兴化米粉 Xinghua Bee Hoon

I went hunting for fengshui items recommended by a well-known fengshui master to “remedy” the difficulties of the year. Friends had suggested that I try the shops along Racecourse Road as the prices there are lower. So, I spent the whole of one morning checking out the shops for blue rhinoceros, wind chimes, brass pagodas, and mythical animals like fu dog, pi xie, and chi lin. It was a fun experience haggling over the price with the shopkeepers, never mind that I didn’t get much of a discount. It was also a hands-on induction into the world of fengshui remedies and enhancements. After having checked out shops on both sides of the street and gotten some items, I was very hungry and needed food. I went into a corner coffee shop and ordered fried bee hoon (i.e. 米粉 / rice vermicelli). I knew I needed to fill my stomach asap before my hunger pangs throw me into a foul mood. The food arrived soon enough.

It was a simple dish with a generous serving of bee hoon adorned with clams, prawns, tiny dried prawns, belly pork, mushrooms, cabbage, chye sim and with a little sprinkling of garlic oil on top. What struck me about the dish was the different types of clams, still clinging onto their opened shells, found on and embedded in the mass of bee hoon. I have never eaten fried bee hoon with these types of clams before. Although the bee hoon looked dry, it was actually quite tender with just the right moistness, and it tasted wonderfully sweet, a sweetness not due to sugar but a light, meaty sweetness imparted by the juice of the clams. The taste was complemented with the fragrance of the shredded mushrooms and the garlic oil, punctuated with the occasional crunchiness of the vegetables. I avoided the belly pork as I was trying to get rid of one around my waist :-) It was a delicious and satisfying meal, and the novelty of the sensations stuck on my mind.

As I was leaving, I caught sight of the name of the stall and understood the type of food that they are serving: 兴化家乡菜 (Xinghua home cuisine)

Xinghua, also commonly known as Putian (莆田), is a place located on the eastern coastline of Fujian province, China. In the early days of Singapore, a lot of people from this region came to look for jobs and worked as rickshaw pullers. There were a number of restaurants (or rather, eating houses) serving traditional Xinghua cuisine to cater to their needs then. There is still one today, which was established since the 1930s, standing at Maude Road. Despite its ancient facade and humble settings, it is doing a thriving business. In contrast, there is also a spate of modern restaurants under the “Putian” brand with sophisticated design and service springing up all over the country in recent years. It seems that Xinghua cuisine is enjoying a surge in popularity recently.

Xinghua is probably famed for the bee hoon that it produces. It is made from selected rice grains which is ground to a fine slurry. The slurry is compressed to remove most of the water and steamed till half-cooked. It is then extruded under high pressure into very fine strands and carefully dried. The strands are about half the diameter of regular bee hoon and are often referred to as “silver strands” because of its whiteness. The local dishes made from it are rustic and richly steeped in traditions. They are typically light in taste and include as ingredients a variety of shellfishes from its nearby rivers and estuaries.

The novelty of the delicious sensations was still stuck on my mind even after several days. I had wanted to return to savor it again, but silently knew that I would not be as satisfied as before because now I am not hungry anymore. I needed to recreate the sensations I had felt and to contemporize it to suit current taste and dietary needs.

My modified recipe for Xinghua fried bee hoon:

300g Xinghua bee hoon, rehydrated
120g Clams, whole, medium size
30g Oysters, shucked, medium size
30g River shrimps, shelled, small size
30g Pork fillet, cut into strips, marinate
20g Shiitake mushrooms, cut into 3-cm strips
20g Asparagus spears, cut into 3-cm strips
15g Carrots, cut into 3-cm strips
15g Enoki mushrooms, cut into 3-cm strips
20g Baby corns, cut into 3-cm strips
5g Garlic, finely minced
5g Ginger, finely minced
1/2T Rice wine
200ml Superior chicken stock
Salt
White pepper
Corn starch
Shallot oil
Vegetable cooking oil

1. Pan fry bee hoon on high heat till fragrant and slightly burnt. Remove to allow oil to drain.
2. Sauté minced garlic and ginger. Add all the vegetables to it and stir fry quickly.
3. Drizzle wine followed by adding the chicken stock. Bring to a boil.
4. Add clams, oysters, shrimps and pork fillet. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer till the shells of the clams open up.
5. Season with salt to taste and a dash of white pepper.
6. Remove clams, oysters and shrimps with 1/5 of the stock and set aside.
7. Add the pan-fried bee hoon to the remaining stock and vegetables. Simmer and turn bee hoon gently till it absorbs all the stock.
8. Drizzle with shallot oil and toss to coat bee hoon evenly. Remove to plate.
9. Bring remaining clams, oysters, shrimps and stock to a boil again and thicken with corn starch.
10. Spoon sauce evenly on top of bee hoon ensuring that the ingredients are well distributed. Serve hot.


The dish is a tapestry of white bee hoon embroidered with ingredients of different colors, moist and slightly glossy. It retains the hallmark whiteness of the original Xinghua bee hoon to help it stay connected to the regional origin of the dish. This is achieved by avoiding the use of dark-colored seasonings eg. soya sauce.

The flavor of the dish has been accentuated through pan-frying the bee hoon to introduce a light smoky flavor which adds a touch of complexity to the dish and through the use of shallot oil. The flavor is also slightly more robust, a good contrast to the original dish, through the use of superior chicken stock which is allowed to be absorbed into the bee hoon to additionally provide the moist appearance while at the same time still bearing the delicate taste derived from the shellfishes – that sensation of “sweet meatiness”. The result is a more refined dish that suits local taste buds as they are accustomed to stronger flavors.

The use of ingredients found in rivers and estuaries e.g. clams, oysters, and river shrimps attempts to reinforce the regional origin of the dish once again as they are the treasures from the network of rivers running through the region and the estuaries at the coast. These ingredients would be expected to feature dominantly in its local cuisines. Freshness of these ingredients is of paramount importance as they will help to elevate the value of the dish. As such, dried prawns and other low-value dried goods are not used. The use of more vegetables, vegetable oil, and the omission of belly pork would help to address the health concerns of today’s diners.

One of the secrets of success in the preparation of this dish lies in the preparation of the clams. Usually, clams contain some sand in them and give an unpleasant gritty feeling in the mouth. Ridding them of sand is so important that it can make or break the dish. In addition, there are a wide variety of clams available. Knowing how to use them to advantage would also be important.

So, how to rid clams of sand? And, what are the varieties of clams available and their uses?

I would appreciate these nuggets of knowledge. Why don’t you share them with me?