Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Fried Beef Hor Fun With Gravy 滑蛋牛肉河 - My Attempt At Recreating A Soo Kee Classic "Malaysian Monday 7"



I have been seeing the two Soo Kee Mee Stall* (大樹頭蘇記炒粉) classics, namely the "sang har mien" (生蝦麵, crispy egg noodles with fresh water prawns) and "ngau yuk hor" (牛肉河, fried beef rice noodles with gravy) everywhere. They are the must eat dishes for locals and tourists visiting Kuala Lumpur for quite a while now. Do a quick goggle on Soo Kee Prawns And Beef Noodles and you will find pages and pages of reviews from newspapers and bloggers alike. Armed with a few photos from the web and my memory of the dish I decided to try my hand at recreating the beef noodles at home. If you have tried cooking wat dan hor , stir fried rice vermicelli (wet version) or other Cantonese fried noodle dishes you shouldn't have any problem mastering this. The beef from the original version is tenderised with either bicarb soda or papaya extract (it looks raw even after cooking and taste nothing like beef) which I am not a big fan of, instead I have used my own technique to cook the beef to perfection. I am very happy with my attempt and I hope you will give this delicious dish a try too. Oh yes! I managed to get a few fresh water prawns and I will be making the "sang har mien " soon, stay tuned!
*Soo Kee Mee (Mee = Noddle) Stall is a noodle restaurant with a 70 year old history that has a cult following in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The restaurant has been operating from the current location in Jalan Imbi for more than 30 years and is now run by the founder Hon Soo's daughter. There are also a few other restaurants using the Soo Kee brand by many of the 9 Hon children.
P.S Have you been to any of the Soo Kee ? If so which is your favourite and how do you think I fare? :)



recipe per serve
you'll need;
300 g of fresh wide rice noodles (hor fun)
150 - 200 g of beef fillet, thinly sliced across the grains
5 cm knob of ginger, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 spring onions, cut into 6 cm lengths
500 ml of stock
1 tbs of light soy
1/2 tbs of dark soy
1 tbs of oyster sauce
dash of sesame oil
dash of Chinese cooking wine
white pepper to taste
tapioca flour solution*
1 egg white, lightly beaten
* Unlike corn flour this won't cloud the sauce.



Prepare the vegetables.



Marinate the beef slices with a little soy, sesame oil, chinese cooking wine, white pepper and corn flour. 



If using fresh rice sheets - cut into wide ribbons and mix in 1/2 tbs of dark soy.



Char noodles in a smoking hot wok with a little oil. Do not move the noodles too much to prevent breakage. Set aside and keep warm.



Cook marinated beef on medium heat very briefly with a little oil, remove from wok and set aside. (it should be around 60% cooked). 



Saute garlic and ginger for a 15 seconds then add in the spring onion and continue to cook for a further 30 seconds. Add stock and seasonings and bring it to a boil.



Gradually add in the tapioca flour solution to thicken the sauce, it should be thick enough to coat the noodles but not gluggy. Drizzle in the egg white, turn off the heat and give it a light stir. Finally stir in the beef.



Pour the sauce over the noodles and serve immediately with some pickled green chillies. I am extremely happy with the result and I hope you will give it a try too.



If you have eaten or cooked any Malaysian meal recently, please join us and share with us your recipes and experience. All you need to do is grab the batch above and place it at the end of your post, linking it back to us of course. Since I am hosting the event this month, send me an email for the link to your post :)  Click HERE to find out more.

35 comments:

  1. I am glad I am the first to leave a comment. This restaurant is a family favourite! You have done a good job recreating without a recipe. I am not a big fan of the tenderized beef too so your version will actually suit my taste better.
    Can't wait for the san har mien recipe and I will do a Soo Kee dinner for my friends :)

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  2. Harriet from CarltonAugust 10, 2010 at 4:35 PM

    Wow you are able to recreate a restaurant classic by just looking at a few photos from the web :)
    This looks fabulous and I am not a fan of tenderised beef using bicarb too!

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  3. This looks delicious and as always I really appreciate your helpful tips.

    I am loving these Malaysian meals!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha.

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  4. Makcik akan cuba resepi ni untuk bersahur nanti.Masakan yang senang dan nampak sangat sedap.T.kasih Tummy:)

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  5. Judging from the photos I have seen from the goggle link, your dish looks better anytime. Great work!
    Now I am looking forward to your take on the prawn noodles.

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  6. Great job with the ngau yuk hor! Looking forward to the san har mien!

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  7. I had no idea when I got taken to Soo Kee that it had such a rich history. I liked their ho fun but I loved their 'sang har mein' - looking forward to your recipe for that.

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  8. Very interesting post! Love the delicious noodle dish you have recreated and the story behind the restaurant too.

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  9. 好棒呀!看了幾張照片就給你煮出來了。

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  10. It is amazing what you are able to do with looking at a few photos from the web. I have checked out some of the photos and I must say this looks better anytime! Love to see your version of the prawn noodles :)

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  11. We used to go to soo kee for thus and sang har mein but haven't in a long time. A lot of ppl said the standard has dropped =( Your version looks amazing!

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  12. I would love to go there and eat an authentic Malaysian meal! This looks very good and something I would like to try and make! I love all the great info that you give us!

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  13. Your noodles look really fantastic. They are really eye-appealing. I also loved the information about the restaurant. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  14. One of the must-order when I visit Cantonese restaurants...it looks gorgeous and delish.

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  15. Actually I prefer Dry Fried Beef Noodles,
    Gon Chau Hor Fun....
    But I won't push this away. Love anything with beef

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  16. Yummy looking meal..you have combined it really well.

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  17. Oh, I'm loving wat dan hor! I'm drooling right now. Thanks for sharing & have a nice day.
    Cheers, kristy

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  18. Great little story behind this delicious looking dish. Well done!

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  19. Looks delicious! Good work for successfully recreating a classic dish :)

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  20. This sounds like something I need to make...a food stall open that long must serve good food.

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  21. Oh that looks good Suresh! I wish I am able to recreate a dish by just looking at a few photos lol

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  22. Every time I come here it reminds me how overdue I'am for a trip to Asia. And hopefully I will be there this fall!

    These recipes are inspirational!

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  23. Good work buddy! I must say I prefer your version with beef that tastes like beef!

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  24. Looks so good! Never been to Soo Kee, but the dish is pretty familiar. Can't wait for the sang har mien :) Btw, I made your Hainanese chicken chop a couple of nights ago (but used pork instead) - it got rave reviews from everyone. The kids even said it tasted like something from the local Chinese restaurant (which they love going to). Thanks ;)

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  25. I love the noodles with egg sauce so this one is for me! Great work on replicating it!

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  26. I am just discovering soo kee right here at Three Hungry Tummies. Beautiful.

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  27. this is my boss one of favourite makan place. We will definity visit if possible when we go KL. 生蝦麵 and 牛肉河, another dish is also a must to order is纸包鸡, yum yum. Copied the recipe, hope can cook for my husband to try :P. Thanks for sharing.

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  28. i really hope this recipe will be turn out good when i try...it look fabulous!!

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  29. Your Hainanese Chicken Chop was a HIT! Next one on the list is this one. Dad misses Soo Kee very much, so let's see if I can eleviate some of his home-food-sickness. Will let you know. Thank you for sharing! You're a champ!

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  30. just found your site and the recipes looks delish! will follow, thanks!

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  31. really I have to admit Stir Fry Sauce transforms the taste of dishes up to an outstanding level

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