Wat Dan Hor - Who knows this fried rice noodle dish ?

Most people know Hor Fun(河粉) - Fried rice noodle with gravy; and not Wat Dan Hor (滑蛋河).

Someone once told me that if I were to go to London, I should try Wat Dan Hor. I was puzzled. Why should I try Chinese food in a Western country ? Same as for Indian Tandoori. London has a few famous restaurants that serve up very authentic Chicken Tikka Masala. Well, it might be strange for the "Wat Dan Hor" suggestion but the immense Hong Kong influence might be due to Hong Kong being previously under British Colony. So, if you aren't in Hong Kong, you can get rather good Cantonese cuisine in London (Queensway in Bayswater district). Mmmm....I wonder if San Francisco has any good Wat Dan Hor ?

Ok, I HAD MY FIRST Wat Dan Hor in London (donkey years ago). Before that, I did not even know that Wat Dan Hor is actually Fried Rice Noodle with Egg Gravy Sauce. The key words "Egg Gravy Sauce". If not, it will be just Hor Fun - the usual fried rice noodle with gravy. To do a "tear-down" - Wat Dan is egg (滑蛋 ) and Hor is short for Hor Fun(rice noodle, 河粉). The more popular Wat Dan Hor is the seafood version - sometimes written in menu as Fried Rice Noodle with Seafood and Egg Gravy Sauce (滑蛋虾仁 河粉).

I have remaining rice noodles left from Beef Kway Teow. So, I wanted to do a "close cousin" of beef kway teow...which turns out to be Hor Fun...(so why not Wat Dan Hor ?)



"Wat Dan Hor" - Fried Rice Noodle with rich egg sauce (serves 2)
Ingredients:
-1lbs rice noodles/sticks (half from here)
-2tsp dark soya sauce
-oil for cooking

Gravy:
-6 medium-sized prawns; shelled and deveined - marinated with pinch of salt, pepper
-8 fishballs; sliced (to make them fishcakes-鱼饼 )
-1 piece chicken thigh meat; cut into bite-size
-0.8-1lbs bok choy and bok choy-sum, cleaned and cut into sections of stalks/stems and leaves
-1/2tsp crushed garlic
-1/2tsp crushed ginger
-1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 1/2 cup water
-1/2cup chicken broth
-2 eggs
-pepper and salt to taste
-oil for cooking
-water

Method:
1. Loosen the fresh rice noodles
2.Heat oil and saute prawns till cooked, set aside
3.Add in fishball slices, fry till soft, set aside
4.Heat more oil in frying pan/wok at high heat add in rice noodles, add dark soya sauces and stir fry briskly (Note: You can allow noodles to burn a little at the edges for that smaky taste). Set aside.
5.Add more oil into frying pan and fry the chicken till cooked. Add in garlic, ginger and fry until fragrant.
6.Pour in broth and bring to the boil. Simmer 5mins.
7.Add in vegetables(stalks/stems first, then leaves since former takes longer to cook) and when gravy comes to a simmer, add in the cornflour mixture. Bring gravy back to simmer
8.Add in the cooked prawns and fishcakes. Season to taste.
9.Turn off heat and crack in the 2 eggs, stir to cook the eggs
10.Dish gravy onto the fried rice noodles


That's my Wat Dan Hor!
Fried Rice Noodle with Seafood and Egg Gravy Sauce (滑蛋虾仁 河粉)!
Another Tze Char (煮炒) being replicated!
Yummy Yummy!


Tag: seafood, egg, rice sticks, rice noodles