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Chow Mei Fun - Singapore Mei Fun

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Singapore Chow Mei Fun is one of our favorite fast meals that doesn't heat up the kitchen. Made with thin rice noodles, with a touch of curry, crisp fresh vegetables, and savory in flavors, there's a lot to love about it.

And since having take-outs get a bit pricey, I've gotten into a habit of making it at home instead.

Singapore Chow Mei Fun
Singapore Chow Mei Fun

The fact is, ordering Chinese take outs is no longer appealing as I get pretty good re-creating them at home. Let's face it, food always tastes good fresh out of the wok.. right?

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What is it made of?

Chow Mei Fun “星州炒米粉” is thin rice noodles or rice vermicelli made from grounded rice and water. A popular Chinese dish, it is basically stir-fried rice noodles seasoned with curry powder, rice wine, oyster sauce, honey and lots of fun toppings.

This dish is usually served in tea restaurants or stalls in southern China and Hong Kong. For the toppings, you can add your favorite meat, shrimp, eggs or Chinese dried sausage  I love to add vegetables as well, like snow peas, carrots and, cabbage, however, it all depends on you.

Singapore Mei Fun
Singapore Chow Mei Fun

Best noodles to use

You can use the skinny rice stick noodles available in Asian markets. Mei Fun is how you can call these noodles in Chinese, it’s also called rice stick noodles or vermicelli noodles or “bihon” (in Filipino version).

These Mei Fun noodles look skinny similar to the angel hair pasta when it comes to thickness. Make sure to find the good ones as they easily break and become disjointed or choppy.

Singapore Chow Mei Fun
Super Easy Singapore Chow Mei Fun

Useful Tips

① Curry Powder Use the good quality curry powder to make this dish special. One of my favorites is the Indian Curry Powder.

② Soaking The Noodles Before cooking, soak noodles in hot water (not warm water) for around 5-10 minutes, this process helps to soften the noodles and will cook faster. Test the noodles after 5 minutes of soaking if they look pliable but still not soft all the way. If not, soak for another 2-3 minutes and until they’re done.

③ Cooking in Small Portion Don’t overload your wok or skillet when cooking this Chow Mei Fun. It’s going to get messy and tough to manage when stir frying.

④ Making the Noodles Moist When the noodles are cooked longer at lower heat, you’ll get a bit dried-out noodles as the result. To fix this, sprinkle 1 or 2 tablespoon chicken stock (or water) to keep the noodles moist.

Ingredients

    • 1 lb medium shrimp peeled and deveined
    • 1 ¼ ounce package rice noodles
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 cup of diced pork or Char Siu
    • 2 tablespoons curry powder
    • 2 cloves garlic

For Vegetables:

    • 1 medium carrot julienned
    • 3 scallions white and green parts cut into 1 inch pieces
    • ½ red onion sliced thinly
    • 1 red bell pepper julienned
    • 3 cups shredded cabbage

For the Sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoon water
  • ½ tablespoon sesame oil

step by step instructions

  1. Rinse the shrimp and pat dry. Set aside.

    2. Prep the Mei Fun Noodles:

  2. Place the noodles in a large bowl and fill with hot water. Allow to sit for 15-10 minutes. At the end of that time, drain, rinse in cold, tap water, drain and set aside.

    3. Prep the Vegetables:

  3. Chop the garlic finely and the spring onions into (2") lengths. Julienne the carrots, bell pepper and slice thinly the cabbage.

    4. Prep the Sauce:

  4. Quickly whisk all the sauce ingredients into a small bowl and set aside.

    5. Cooking:

  5. In a large stir-fry pan or wok, heat up 1 teaspoon of oil. Turn the heat to medium-high and add the pork. Cook and set aside.
  6. Clean the wok and heat a bit of oil, add the shrimp to the pan and stir-fry for about 20 seconds.
  7. Add the garlic and spring onions and fry for 10 seconds, then add the rest of the vegetables. Stir-fry for an additional 45 seconds. Sprinkle the curry powder over the mixture and toss thoroughly.
  8. Drain the rice noodles and cut into manageable pieces. Add the noodles to the stir-fry the pan quickly.
  9. Add the sauce mixture to the pan and stir into the noodles scraping the bottom of the pan to avoid sticking.
  10. Tip in the cooked shrimp and pork into the mixture. Give it a quick toss (Don’t cook for than 2 minutes).
  11. Turn the heat off, drizzle a little sesame oil all over and serve immediately.

Other Asian recipes:

  • Full Recipe

    This Chow Mei Fun is super easy to make at home. Now, you can skip the take out as this will take you less than 30 minutes to cook. So fire up the wok and make an eat-in feast at home instead of delivery.

    Chow Mei Fun – Singapore Mei Fun

    Calleigh
    5 from 2 votes
    This Chow Mei Fun is super easy to make at home. Now, you can skip the take out as this will take you less than 30 minutes to cook. So fire up the wok and make an eat-in feast at home instead of delivery.
    Servings: 5
    Calleigh
    Author: Calleigh
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 15 minutes
    Total Time 35 minutes

    Ingredients:

    • 1 lb medium shrimp peeled and deveined
    • 1 ¼ ounce package rice noodles
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 cup of diced pork or Char Siu
    • 2 tablespoons curry powder
    • 2 cloves garlic

    For Vegetables:

    • 1 medium carrot julienned
    • 3 scallions white and green parts cut into 1 inch pieces
    • ½ red onion sliced thinly
    • 1 red bell pepper julienned
    • 3 cups shredded cabbage

    For the Sauce:

    • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
    • 2 tablespoons honey
    • 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
    • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
    • 2 tablespoon water
    • ½ tablespoon sesame oil

    Instructions:

    • Rinse the shrimp and pat dry. Set aside.

    Prep the Mei Fun Noodles:

    • Place the noodles in a large bowl and fill with hot water. Allow to sit for 15-10 minutes. At the end of that time, drain, rinse in cold, tap water, drain and set aside.

    Prep the Vegetables:

    • Chop the garlic finely and the spring onions into (2") lengths. Julienne the carrots, bell pepper and slice thinly the cabbage.

    Prep the Sauce:

    • Quickly whisk all the sauce ingredients into a small bowl and set aside.

    Cooking:

    • In a large stir-fry pan or wok, heat up 1 teaspoon of oil. Turn the heat to medium-high and add the pork. Cook and set aside.
    • Clean the wok and heat a bit of oil, add the shrimp to the pan and stir-fry for about 20 seconds.
    • Add the garlic and spring onions and fry for 10 seconds, then add the rest of the vegetables. Stir-fry for an additional 45 seconds. Sprinkle the curry powder over the mixture and toss thoroughly.
    • Drain the rice noodles and cut into manageable pieces. Add the noodles to the stir-fry the pan quickly.
    • Add the sauce mixture to the pan and stir into the noodles scraping the bottom of the pan to avoid sticking.
    • Tip in the cooked shrimp and pork into the mixture. Give it a quick toss (Don't cook for than 2 minutes).
    • Turn the heat off, drizzle a little sesame oil all over and serve immediately.

    Notes:

    Make sure you prepare everything at hand (especially the sauce), the actual cooking is done quickly.

    Nutrition Information:

    Calories: 79kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 400mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 24IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

    Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.

    Did you make this?I would love seeing what you've made! Tag me on Instagram @theforkbitedotcom or leave me a comment or rating below.
    Course: entree
    Cuisine: Asian
    Keywords: chow mei, chow mei fun, mei fun, mei fun noodles, mei fun recipe, singapore chow mei fun, Singapore Mei Fun, what is mei fun

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nancy at Whispered Inspirations says

    OMG, this looks amazing! My husband would love this so I am bookmarking it and making it for him. Thanks so much!

  2. Everything Mummy says

    this looks delicious! The whole family would love this x

  3. Jasmine Hewitt says

    this has me hungry! chow mei fun looks yummy

  4. Bella and Dawn at Dear Mummy Blog says

    This would be perfect for us especially with the thin rice noodles! Sounds like a tasty 'fast food' treat 🙂

  5. Catherine says

    Gorgeous presentation! This sounds absolutely fantastic! Saving for later...cannot wait to try for my family.

  6. Kami | Life with Kami says

    I love Chinese food, especially when it is hot. I had tried this food last year when I visited Singapore.

  7. Angie says

    This looks amazing and I definitely want to try it. Love how you posted the nutritional content too!

  8. Chelle Dizon says

    Yes I totally agree that it is better and more delicious to cook it at home and eat it while it’s stillwarm than order it for takeout. Pancit Bihon(For Filipino) is a really known dish if there’s someone is celebrating a birthday or special occasion.

  9. Chad says

    This is a bowl of heaven, love it and it looks so delicious. 5 stars all the way.

  10. Beth Pierce says

    I am so glad I didn't order take out when I can make this! Looks delicious!

  11. Sara Welch says

    This is one of my favorite dishes among Asian cuisine! I will have to whip this up for dinner this weekend!

  12. Nicole says

    Oh wow! This looks delicious, saving this recipe for tomorrow night's dinner! Thanks for sharing it.

  13. Surekha Busa says

    Wow, your pictures make me crave for noodles. I think I know where to buy those imported ingredients. I better try this Singapore noodles.

  14. kumamonjeng says

    I love mei fun or bee hoon we called it here. Be it stir-fried or soup mei fun. I usually ordered this dish in the local hawker center as I do not know how to make it. Glad to learn about the recipe here.

  15. Wander women abroad says

    Wow this looks absolutely delicious! Will def be trying this at home

  16. Katia says

    I'm gonna try this recipe, thank you

  17. Melissa Dixon says

    Oh this one looks like an amazing dish for us to try at home. I bet my daughter and my husband would love it. I need to try it out.

  18. Catherine Santiago Jose says

    Wow, that is such a nice recipe and I am sure my husband and my kids would love to taste it. Thanks for sharing!

  19. Yeah Lifestyle says

    This looks so delicious and healthy too! Definitely a fun fast meal for the family to enjoy of a weeknight.

  20. Raluca says

    Noodles and shrimps, this recipe asks for me to cook it!!! 😀 Thanks for sharing it 😉

  21. katie davies says

    wow this looks so colourful and exotic fab recipe thanks for sharing

  22. Rhonda Albom says

    This Chow Mei Fun sounds great. I love one meal dishes like this, and appreciate the tip of hot water soaking.

  23. Danielle says

    Oooh I love noodles!!! I am going to use this as inspiration for a vegan recipe dish, thank you so much for sharing!

  24. Mama Maggie's Kitchen says

    Hmm yum! This Singapore Mei Fun looks sooo delicious. My family will surely love this!

  25. Danielle Tsai says

    I used the mung bean noodles instead and added some fresh vegetables from my garden. My family loves it, very tasty and cant wait to make this once again.

  26. Kelley Yang says

    We love this Singapore noodles recipe, I guess it's the curry powder that makes it taste good. I added more veggies like celery, mushrooms and zucchini.. Awesomeness!!

  27. Melinda Song says

    I love to follow your recipe and your pictures are so pretty, made me crave for stir fry noodles.

  28. Heather P says

    I found Singapore curry powder at our local Asian market. I still have to tackle the stir-fry noodles but I just love the Singapore seasoning fro my rice or ramen.

  29. Madison Jimenez says

    I missed these noodles!! Your recipe looks so simple and flavorful, this is definitely a winner to me. I may use the bacon instead of Char siu 🙂

  30. Karen Lemons says

    I love this recipe, its super easy to follow steps, I'm happy I can now create my own Singapore Chow Mei Fun recipe.. Yes!! The dish tastes even better the next day.

  31. Katarina C says

    I made this savory recipe 3 times in a row and my family still loves it. My first attempt the noodles were a bit dry so I sprinkled 1 or 2 tbsp of chicken stock to keep the noodle moist. The result was perfection!!

  32. Virgie C says

    This is a very tasty dish, and since I don't have pork available, I used julienned Chinese sausage instead and it was perfect!

  33. Stephanie Whipple says

    I normally use this with Char Siu or the Chinese sausage instead of regular pork, it adds more flavor. Also, used the Mung bean noodles with juliened fresh zucchini from my garden.. Super Tasty and my family loves it.

  34. Thelma Collier says

    I love adding vegetables like zucchini, celery and mushroom. Also substituted the regular cabbage for Napa cabbage!! Super delicious 🙂 I plan to make this dish often because of its simplicity. Thank you for posting.

  35. Rose Bowman says

    I love Singapore noodles, and I have to try this classic recipe at home. I just need to find a good quality curry. :))

  36. Robin A says

    OMG.. this is the best chow mei fun I tried. I love that it is super easy and very simple. I added lots of fun toppings or whatever leftover vegetables I have in the fridge. YUM!!

  37. Jacqueline Debono says

    Forgot to rate! Def 5 stars!

  38. Jacqueline Debono says

    This is a fabulous recipe! I love making stir fries and this one with noodles is mouthwatering. Going to pin for later!

  39. Toni says

    This looks really good! Perfect for weeknights!

  40. Jill says

    I would much rather eat this than any take out I've ever ordered. Looks delicious!

  41. Dannii says

    Those noodles look SO goo and comforting. Love all the veggies in it too.

  42. Kristine says

    This is a great recipe and super easy to whip up, which I fully appreciated on a busy night! Thanks, I'll make this again.