Char hoon - Chinese Cuisine

"Char hoon is a classic Hokkien dish and this recipe is from my dad’s side of the family. I will never be able to eat this without thinking of my late Grandma and Grandpa Yeow. It’s a dish I can fiendishly inhale – it’s so delicious, so reassuring, every problem in the world evaporates when a bowl of it is sitting in front of me." Poh Ling Yeow

Ingredients



12 dried shiitake mushrooms

100 g dried rice vermicelli, broken into 3 cm pieces (found in Asian grocers and some supermarkets)

500 g prawns, shelled, deveined and diced into 1 cm pieces, shells reserved for stock

4 litres neutral chicken stock (a plain stock that has no aromatics infused through it) or a store-bought, Asian-style chicken stock

¼ cup (30 g) cornflour

½ cup (125 ml) water

3 tbsp cooking oil

2 tsp garlic, peeled and finely chopped

200 g dried wheat noodles (Meen Seen, found in Asian grocers)

3 bunches choy sum, finely chopped

2 carrots, coarsely grated

1 kg firm tofu, broken into small pieces (from Asian grocers and some supermarkets)

2 tsp salt, or to taste

½ tsp sugar

½ tsp white pepper

Cook's notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.



Instructions



Soak the shiitake mushrooms in freshly boiled water for about 30 minutes or until soft, then chop roughly. Soak the vermicelli in cold water for about 15 minutes or until soft.



Meanwhile, to make the broth, add the prawn shells to the chicken stock in a medium-large pot and boil for 30 minutes. Pass the stock through a sieve to remove the prawn shells then return stock to the pot and set aside.



Mix the cornflour with the water in a small bowl and set aside.



In a medium non-stick frypan, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the garlic until slightly coloured. Add the prawn meat and mushrooms and sauté for about 10 seconds, then transfer to the stock. Add both noodles, the choy sum, carrot and tofu, and bring to the boil. Stir through the cornflour mixture to thicken, bring back to the boil and add the salt, sugar and pepper. Taste and season further if required. Serve hot.