Have you ever heard of this kerabu bee hoon? This is a Nyonya recipe that contains beautiful ingredients such as cincalok, prawns and rice vermicelli… This is a noodle dish straight from the lovely island Penang, Malaysia!
Read more about cincalok below.
This Nyonya kerabu bee hoon noodle dish is one of my fondest food memories.
I picked it up while visiting the island of Penang, Malaysia. There I fell in love with Nyonya cuisine. A vibrant mix of several cuisines from for example India, China and Africa. But the real star of this dish?
That has to be that mystericous ingredient cincalok!
Cincalok
Cincalok?
What in the world is that?
Well it is actually a fermented seafood sauce that contains a bunch of very tiny shrimp. And it is delicious! So what does it taste like? Hard to tell. Because it has nothing to see with the usual fish sauce or oyster say.
Cincalok obviously will taste fishy of course because of the shrimp in it and it’s also quite sweet if you as me. Excellent sauce for noodles!
Penang
I bought a bottle of spicy cincalok with chili flakes back then in Penang at Tesco’s after tasting this dish in a Nyonya restaurant because I loved it so much. And I brought it back with me home so that I would be able to copy this rice vermicelli dish one day in my own kitchen.
Easy Nyonya Kerabu Bee Hoon Recipe
So one day I gathered all the rest of the ingredients that go into it.
I cooked it, tossed it together and tasted it. And lo and behold, it worked! All the flavors were pretty close, just how I remembered it all back then. I served it lukewarm, a perfect summer lunch.
Do you love this Nyonya kerabu bee hoon Penang recipe?
Then you should also check another Nyonya favorite of mine: sweet and sour fried eggs belanda! Not your ordinary breakfast, that is for sure. But I bet that you will love these Nyonya style fried eggs with bell pepper and a sweet and sour tamarind marinade.
Absolutely finger licking good!
Enjoy!
Easy Nyonya Kerabu Bee Hoon Recipe
Kerabu bee hoon: a Nyonya recipe with cincalok, prawns and rice vermicelli... A noodle dish straight from Penang, Malaysia!
- 4,5 oz rice vermicelli (125 g)
- ⅓ cup vegetable stock (80 m), or fish stock
- 1 inch fresh ginger grated
- 4 tbsp grated coconut
- 1 tbsp caster sugar or palm sugar
- 5 tbsp cincalok with chili
- 1 tbsp lemon juice or lime juice
- 5 prawns fresh or frozen
- 1 small garlic clove chopped
- 1 small shallot chopped
- a handful fresh mint
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- hot chili sauce
- salt
Prepare the rice vermicelli. Follow the cooking instructions on the package. Once the noodles are tender, then drain them and put them aside until later.
Peel the thawed prawns, remove the black tract and heads. Slice the prawns in half lengthwise. Bring a medium saucepan filled with water to a gentle boil and poach the prawns for about 2 minutes until pink.
Then drain the prawns, rinse them to cool and put them aside until later. Pour the vegetable oil in a large non-stick pan and place it over medium heat until the oil is hot. Then add the chopped garlic and shallot.
Gently fry the garlic and shallot for 3 minutes. Add the stock, grated ginger, sugar and lemon or lime juice. Season with a little pinch of salt.
Bring it all to a light simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the chili cincalok.
Stir the sauce well. Then add the cooked prawns and freshly chopped mint.
Stir and check the seasoning of the sauce. Add extra salt or hot sauce to taste. Add the drained rice vermicelli.
- Stir well. Add the grated coconut.
- Stir the noodle salad well. Then take the pan off the heat and divide the noodles over large bowls. Sprinkle with extra grated coconut. Serve immediately.
