Baby Abalone Ee-Fu Noodles
Happy Niu 牛 Year! Wishing everyone a prosperous and healthy Year of the Ox. Every year during Chinese New Year (CNY), I make and feature a different version of ee-fu noodles, so this has somewhat become a happy blog tradition :) This plate of baby abalone ee-fu noodles is cooked with baby abalones, button mushrooms, yellow chives, broccoli, asparagus and carrot. Simple, sumptuous and satisfying! They can be served as longevity noodles (长寿面) during family gatherings and birthdays outside of CNY too.
I love making ee-fu noodles during CNY because they are easy and perfect for clearing the leftover veggies after hotpot. This particular version is a great use for canned ready-to-eat baby abalones that people add to “yu-sheng” during the festive season. They are also perfect as a one-dish meal or a shared side dish.
Similar Recipe:
See Also:
- Seafood Ee-Fu Noodles Recipe
- Prawns Ee-Fu Noodles Recipe
- Pacific Clams Ee-fu Noodles Recipes
- Chinese New Year Recipes
For this recipe, I used one can of baby abalones. I don’t go for those expensive premium brands (they are good to me as long as they look clean). Such abalones usually cost under S$20 per can which suits my budget. So this CNY recipe is really affordable yet presentable for the festive season.
BABY ABALONE EE-FU NOODLES FOR WORK LUNCH BOX
As a packed lunch, place baby abalone ee-fu noodles in a microwave-safe lunch box (I’m using an Ikea square +365 without the inserts). I recommend keeping the lunch box in a fridge or a cooler bag with ice pack due to the presence of seafood. To reheat, add a splash of water over the noodles (prevents drying out) before microwaving.
STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS (Baby Abalone Ee-Fu Noodles)
First, bring a pot of water to boil. Add broccoli florets and carrot to boil for 2 minutes before taking them out. Optional: Place blanched veg in a large bowl of ice water to lock in the vibrant green hue of the broccoli.
Reboil the remaining water in the pot. Add and cook the dry ee-fu noodles in the boiling water for only a few seconds. Take out the noodles as soon as the noodles start to wilt in the hot boiling water, while they are still firm and uncooked. If you overcook the noodles, they will easily break apart when they are braised later. Drain the noodles and run them under cold tap water and set aside.
Add oil to a large frying pan. Stir fry garlic & button mushrooms until the latter starts to soften. Add asparagus (optional; I was clearing the fridge) and stir fry for 1 minute.
Add cut yellow chives and Chinese wine. Stir fry briskly.
(Side Note: These are yellow chives sold at Sheng Siong supermarket. You can read about more about this ingredient here.)
Add earlier prepared ee-fu noodles & pour sauce seasonings over the noodles. Coat the noodles evenly in the sauce (pictured above), then cover with lid and simmer until most of the sauce is reduced.
Place drained baby abalone & carrot on top of the noodles. Cover and steam the contents for another 2 minutes to warm up the abalones.
Stir in the broccoli and this dish is done!
Plate it up and garnish with spring onions.
Baby Abalone Ee-Fu Noodles Recipe
This baby abalones ee-fu noodles are perfect for both as a one-dish meal or a shared noodles side dish. They are great as longevity noodles for Chinese New Year, birthdays and gatherings.
Use cooked baby abalones that is ready to eat from the can. The abalones are warmed up in the pan for only 2 minutes in this recipe.
Ingredients:
- 200g dry ee-fu noodles (伊府面/Yi mein)
- 150g broccoli florets
- 15 carrot slices cut them to flower shapes
- 1/2 tbsp + 1/2 tbsp cooking oil divided
- 1/2 tbsp chopped garlic
- 100g button mushroom cleaned with damp paper towel & sliced thinly
- 2 asparagus spears optional; shaved and sliced diagonally
- 150g yellow chives (韭黃/gau wang) cut to 5 cm (2 inch) lengths
- 1 tbsp Chinese wine (Hua Tiao/Shao Xing)
- 1 can (about 425g) baby abalones drained
- chopped spring onion to garnish
(A) Sauce
- 150 ml chicken stock see cooking note below
- 50 ml abalone stock from the can*
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 3 dashes white pepper powder
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp Chinese wine
* use only if the abalone soaking liquid from the can is the clear type, tastes good and free from preservatives (only contains salt + water). Otherwise, replace with chicken stock or water.
Directions:
- Blanch broccoli and carrot. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add broccoli and carrots. Boil for two minutes. Take out the vegetables. Optional: Place blanched veg in a large bowl of ice water to lock in the vibrant green hue of the broccoli. Set aside.
- Blanch ee-fu noodles. Reboil the same pot of water. Add ee-fu noodles and cook them in the boiling water for only a few seconds. Take out the noodles as soon as the noodles start to wilt in the hot boiling water, while they are still firm and uncooked. Run the noodles under cold tap water through a colander to cool. Set aside.
- Cook mushrooms & asparagus. Heat 1/2 tbsp oil a large frying pan or wokpan. Add button mushrooms and cook until they just start to soften. Add asparagus, garlic and remaining oil. Stir fry for anther minute.
- Add yellow chives and Chinese wine. Stir fry briskly until they just start to soften.
- Add prepared ee-fu noodles and sauce (A). Coat the noodles evenly in the sauce, then cover with lid and simmer until most of the sauce is reduced, about 3 minutes.
- Add baby abalones and carrot by arranging them on top of the noodles, cover with lid and steam for another 2 minutes, adding more stock or water if needed.
- Stir in the broccoli, mix well and garnish with spring onions.
Cooking Note(s):
- I’m using a rich chicken stock (Heinz or Swanston chicken broth in tetra-pak) for this recipe. As various brands of chicken broth differs in saltiness & richness, do adjust the light soy sauce to taste accordingly.
- Instead of button mushrooms, you can substitute with hon shimeji, fresh straw mushrooms, sliced shiitake/king oyster mushrooms.
- If you want to bring this as a packed lunch to work, I recommend keeping the lunch box in a fridge or a cooler bag with ice pack. To reheat, add a splash of water over the noodles (prevents drying out) before microwaving.