Crispy E Fu Noodle and Seafood Gravy (Ifumie Binjai)

Ifumie Binjai (Crispy E Fu Noodle and seafood gravy)-Crispy E Fu noodles (Yi Mian) are smothered in seafood gravy. Talking about the contrast of texture!

Mom would drive us to places around town (or out of town) to find good food! It’s definitely something I looked forward to as a kid or even as a teenager. I guess the saying of apple doesn’t fall far from the tree has some truth to it. Both of my parents are foodies. My mom often says that I love food from the day I was born! LOL! Now, I’m married to a husband who is also a foodie! A 3-year old that loves to try funky food! Coincidence ?

Anyway, when I say good food, it’s not big name restaurants or anything like that. It’s usually street food, hawker centers, night markets and places like that. one of the places that mom used to bring us to was this town called Binjai. It’s probably about an hour from where we lived if I remembered correctly. We loved their wonton noodle there and the famous ifumie Binjai. E fu noodles are usually fried and then served with stir-fried seafood, meat, veggies and thick gravy.

It is spelled as I Fu Mie in Indonesian Chinese Hokkian dialect. It is officialy known as E Fu Mian (Yi Mian). It’s a Cantonese flat egg noodles. If you can’t find E Fu Noodles though in your local Asian grocery store, you can definitely use Chow Mein (broad noodles). It is slightly wider than regular Chow Mein. This is the exact one I used in this recipe. It worked out beautifully.

The contrast of texture between the crispy noodles and the savory gravy and everything else is just incredible. Nothing is really fancy about this dish, but it is deeply satisfying in every level!

Crispy E Fu Noodle and Seafood Gravy (Ifumie Binjai)

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 40 mins

Servings 4 -6 servings

5 from 2 reviews

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Review this Recipe

Ingredients

  

0.5x1x2x

• 1 lb Dried/Fresh E Fu Noodles (Yi Mian) cook according to instruction on the package
• cooking oil for frying the egg noodles
• 1 Tbsp cooking oil for stir-frying
• 1 small onion cut into 2x2 inch square
• 3 cloves garlic finely minced
• 4 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-size cubes
• 1 large carrots peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 cup snow peas
• 8 oz large shrimp deveined and shelled
• 8 Fish balls cut into 1/2-inch rounds
• 1 large tomatoes quartered
• 1 large egg beaten
• 2 Tbsp corn starch + 1 Tbsp water

Gravy (mixed everything):

• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
• Small pinch of sugar

Green chili sauce:

• 6 jalapeno peppers stemmed
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• Small pinch of salt

Instructions

 

Preparing green chili sauce (can be made few days before):

• Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process into a smooth paste. Add a bit of water to help it goes if needed. Pour this into a small saucepan and cook for about 10 minutes. Store in a jar and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. 

Preparing the crispy noodle:

• Cook the egg noodles according to the instruction on the package, about 45 seconds of blanching in boiling water. Remove and rinse with cold water. Roughly form the cooked noodle into 4 pieces of about 6-7 inch size of nest-like shape. Place this on serving plates and set aside
• Preheat about 2-inches of oil in a medium size skillet. When the oil is hot, lower the heat to medium. You can place the noodle in a large slotted spoon (as shown in the photo, this will help to keep the round shape) or you can just gently put the nest-like shape noodles in the oil and fry until crispy on both side. Remove and place on an absorbent paper towel. Continue with the rest of the noodles

Preparing the seafood gravy:

• Preheat a large skillet or wok with 1 Tbsp of cooking oil. Add onion and cook until they are soft, about 3 minutes, add garlic and stir fry for another 10 seconds or so. Add chicken thigh pieces. Stir-fry until the chicken meat turns opaque. Add carrots and snow peas and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Now, it's time to add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink. Add tomato chunks. Cook until the tomatoes are softened.  Lastly, add fish balls (these are usually already pre-cooked). Pour the gravy you have mixed earlier in. Bring it to a gentle simmer and then very slowly drizzle in the beaten in with one hand and another hand continues to stir (kinda like egg drop soup). Have a taste. Season with more salt to your taste if needed. Give the corn starch solution a stir and pour it in while one hand continue to stir. The gravy will start to thicken slightly. Turn off the heat
• Ladle the seafood, veggies, and gravy generously over the crispy noodles. Serve immediately with green chili sauce

Did you make this recipe?Please leave me a comment below and tag @whattocooktoday and #WhatToCookToday on Instagram