Kitchen / Chinese

Singapore Pork Chop Hor Fun

Wat tan hor, zi char style: charred flat rice noodles topped with pork and egg gravy.

This is the final pantry-constrained version, worked out after discovering only 35 g regular soy sauce and 10-20 g rice wine remained in the kitchen.

Noodles

  • 400 g dried flat rice noodles, or 900-1,000 g fresh hor fun
  • 40 g neutral oil
  • 25 g dark soy sauce
  • 2 g salt

Pork

  • 900 g pork chops, sliced across the grain into roughly 5 mm strips
  • 15 g regular soy sauce
  • 8 g dark soy sauce
  • 30 g oyster sauce
  • 10-20 g rice wine (add an equal amount of water if only 10 g wine is available)
  • 8 g sugar
  • 2 g white or black pepper
  • 15 g cornstarch
  • 2 g baking soda, optional for tough pork
  • 15 g neutral oil

Gravy

  • 900 g water or chicken stock
  • 20 g regular soy sauce
  • 12 g dark soy sauce
  • 60 g oyster sauce
  • 3 g salt, then adjust
  • 8 g sugar
  • 3 g pepper
  • 8 g sesame oil, optional
  • 35 g cornstarch plus 70 g water for slurry
  • 3 large eggs, about 150 g beaten

Aromatics and vegetables

  • 25 g minced garlic
  • 10 g ginger, optional
  • 150 g onion, optional
  • 250-350 g bean sprouts, bok choy, cabbage, or spinach, optional

Method

  1. Mix the pork marinade and rest 15-30 minutes. Add 10-20 g water if it looks dry.
  2. Boil dried noodles until just soft, around 2.5-3 minutes. Drain hard and spread out.
  3. Heat a wok very hot. Add 40 g oil, noodles, dark soy, and salt.
  4. Spread the noodles flat for 45-90 seconds at a time to create dry browned patches. Remove.
  5. Sear pork in batches until browned and 80-90% cooked. Remove.
  6. Fry garlic, ginger, onion, and vegetables for 30-60 seconds.
  7. Add all gravy liquids and seasonings. Bring to a simmer, return the pork, and cook 2-4 minutes.
  8. Add about 70% of the slurry while stirring. Wait 20 seconds before deciding whether the rest is needed.
  9. Lower the heat and drizzle in the egg. Stir less for larger ribbons.
  10. Finish with sesame oil and pour over the charred noodles.

Control points

  • Dark soy is for color and caramel depth, not a one-to-one replacement for regular soy.
  • Do not crowd the pork or it will steam.
  • The gravy should coat a spoon but still flow.
  • Store noodles and gravy separately for meal prep; combined storage softens the noodles.
  • If too thick, loosen with 50-100 g water. If too thin, add a slurry of 10 g cornstarch and 20 g water.
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