Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Braised Yi fu Noodles 燜伊府麵



For the Chinese a good dish must possess the following qualities - colour/appearance (色, she), aroma/fragrance (香, xiang) and taste (味, wei), texture/mouthfeel of a dish (口感, kou kan) is also being taken very seriously. Yi fu or yee foo (伊府) noodle is the result of such obsession. The noodles are sold pre deep fried; they need to be soaked and soften before being put in soup or a braise, the result is bowlful of silky and tender  strands of golden delicious goodness that one simply can't get enough of (I hope I am not sounding like Nigella Lawson). This is how it is always prepared back home, do you have a different way of cooking this gem?
P.S This is a scheduled post. I will answer and reply all comments and queries ASAP.



serves 4
you'll need;
4 yi fu noodles
4 Chinese cabbage leaves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup of dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
1 large carrot, cut into strips
1 chicken breast, cut into strips*
1 cup of bean sprouts, topped and tailed
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbs of grated ginger
2 tbs of dark soy
2 tbs of light soy
dash of oyster sauce
dash of white pepper
dash of sesame oil
1 cup of chicken stock
1 cup of mushroom soaking water
corn flour solution
* marinate chicken with dash of soy, sesame oil, cooking wine, white pepper and corn flour.

Prepare all ingredients and have everything close to the stove.

Soak noodles in hot water to soften then rinse under cold running water and drain well.

Saute garlic and ginger follow by the carrots and mushrooms.

Add Chinese cabbage and fry for a minute, add chicken stock and mushroom soaking water.

Add noodles and seasoning, cover and simmer for a minute or two. Check for seasonings and thicken the sauce with a little corn flour solution.


Serve with plenty of cut chillies and soy.

34 comments:

  1. I always enjoy Yee Fu Noodles but my friends always ask me "why do you like to eat rubber-bands?".....arggh....

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  2. I have never tried this before, must look out for the noodles. Looks and sounds delicious!

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  3. I have seen them in the shops but had no idea what they are for lol
    Looks like a very comforting bowl of noodles there!

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  4. oh dah lama tak makan me yi..pasti akan mencubanya dalam masa terdekat.

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  5. Haha the Chinese really do take their food very seriously! This is new to me so it is a must try!

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  6. Not wishing to sound like the old man I'm becoming but I remember when yi-mian was more of a "banquet" noodle. Nowadays, it's quite common on menus and one I love as when done well it soaks up flavour. Like in your recipe.

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  7. 好久沒煮伊麵了。通常會過節才有吃。

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  8. Tempting noodles, feel like grabbing..

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  9. Brilliant! I always learn something new from you. Delicious bowl of noodles!

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  10. I am inviting myself for lunch.....lovethe noodles....they are so expensive here that i use, don't laugh regular spaghetti...a touch of rice vinegar in mine...fantastic dish...these freeze beautifully..once I made a lot...froze them in a plastic container and just microwaved them when i didn't have time for lunch...they came out like they were fresh...

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  11. Delicious! I know this whole plate would be all gone the moment it lands on the table! haha :D

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  12. alamak tummy! perot saya lapa nih! bestnya kalau dapat mee goreng panas sepinggan!

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  13. I've never heard of these noodles...Tiger fish's comment about rubber bands makes me think I might not like this. Are they as rubbery as shirataki noodles? I can barely eat them, but it does look great.

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  14. Go Nigella! He he he..Actually, I often think they look like rubber bands too (sorry Tigerfish), but I do like eating them. This looks delicious as always.

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  15. Oh yes. Please so serve with plenty of chillies!

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  16. Oh, I didn't know you have to pre-soak the noodles in hot water first. I always just add it to a soup/stock base in the wok and let it braise to soften...

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  17. So this is a noodles week. Looks delicious.

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  18. Have to give this a shot when I get back! see you soon! drinking much wine!

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  19. 'Yi fu mee' can double up as 'Sou Meen' too. Yours look great and I marvel at your Chinese, the way you explain so explicitly. Add in eggs and you'll get 'wat tan yi fu mee'!

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  20. This looks SO delicious... now you have 4 hungry tummies!!

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  21. oh adore noodle dishes like this yummy

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  22. I was LOVE this!!! Looks fantastic!

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  23. Good! I'm glad you're doing another noodle dish! I went to another Asian store today right near where my husband works and I couldn't believe how big it was! I was so excited, it had rows of noodles, but it seemed to be mostly rice noodles. I am going back real soon.

    Anyhoo, these noodles seem irresistible, especially when describes as...."a bowlful of silky and tender strands of golden delicious goodness that one simply can't get enough" Lol! How can you go wrong? Gotta try it!

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  24. One of my favourite noodles! Love your version!

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  25. OMG.. I've never had yi fu noodles? Maybe I know them as something else?

    Anyways... BOO.. I'm home =)

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  26. We have this on birthdays! I would love to have some soon!

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  27. Any type of noodles you cook are my favorite.

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  28. How I love and miss this type of noodles..

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  29. The noodles looks so yummy. Must look out for it when I am next at the Chinese Grocery store~~

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  30. I have never tried this type yi fu noodles,looks very good.

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  31. At what point do you add the sliced chicken breast? I'm missing this step in the illustrations.

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