Hainanese Tang Hoon with Chives and Dried Cuttlefish Recipe - The Burning Kitchen (2024)

The last time, I wrote about glass noodles was a couple of months back when I shared with you theGlass Noodles with Hairy Gourd (毛瓜冬粉) Recipethat my grandson loves to eat.Today, I will be introducing you to a new glass noodle recipe: Glass Noodles with Dried Cuttlefish is typically a Hainanese dish.

In my younger days, a friend and I used todo Christmas cook-outs in my house for the Youth Christian Fellowship ofKampong Kapor Methodist Church. It was throughthis common love forcooking that we bonded and eventually became best friends. My best friend is the one who taught me how to cookGlass Noodles with Dried Cuttlefish, and shein turnlearnt this recipe from her Hainanese mother-in-law. I hope you enjoy this timeless and versatile recipe as much as I do!

Glass noodles are also known as Dong Fen, Tang Hoon or, Cellophane Noodles. When uncooked, the noodles look very similar in appearance to Bee Hoon or Rice Vermicelli, so be sure toread the labels if you are buying glass noodles for the first time! Once cooked, the difference becomes obvious – glassnoodles will have a translucent glass-y appearance whereas rice vermicelli will be more white and opaque looking.

Glass noodles are very popular in many different Asian cuisines, including Chinese, Pinoy and Thai. Incidentally, the best glass noodle brand that I have found so far is a Thai brand that I discovered in the country. I wish I could tell you the English name, but there is none, only green wordings in Thai with an easily identifiable sketch of a lion. It is usually available in any Thai supermarket.

• It is suitable for all ages. Even my grandson loves eating this, so please both the elderly and children by cooking this dish!
• The Wok Hei flavour of this dish brings out the flavour of the ingredients even more, as well as add a smokiness to the entire dish.

Wash and soakthe dried cuttlefish in hot water for about 5 minutes.Remove the backbone, the mouth and the eyes.

Soak the Tang Hoon with hot water for about 10 minutes. Wash and drain dry.

Wash and cut the lean pork into strips. Add2tsp of sesame oil and 1 tsp of cornflour to the pork and allow to marinate for 10minutes.

Cut the cuttlefish into strips and put into a bowl. Add the Hua Tiao Chiew to the cuttlefish strips and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

Cut the wooden fungus into strips.

Peel and wash the onion. Pat dry and cut into thin slices.

Peel the shallots, wash and pat dry. Cut the shallots cross-sectionally into thin slices.

Wash and cut the chives into 2-inch lengths.

Chop the garlic finely (if not already pre-chopped).

Wash the chilli and cut into thin slices.

De-shell and de-vein the prawns. Add a pinch of salt to the salt. For presentation purposes, you can leave the tail of the prawn on, like the photo below. Watch my video demonstration on How to Clean and Prepare Prawnsfirst to see how I do it.

Add 1/2 bowl of oil to the wok and heat overhigh heat.

Pour the sliced shallots in and fry until it turns slightly brown. Turn the fire to medium low. Keep stirring constantly to prevent the shallots from getting burnt. The moment it turns golden, quickly turn off theheat and remove the crispy shallots from the oil immediately or it will turn black and bitter. Set aside.

Remove the oil from the wok leaving about 3TBsp of oil.

Turn on the heat to medium. Add in the garlic and fry for a few seconds.

Toss in the chopped onions and fry until fragrant but not burnt.

Add in thepork and fry for5minutes.

Then add the prawns in and fry for another3 minutes.

Pour the wooden fungus in and stir-fry for another 2minutes.

Add 1 tsp black soya sauce, 1 bowl of stock and the cuttlefish together with the Hua Tiao Chiew it is soaked in. Stir-fry for another5 minutes.

Add 1/4 tsp of salt (it is best to taste the sauce first and adjust the amount of salt according to your preference).

Add in the Tang Hoon. Instead of using the metal spatula, use a pair of long wooden chopsticks to toss the Tang Hoon to coat it evenly with the sauce. This will prevent the Tang Hoon from breaking up during stirring.

Continue cooking over low heat to let the Tang Hoon soak in all the gravy.

Add in all the chives leavinga handfulfor garnishing. If the Tang Hoon is too dry, a little more water can be added to it.

Transfer into a serving dish and garnish with chives, cut chilli,parsleyand crispy shallots. Serve hot.

1. Be careful that you don’t confuse dried cuttlefish with dried octopus if you are getting the dried cuttlefish for a dry goods provision store! If you are unsure, read my recipe for Old Cucumber Soup (老黄瓜汤) Recipewhere I explainedthe difference between the two!
2. Buy tang hoon from Thailand. There are many different types of Tang Hoon in the market. Some are very QQwhereas some are very starchy and tend to stick together. I usually buy Tang Hoon made in Thailand. They are usually very springy and will not break easily.

1. Soak the cuttlefish with hot water otherwise it will be too hard.
2. When frying the shallots, stir it constantly ensuring all the shallots are in the oil. The moment it starts to turn light brown, reduce the heat to low and continue to stir until all turn golden. Quickly turn off the heat and transfer to a metal sieve to drain off the oil. If you are not quick enough, it willget burnt very fast even thought the heat is turn off.
3. Fry the shallots a day before and put in an air tight container to save time.It can be kept for a couple of weeks.

• Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
• Gluten-Free:Use gluten free Hua Tiao Chiew (or skip it!) Use gluten-free soy sauce (Lee Kum Kee has a gluten-free range)
• Nut-Free:No modifications needed.

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