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Bittergourd Fried Beehoon

Alexandra Wong
A variation of the traditional Malaysian fried beehoon with a surprising ingredient - bittergourd - that will blow you away with its umami.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 2

Equipment

  • wok

Ingredients
  

  • Dried beehoon for 2 pax
  • 1/3-1/2 bittergourd see Recipe notes
  • 2 tbsp dried shrimp see Recipe notes
  • 3 shallots, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 eggs
  • light soya sauce or fish sauce
  • white pepper powder
  • 2 tbsp cooking oil for frying

Instructions
 

  • Soak beehoon in cold water for 20 minutes or so, until soft. Drain. (see Recipe notes)
  • Scrape off the skin of bittergourd using a vegetable peeler. Cut into half lengthwise and scoop out the soft seedy part, then slice as thinly as you can. Rub salt generously over the bittergourd slices and soak in water, preferably cold, for 15-20 minutes to remove bitterness. Remove and pat dry with a tea towel or paper towels.
  • In a small bowl, soak dried prawns in enough water to cover. After 20 minutes, drain, keeping the water. Squeeze as much water as possible out of the prawns using paper towels. Then finely chop or blend in food processor until it's roughly minced.
  • Heat up 1 tbsp of oil, put in minced prawns and fry until fragrant and light brown. Monitor closely to avoid burning prawns. When the prawns start foaming, get ready to take them out. Prawns should be golden brown in colour.
    bittergourd fried beehoon 2
  • Using the now dried prawn-infused oil, saute garlic and shallots.
  • Add in bittergourd and fry for a few minutes. Spread them out so that you can get a nice sear for additional flavour.
  • Crack in eggs and scramble. Add beehoon and the other condiments. From time to time, add shrimp water that you’ve kept from just now, so that the beehoon doesn’t get too dry. Toss thoroughly so that every strand is coated with the dried shrimp-garlic-and-shallot infused oil.
  • Season with soya sauce/fish sauce, and white pepper. Toss thoroughly so that everything is evenly mixed. Dish up and serve!

Notes

  1. A lot of the beehoon package instructions recommend you soak them in hot water. I don’t do this because it makes the noodles to soften too much and clump together in the hot wok. You can also cut the beehoon strands to make frying easier.