Singapore-Style Curry Rice Stick Noodles

Gil grew up in Singapore and these rice stick noodles with seafood, chiles, bean sprouts & curry powder were apparently a childhood fav of his. This was my first attempt at the dish but it wasn't too difficult as the cooking method is very similar to that for Taiwanese stir-fried vermicelli ('Tsa bi whun,' rice stick noodles sauteed with fried shallots, dried shrimp, pork, shiitake mushrooms, shredded carrots, onion & cabbage). The trick is to make sure the noodles aren't too wet or too dry by adjusting the amount of water you add towards the end.


Ingredients:
1/4-1/3 lb. pork loin top loin (thin chops), cut into strips
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. rice wine
1 tbsp. honey


2 carrots, peeled & julienned
1 12-oz. bag bean sprouts
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 jalapenos (red and/or green), seeded & julienned
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled & deveined
2 calamari steaks (about 1/2 lb.), cut into strips
1-2 tbsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. curry powder (or to taste)
1/2 cup water
12-oz. Maifun (rice stick noodles)
4 tbsp. vegetable oil


1. Place pork strips in a medium bowl and mix with soy sauce, rice wine & honey. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour (5-6 hours is better). You can also substitute with Char Shiu (Chinese barbecued pork) if you happen to have some on hand.


2. Bring a medium stock pot of water just to a boil, then turn off heat. Add the rice stick noodles to the water and let sit 5-10 minutes to soften. Pour noodles into a strainer and drain well; set aside.


3. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a large wok or saute pan over medium high heat. Add marinated pork & cook until browned. Add shrimp & calamari and saute 1-2 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove pork & seafood mixture to a bowl and set aside.


4. In the same wok or pan, add 2 tbsp. oil and heat over medium-high heat until very hot. Add red onions & cook about 1-2 minutes or until softened. Add remaining vegetables and cook an additional 3-4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in curry powder & 1/2 cup of water. When mixture comes back up to a boil, add the pork-seafood mixture & rice stick noodles. Season with 1-2 tbsp. of salt and 2 tsp. sugar, according to your taste. Remove to a plate and serve. 

Boneless thin pork loin chops.

Marinate in soy sauce, rice wine & honey.

Bean sprouts, red onion, chopped garlic, carrots & jalapenos.

Calamari steaks, cut into strips.

Shrimp, calamari & marinated pork.

Rice stick noodles.

Rice stick noodles blanched in hot water 5-10 minutes to soften.

Saute marinated pork in 2 tbsp. oil until browned.

Add shrimp & calamari to the pork until just cooked through. Remove & set aside.

In the same pan, add 2 tbsp. of oil & saute red onion slices until crisp-tender.

Add remaining vegetables and cook until crisp-tender.

Add curry powder & 1/2 cup of water. When liquid comes back up to a boil, add pork & seafood mixture and rice stick noodles. Season with salt & sugar, then pour the noodles onto a plate & serve.