Fried Hokkien Noodles with Prawns 🇨🇳

Have you ever walked past a hawkers market or your local food hall hearing the clanging of the wok and smelling the mouthwatering aroma of Asian stir fries?  You can recreate something like it in this simple recipe for fried Hokkien noddles. Popular in southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia, it originated from the Fujian province in southern China.  Traditionally, the thick chewy egg noodles are fried with prawns and slices of pork belly, which I find too rich and oily, so I normally just use prawns.  With the vegetables, I use beansprouts and kale which I happen to have to provide freshness and crunch; otherwise, some Asian greens such as 'bok choy' would be good.  The signature dark colour of the noodles is achieved by adding dark soy sauce and 'Kecap Manis', an Indonesian sweet soy sauce.  If you like Australian made fresh Hokkien noodles, they can be found in the refrigerated section of most supermarkets.

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

• 450g / 1lb fresh Hokkien noodles
• 12 medium size raw prawns, shelled and deveined
• 250g / 9oz beansprouts
• 80g / 2¾oz bok choy
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• vegetable or olive oil
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons Kecap Manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)

METHOD

1. Cook noodles according to instructions on package.  Usually, it would be soaking them in boiling water for a few minutes until they loosen up.  Place in a colander and rinse with cold tap water.  Set aside to air dry in the colander.
2. Wash and slice bok choy into bite size pieces.  Rinse beansprouts and drain in a colander.
3. Heat a wok with 1 tablespoon of oil on high until very hot.  Add crushed garlic and let it sizzle for a few seconds to release its aroma.  Add the prawns and stir fry until they begin to turn translucent.  Add a tablespoon of water.  Continue to stir fry until cooked through.  Remove prawns from the wok and set aside.
4. In the same wok, add 2 teaspoons of oil on medium high heat.  Add the bok choy and stir fry for a minute or so until softened.  Add the noodles and the bean spouts.  With a pair of tongs, toss the noodles around to mix with the vegetables.  The bean sprouts do not need to be cooked through, just slightly wilted.  
5. Add the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and kecap manis.  Continue to toss the noodles around until coated evenly with the sauce.
6. Return the prawns to the noodles.  Give all the ingredients a final toss.  Serve up.