Mei Fun

Chow mei fun is a common dish in China. Often called mai fun, beehoon, meehoon, mee fen, or bun (in Vietnamese), you can get them easily at Asian stores.

According to the classification of materials added, chow mei fun also can be divided into chicken mei fun, shrimp mei fun, beef mei fun, vegetable mei fun.(Chow Mei Fun = Fried rice noodles)

What is mei fun?

Mei fun is Chinese specialty delicacy and it is very popular in southern China. Mei fun is a strip or filamentous product made from rice, which is made by soaking, cooking, and beading, rather than a powdery material which is made by grinding with rice as a raw material. The mei fun is pliable and elastic, which is not easy to be broken when boiled in water and stir-fried dry.

The mei fun cooked or stir-fried with a variety of vegetable or soup ingredients for soup or dry, which is smooth and delicious, and well received by consumers (especially southern consumers) favorite. There are many varieties of mei fun, which can be divided into row mei fun, square mei fun, corrugated mei fun, silver mei fun, wet mei fun, and dry mei fun. Their production processes are similar, generally: rice – panning – soaking – grinding – steaming powder – tableting (squeezing) – re-steaming – cooling – drying – packaging – finished products.

Allusions

It is rumored to be the food produced by the people during the five wild periods of ancient China. One is to carry and eat when it is difficult to carry out, because the mei fun has been pre-cooked, making cooking easy and convenient to carry out. Another theory is that when the north Chinese southward migration to South China, they missed the noodles in the north. Therefore, they replaced the wheat straw with rice.

According to the record in the 《Hsinchu City》, “When the north Chinese moved to Fujian and Zhejiang province, they still ate rice strips, that is, today’s mei fun,” “The method of making mei fun was introduced to Taiwan from Huian, Fujian.” Mei fun has previously been regarded as “high-end foods”. Only festive feasts and special festivals will entertain guests with “chow mei fun”.

The benefits of eating Mai fun:

1. It contains protein, carbohydrate, vitamin E and other ingredients that are good for the spleen and stomach.
2. It is an important substance that constitutes the body.
3. It can store and supplies heat and maintains the energy necessary for brain function.
4. It regulates fat metabolism, provides dietary fiber and enhance intestinal function.

Nutritional ingredients of chow mei fun (nutrient content / 100 grams)

Nutrient	Content (per 100g)	Calories(kcal)	172.93
Carbohydrate (g)	26.11	Fat (g)	6.42
Protein (g)	3.92	Cellulose (g)	1.31

What is Singapore Chow Mei fun?

It is a kind of fried Mei fun, also called Sinchew Fried rice. The ingredients include shrimp, char siu, egg, sprouts, curry sauce, and red pepper. Although Singapore chow mei fun is named after Singapore, it is not derived from Singapore, but it is quite similar to the practice of Char Kway Teow that is often eaten in Southeast Asia. Singapore chow mei fun is a common food in Chinatown in Hong Kong and overseas. It can be eaten in a restaurant.

The origin of Singapore Chow Mei fun has no place to verify. It is generally believed that Singapore Chow Mei fun added to curry is fried mei fun food appearing in Hong Kong. As for fried mei fun flavored with tomato sauce, there are some following statements.

Singapore chow mei fun using ketchup instead of curry is a dish from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

At one of the midnights at the end of Kuala Lumpur’s ritz period, a big boss parked his car in front of a familiar food stall and asked the owner to help him with a dish. At that time, the owner of the stall had prepared to collect the stalls, but he did not dare to offend the big boss or hoped to have more business. So he fried some leftover shredded mei fun, char siu, sprouts, shrimp, eggs and peppers together to create a fried mei fun with chop suey, which won great praise from the boss.

When asked about the name of the dish, the owner was embarrassed that some of the ingredients were remaining ingredients, and he casually said the name of Singapore chow mei fun. Then after the boss recommended to friends, make this “Singapore chow mei fun” become the signature cuisine of the food stall. It is famous and popular in the Malay Peninsula. It is also popular in many areas.

Mei Fun Recipe: Singapore chow mei fun

INGREDIENTS
• 500g dried mei fun
• 100g shrimp (peeled and deveined)
• 100g char siu or ham, shredded
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 onion (thinly sliced into half-moons)
• 1/2 carrot (sliced into thin strips)
• 4 stalks scallions, shredded
• 1 red chili pepper, shredded
• 1 green chili pepper, shredded
• 100g bean sprouts, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon chicken essence
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cooking wine
• 1 tablespoon starch
• 1 Chinese chive
• 1 lime (option)
• 1 bowl vegetable or canola oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Once the shrimp is fully thawed, pull the tails off. Then, run the tip of your knife along the inside curve of each shrimp to remove the intestinal tract. Rinse the shrimp and pat dry. Mix the shrimp, salt, cooking wine, and starch well in a bowl and pickling for a while. Then, heat the wok on the highest setting and add oil and shrimp and stir-fry for about 10 seconds. Set aside.

2. Beat the eggs in the wok with high heat to make a thin omelet. Transfer the omelet to the cutting board and cut it into thin strips about 2 to 3 inches long and set aside.

3. Pre-soak the mei fun in cold water for around 2 hours until soft and then drain. Set aside. Mix the curry powder and oil in a bowl to make curry paste.

4. Pour the mei fun, curry paste, soy sauce, salt, sugar, and chicken essence in a large plate and stir evenly.

5. Heat up around 1 tablespoon oil in a wok over medium fire. Add the carrot, onion, green chili pepper, red chili pepper and Chinese chive and stir-fry for until they are slightly softened. Transfer it on a plate and set aside.

6. Add the mei fun and stir-fry evenly on high heat until fragrant. Add the scallions, vegetable mixture, egg, and shrimp and stir-fry well. Then add the bean sprouts and stir-fry evenly.

7. Turn the heat off and transfer chow mei fun to a plate. Season with Lime juice and serve.