It looks amazing!
Charlie, Distracted
Thanks Charlie. 🙂
This looks so delicious!!
Thanks Rizwan. 🙂