Chow fun is a Chinese rice noodle dish commonly made with beef and vegetables, but can also be made with chicken, fish, or vegetarian. Fresh noodles are recommended and should be cut by hand. The wide noodles have a unique texture and absorb flavors well. They should be rinsed before cooking and watched carefully to avoid overcooking. The noodles are fried in a wok with garlic and other ingredients before being mixed and served hot.
Known as shahe fen in China, chow fun is a rice noodle dish that is fried, most commonly with beef and vegetables. There are many combinations of this staple dish that substitute chicken or fish for beef. Chow fun is also made as a vegetarian dish, with bean curds and bean sprouts alongside the traditional vegetables of the meat-based version.
To make eating enjoyable, noodles should be bought fresh, as they don’t freeze or dry well. If purchased fresh, these noodles must be cut by hand. This allows the cook to tailor the noodles to their personal preferences. The traditional way of cutting pasta is in a wide shape, similar to the width of Italian pasta fettuccine.
Because of their high absorbency, wide noodles used for food enjoyment tend to absorb the flavors from whatever they are being cooked. Their texture rather than their taste makes the chow fun noodles so unique. Before cooking the noodles, it is best to rinse them in hot water, which allows the noodles to cook evenly and stay whole during the cooking process. Often when the noodles aren’t rinsed, they tear rather than stay in one long piece when stirred.
The cooking time for the noodles is very short. If the noodles are overcooked, they become gooey and sticky and won’t hold their shape. Some cooks choose to simply pass the noodles through boiling water or even simply wash them while in a colander with boiling water.
When wow fun is cooked in a wok, the frying process is twofold. First, the ingredients, such as the meat and vegetables and any sauces, are cooked. Once cooking is complete, these ingredients are removed from the wok. A small amount of oil is then added to the wok. Once the oil is hot enough, garlic is traditionally added to the oil. As soon as the garlic has browned slightly, the noodles are then fried until golden brown.
Since the noodles are the focal point of the dish, they must be constantly watched during the cooking process so as not to overcook. Once cooked, any ingredients that have been cooked separately from the noodles are then added to the noodles in the wok. The noodles and other ingredients are mixed and served steamed hot.
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