Fun with Beef Hor Fun

This is something I should probably leave to the professionals. The good guys at any of the many Tze Char stalls that dot our land. Its good, cheap and fuss-free. But I always wanted to try it. To get that prefect, charred, delicious Hor Fun at home. Furthermore, doing it yourself means control over the beef (wagyu… hmmm). And, I hope to celebrate our great hawker tradition.

Seriously, its not the hardest hawker recipe to try. Once you get the basics, the recipe can be adapted to many things – prawns, or even a vegetarian version with mushrooms as the star. It took some trials, but this is the best attempt to date.

Far as I know, the Hor Fun is available only at wet markets. My stall holder called it (in Mandarin)  “coarse Kway Teow”. I got it fresh (chilling it is likely a bad thing). Do NOT attempt to rinse it, or blanch it. I took it straight out of the package, and using my fingers, separated the sheets and spread them on a tray. I added a little oil, and gave things a mix. Keep the Hor Fun as loose and light as you can.

No, not wagyu this time, it was beef short rib. Sliced thin, and marinated with soya, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and some chinese wine. An upgrade from the Tze Char version, but quite all the way. 

I assembled my sauces (soya and oyster), prepped some leafy greens, some carrots for color, an egg, and some stock (water will do too). And of course, some garlic.

First, I needed to char the Hor Fun. After some attempts, if find this easiest in… a large Telfon fry pan. Cause I will need to toss, and I can’t toss my cast iron wok. I heated the pan to near smoking, and threw in the Hor Fun.

I prefer to use a pair of tongs, to stir and move the Hor Fun, while tossing often. You want to be quick, but gentle. Don’t break up the Hor Fun. Tossing in a fry pan allows me to keep the Hor Fun moving, without touching it too much. If the heat isn’t high enough, this is the point when you will get a sticky mess.

Set this aside on a plate. Now its time for the rest of the dish. Switching to my wok, I gave the vegetables a quick stir fry, and set them on the Hor Fun.

The some goes for the beef. This is done under high heat. I could have done the veg and beef together, but for presentation, I wanted them separate.

The Hor Fun is now ready for the sauce. The wok is now charred with delicious nuggets of fried beef sticking to it. It’s ready for the sauce too!

The sauce isn’t too hard. Stir fry garlic till fragrant, add in stock (or water). Next, add a little (tsp?) dark soya, and about a tablespoon of oyster sauce. I tossed in the excess beef marinate. Just taste and adjust till its right.