Mum's Fried Beehoon
Fast, easy and only a few ingredients, you'll never order fried beehoon outside once you've tasted Mum's recipe!
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian, Chinese
- 4 servings Beehoon
- 150g Prawns, deshelled
- 1/4-1/2 Cabbage, cut into strips
- 3 Eggs
- 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
- Several cloves Garlic
- Cooking oil
- Salt
Cover beehoon with water and presoak until soft.
Marinate prawns with a bit of salt.
Mix dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and a bit of water.
Heat up oil and add chopped garlic. Stir fry until aromatic.
Add prawns and a bit of salt. Stir fry briefly. (Note: adding prawns early is important to flavour the oil, but also take care not to fry too long as overcooked prawns are rubbery)
Add cabbage. Stir fry briefly.
Add presoaked beehoon. Toss to mix.
Add soya sauces and mix to coat each strand.
Dish up.
Separately, make egg omelette, slice into ribbons and scatter on top of beehoon.
Mum’s Fried Beehoon - Quick FAQ
1. What type of beehoon should I use?
Use rice vermicelli, the thin, white dried noodles sold in bundles. Any brand works, but try to choose one that softens evenly and doesn’t break easily when soaked.
2. How long should I soak the beehoon?
Typically 10–15 minutes in room-temperature water until the noodles are pliable but not mushy. Over-soaking leads to clumpy, soggy beehoon.
3. Why sauté the cabbage and prawns first?
Cabbage and prawns release natural sweetness when cooked in oil. By frying them early, this sweetness infuses the oil, creating a flavourful base for the entire dish.
4. What does “season every step” mean?
Instead of seasoning only at the end, add small pinches of salt, soy sauce, or white pepper throughout cooking—when frying cabbage, when cooking prawns, and when adding the beehoon. This builds deeper, more layered flavour.
5. How do I prevent my beehoon from turning mushy?
Don’t oversoak. Don’t add too much water to the wok. Stir gently — don’t overmix. Use medium heat so the noodles have time to absorb sauce without breaking.
6. Can I replace prawns with other proteins?
Yes — popular alternatives include chicken strips, fishcake, tofu and leftover roast meat, but prawns add the best natural sweetness.
7. Why add egg separately instead of scrambling it into the noodles?
Cooking the egg as an omelette and slicing it in later gives the dish that creamy, silky texture — a key part of Mum’s style. Scrambled eggs tend to disappear into the noodles.
8. Do I need a wok to make fried beehoon?
A wok is ideal because it heats quickly and evenly, but a large non-stick pan works too. Just ensure you cook in batches if your pan is small to avoid steaming the noodles. 