This Chinese dish is a very simple seafood noodle soup with the noodles being the essential part. He fen is a type of wide Chinese noodle made from rice. It is white in color, broad, and slightly slippery. The texture is a bit elastic and chewy. These particular types of noodles do not freeze or dry well, and thus are generally available as fresh noodles at your local Asian market. The soup is a basic chicken stock, but accentuated with clams, shrimp, and fish balls to add a seafood flavor. A simple dish, but also very quick to make and satisfying noodles to eat any time of the year.
Ingredients (serves 8-10)
|
BROTH
Chicken leg (2.5 lbs) Chicken bones Clams (0.5 lbs) Shrimp (0.5 lbs) Fish balls Meat balls Fish cake (Kamaboko) |
GARNISH
Green onions (chopped) Pepper Fried onion flakes Fresh He Fen Noodles |
Directions
Any kind of chicken bones and chicken meat will suffice to get the flavor.
|
|
Shrimp and clams will bring the chicken stock a seafood flavor. Make sure you clean them well!
These rice noodles should be found fresh at your local asian restaurant. Sometimes difficult to find because they won't be in the freezer or refrigerated areas. Try to buy the ones that are already cut into noodle shapes.
|
|
Some other seafood and other ingredients. Fish balls, meat balls, and fish cake (kamboko). Cut the kamboko into slices.
|
|
Start by parboiling the chicken bones and meat. Maybe boil for 1 minute just to rid the impurities. Over-boiling and you will lose some chicken flavor. This is just to clean the chicken a bit. Dump the water out and rinse the chicken. Clean the pot and put clean water in the pot again with the chicken parts.
When the water starts to boil, some scum will appear at the surface and remove it with a skimmer. Set it on a low boil.
|
|
Boil for an hour and remove the chicken meat to be shredded. You can continue to boil the bones while shredding the chicken.
|
|
Shred the chicken by hand and place them into a tupperware. The bones you can put back into the stock and continue boiling.
Boil all the bones for at least another 2 hours to get all the flavor from the bones. Then filter the stock out into a pot using a strainer. Discard the bones.
|
|
|
While boiling the stock, add some meatballs, fish balls, fish cake first for 5 minutes. Then add the clams and let boil for a few minutes. Then add the shrimp to boil for a minute or two until it turns pink.
Just a video showing all the ingredients in the broth.
|
|
|
Plate some He fen noodles and chicken meat in a bowl, and microwave for 30 seconds. This will heat up the noodles and chicken. After heated, pour some hot broth into the bowl.
|
|
Garnishes include chopped green onions, cilantro, and fried onion flakes.
Yum!
