Singapore rice noodle
This dish is actually one of my favorites back when I was a wee girl. If my parents and my brother and me went to a Chinese restaurant, I was secretly hoping my parents would order this dish. Why secretly? I don’t have the explanation, I think it’s because I was still a wee girl, I was pretty ignorant of what’s going on with the menu selection. That didn’t mean I didn’t like to eat, though. Now that I’m much older, I’m trying to compensate what I lacked before by making an enormous selection of dishes for my family 
I was going to do beef chow fun for Rita’s party, the Chinese Take-Out Party, that’s another favorite, but due to time limit of having to go to a 20 minute-drive to a decent Asian grocery to buy fresh chow fun, I forgo the beef chow fun. Chinese barbecued pork could now be found on my local Safeway, so it’s only a breezy 5-minute drive. Everything else was in my fridge or my pantry, well, except small shrimps. I only had medium-sized shrimps which I chopped into two here. Be sure to use Madras curry powder because the flavor is definitely much more superior (triple superlatives!) to a regular curry powder found in the herb/spice section in your local grocer. I upped the amount of the curry because I liked it stronger, because I felt 2 teaspoons didn’t do much to dish.
So, Rita darlin’, here’s my contribution to your party!
Singapore Rice Noodles
Serves 4 to 6 as part of a multicourse meal
4 Chinese dried mushrooms
8 ounces rice vermicelli (mai fun)
2 tablespoons thin soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shao Hsing rice cooking wine
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 ounces medium shrimp, shelled, deveined and halved in two
1/2 cup finely shredded scallions
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1 1/4 tablespoons Madras curry powder
3/4 cup homemade chicken broth or water
4 ounces Chinese barbecued pork, cut into juliene strips
In a medium bowl, soak the mushrooms in 1/4 cup cold water for 30 minutes, or until softened. Drain and squeeze dry, reserving soaking liquid. Cut off and discard stems and thinly slice the caps.
In a large bowl, soak the rice noodles in enough cold water to cover for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the noodles are limp and softened. Drain in a colander and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, and salt. Set aside.
Heat a large wok or skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and the shrimp, and stir-fry 10 seconds. Add the scallions and stir-fry 30 seconds, or until shrimp have just turned orange but are not cooked through. Transfer the shrimp mixture to a plate and set aside.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, celery, and sliced mushrooms, and stir-fry 30 seconds. Add the curry powder and stir-fry 10 seconds, or until fragrant. Restir soy sauce mixture and swirl it into the wok. Add the chicken broth or water, reserved mushroom soaking liquid and 1/3 cup cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat.
Add the drained rice noodles and return to a boil, stirring noodles to completely coat in curry mixture. Cover and cook over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until noodles are just tender. Add the shrimp and barbecued pork, and cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes, or until shrimp are just cooked through and liquid has been absorbed by the noodles. Serve immediately.
Source: adapted from The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen by Grace Young.
Party on!
thanks for bringing this fab dish to the party! this is one of the most popular chinese take out dishes in hong kong _ and i loveee it! yum!
horreee…the judge approved! hehe….
Comment by rita — May 10, 2008 @ 9:29 pm
waaaaw.. ini favoritku… but without pork hehe..:)
piringnya cakep :p
suka juga ya Yin?
Comment by Ayin — May 11, 2008 @ 9:05 am
I would go to the party just for this!
But it always puzzles me why they call it Singapore Rice noodle? Is Singapore famous for this dish? I never knew…
i don’t know either…but i have a theory that since curry powder is used in this noodle, and Singapore has Chinese community, hence the name?
Comment by tigerfish — May 12, 2008 @ 2:25 am
this looks absolutely delicious….love noodles like this!
Great to see you at mc rita’s take~party
photography + design of this site=gorgeous!
thank you so much for your compliments!
Comment by taste memory girl — May 14, 2008 @ 5:37 am
Looks marvelous! (Is that a Pier 1 bowl I spy? I have a few of them.) From what I’ve learned, this dish doesn’t originate in Singapore, that they don’t make mai fun this way. No matter. I love it!
yeah, no matter! it’s Pier 1 bowl, gosh…I bought it a loooong time ago!
Comment by Susan — May 21, 2008 @ 6:28 am