When it comes to noodles, there are just too many types that I don’t think I’ll ever get round to trying all of them in my lifetime. My dad used to ta-bao (do take-away) ee-fu noodles or yee mee for me for dinner. I’d affectionately call it rubber-band noodles. Because it’s brown and its texture is like rubber-bands; chewy and somewhat spongy. Of course, it doesn’t taste like rubber!
Ee-fu noodles also have some variation as well. I managed to find only one type at NTUC recently and so settled for it. Its cross-section was squarish. The other common type has an oblong cross-section. Tried a new recipe using this type of noodles for lunch and it was a hit with Hannah. :)
Ingredients (serves 2-3 persons)
- Ee-fu noodles (Yee mee) – 1 to 2 cakes (depending on size)
- Chicken broth – 300 ml (for braising)
- Sweet peas – 6, sliced breadth-wise
- Carrot – 1 small, peeled and cut into strips
- Baby corn – 3 fresh, sliced diagonally
- Shiitake mushrooms – 3 fresh, sliced
- Prawns – 8, shelled, deveined
- Sauce: 1tbsp oyster sauce, 1/2 tsp light soy sauce, 1/2 dark soy sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp cornflour, dash of pepper, few drops of sesame oil, 200 ml chicken broth
Method
- Soak noodles in hot water in a medium pot. Use a pair of chopsticks to loosen and drain at once. Discard the hot water and add 300 ml chicken broth into the same pot and heat up to boiling.
- Add noodles into the pot of boiling broth and lower the heat to simmer gently until broth is reduced. (If the noodles look plumped up and there is still some sauce left, it is okay) Dish up and divide amongst bowls.
- Mix sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a heated wok and stir-fry sweet peas, carrot strips and baby corn for about 4-5 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue to stir fry until they soften.
- Stir the sauce mixture well and add it to the veggies. Bring to boil. When the sauce begins to thicken, add prawns to cook briefly (avoid over-cooking the prawns).
- Turn off the heat and dish the sauce mixture onto the noodles in each bowl.
- Serve hot.
The original recipe calls for only yellow chives, bean sprouts and straw mushrooms as the veggie components. I really liked this combination but yellow chives are not commonly available and so I improvised.
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