This Vegan Wat Tan Hor has charred flat rice noodles doused in a savoury ‘egg’ gravy. A comforting noodle dish that warms you from the inside out.
Whenever we order hokkien mee, wat tan hor is a must have dish to pair with it. Hokkien mee is very rich and heavy, whereas wat tan hor has a somewhat clean (?) and light flavour, though both are guaranteed to satisfy your hunger.
Charring the kuey teow noodles is an important step, don’t skip it. The most iconic part of wat tan hor is the egg gravy, so in this vegan rendition I added mashed firm tofu. It really looks like egg! I also tested out a verison with yuba or tofu skin, but didn’t like the texture. The sauce is also usually really thick, some people like my mum don’t like it that way, so feel free to adjust the amount of cornstarch slurry to your liking. I personally love the thick gravy.
Ingredients
- 120 g firm tofu frozen and thawed
- 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 400 g thick kuey teow noodles
- 1½ tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 150 g sam choy or other leafy vegetable of choice
- 70 g firm tofu mashed
- 1¾ cup vegetable stock/kombu dashi
- 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
- ½ tbsp light soy sauce
- MSG to taste
- white pepper to taste
- 1½ tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tbsp Chinese cooking wine
Instructions
1. Prepare tofu: Squeeze all the liquid from the tofu, then tear into bite sized chunks. Marinate with vegetarian oyster sauce and white pepper while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Cook tofu: Prepare a large pan with oil over medium heat. Coat the marinated tofu in cornstarch, and pan-fry them until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Char noodles: In the same pan with more oil, char the kuey teow noodles with soy sauce for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to your serving plate.
4. Cook sauce: In the same pan with more oil, sauté the mushrooms until soft then add in minced garlic and vegetable stems. Cook for 1 minute, then deglaze the pan with vegetable stock/kombu dashi. Add in the mashed tofu, pan-fried tofu, leaf vegetables, cornstarch slurry and seasonings. Once the sauce has reduced to a thick consistency, finish off with Chinese cooking wine.
5. Serve: Pour everything over the cooked noodles and serve immediately with fresh or pickled chili.
More noodle recipes to try:
Vegan Wat Tan Hor
Ingredients
Tofu
- 120 g firm tofu frozen and thawed
- 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
Noodles
- 400 g thick kuey teow noodles
- 1½ tbsp dark soy sauce
Sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 150 g sam choy or other leafy vegetable of choice
- 70 g firm tofu mashed
- 1¾ cup vegetable stock/kombu dashi
- 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
- ½ tbsp light soy sauce
- MSG to taste
- white pepper to taste
- 1½ tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tbsp Chinese cooking wine optional
Instructions
- Prepare tofu: Squeeze all the liquid from the tofu, then tear into bite sized chunks. Marinate with vegetarian oyster sauce and white pepper while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Cook tofu: Prepare a large pan with oil over medium heat. Coat the marinated tofu in cornstarch, and pan-fry them until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Char noodles: In the same pan with more oil, char the kuey teow noodles with soy sauce for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to your serving plate.
- Cook sauce: In the same pan with more oil, sauté the mushrooms until soft then add in minced garlic and vegetable stems. Cook for 1 minute, then deglaze the pan with vegetable stock/kombu dashi. Add in the mashed tofu, pan-fried tofu, leaf vegetables, cornstarch slurry and seasonings. Once the sauce has reduced to a thick consistency, finish off with Chinese cooking wine.
- Serve: Pour everything over the cooked noodles and serve immediately with fresh or pickled chili.
Notes
- don’t skip charring the noodles, it adds flavour to the dish
- some people don’t like really thick gravy, so you can adjust the cornstarch slurry to your liking