E-fu noodles is also known as yi mein, yee-fu noodles, yi noodles, or yifu noodles. It is a variety of flat Cantonese egg noodles made from wheat flour, golden yellow in color and chewy characteristics. The slightly chewy and slightly spongy texture of the noodles is due to the soda water used in making the dough (as opposed to regular non-carbonated water). You can read more here.
For this dish, chef Sam Leong uses dry sole fish powder, however if you cannot find this in KL, you can substitute with minced garlic. During the class, I actually took a sniff of the dry sole fish powder, and it smells very much like dried shrimps, however the taste is said to be quite different. According to chef Sam, sole is a small fish and all you need to do is to take the big bone off the dried sole, dry fry over medium heat and then pound until you get a powder.
He also advised to add the seasoning in gradually, to taste as everyone's tastebuds and preferences differ. You can add dark soy sauce if you desire darker colour noodles. And the secret ingredient according to chef Sam is to add a slick of oil at the end to give the noodles a beautiful sheen.
Despite looking very simple, it is a very delicious noodle dish. Love the textures that the yellow chives gives the flavorful noodles.
Braised E-Fu Noodles with Mushroom
Recipe by Sam Leong
Serves 5
1 pack E-Fu noodle, poached
12 pcs straw mushrooms (canned or fresh), cut and poached
100g yellow chives, cut into 1 inch length
1 tsp dry sole fish powder (or minced garlic)
Seasoning:
1 tbsp cooking oil
400ml chicken consomme or water
4 tsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Chinese wine (Hua Tiew Chiew)
A dash of white pepper powder
Dark soy sauce (optional)
Spring onion, finely chopped (to garnish)
1. Heat the wok over high heat and add cooking oil. Add the dry sole fish powder and fry in the oil on medium heat until fragrant. Then, add in the straw mushrooms and stir fry for 1 minute.
2. Add in chicken consomme and the noodles and bring to the boil. Season with oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil, Chinese wine, white pepper powder and dark soy sauce (depending on how dark you like your noodles). Braise for about 5 minutes until the sauce becomes thick. Add in the yellow chives and mix well. Drizzle some oil just before removing, to give the noodles a shiny coat.
3. Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve immediately.
* I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.
There is dried sole powder in Malaysia, sold in either large bottles or small pepper shakers. I saw in Jusco/Tesco, can't remember exactly. I have the large bottle, given by a fellow blogger from Penang
ReplyDeleteAh ok, thanks for the info. Some other ppl in the cooking class said its very hard to find dried sole powder in KL. :p
DeleteHi Baby Sumo! I love ee fu mein, so I hope I'll be able to try it soon. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
ReplyDeleteNo problem. We all have Chef Sam Leong to thank for this :)
DeleteYen , love that e-fu noodles . It looks delicious ! I've seen fish powder here , maybe I'll buy a bottle and try Chef Leong's recipe :D
ReplyDeleteOh yes you should!
Deletethanks for sharing! I like e-fu noodles alot!
ReplyDeleteps: wa 'add a slick of oil at the end', not v healthy leh
Haha he did warn us that it's not very healthy lah.. you can omit it if you want.
DeleteOoo cool! I love Ee foo noodles! Look like I must hunt down this dried sole fish powder...don't think the minced garlic is gonna cut it, heehee. :) Thanks so much for sharing this Baby Sumo... ;)
ReplyDeleteLooking at other comments, it seems you can find it as long as u go hunting for it.
DeleteHi Yen! Thanks for sharing this traditional noodle dish recipe.
ReplyDeleteThe dry sole fish (鳊鱼） is the "soul" for many chinese dishes. You can fry the whole dried fish and grind into powder form yourself at home. Add a small spoonful of the grinded powder to your soup and the taste will be enhanced and elevated to another level. I used it in my popiah too.
You're welcome. Thanks for the explanation on the dry sole fish powder, looks like it should be a staple in every Chinese kitchen.
DeleteNice.
ReplyDelete:)
DeleteI love noodles, please pass me a plate please, hehe!
ReplyDeleteThey served us such a big plate during the review, we finished it all! Haha.
DeleteE-Fu noodles very much agrees with me...hahaha =)
ReplyDeleteKnow of any good places in KL that serves it?
DeleteI can buy you dried sole powder if you want... its available in my grocery store here... if I m not mistaken, its call pee hu powder. The only problem is it comes in a huge bottle... will take you a while to finish unless you share it.
ReplyDeleteI think I have more trouble hunting down yellow chives... hehehe..
gonna try this... drooling & thks for sharing Yen!
Oh thanks so much for the offer, Jenn! If I need it, I will let you know :)
DeleteCan't get E-fu noodles in Bermuda. What else can I use? It is an egg noodle?
ReplyDeleteLynne dear, it's like yee mee and yes you are right, it's a type of egg noodle. I think you can use any type of noodles which will not go soggy after braising for 5 minutes.
DeleteThanks for the recipe, I love eefu noodles and will try this out.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Sam Leong mentioned all the ingredients are easily available in SG's supermarkets.
DeleteHave never heard of these noodles but they look so great.
ReplyDeleteHello, I also attended his class. Wish to inform everyone about the straw mushrooms. When you open the can, throw away the water and cut the mushrooms into 3 sectors if they are big. There is water in them. Please rinse them clean before use. I did not use sole fish powder as I couldnt do them properly and only used fried garlic.
ReplyDeleteHungry..cooking this dish for bf now..Yes, u hear me right i.am.cooking. lolz.. u r an inspiration xxoo
ReplyDelete