How to Cook Crab Bee Hoon

Full disclosure – I’ve never had this in Singapore; in fact my only exposure to Crab Bee Hoon has been on TV courtesy of Anthony Bourdain. I Googled it and found a version that’s basically a glorified fish head vermicelli recipe. I’m confident that’s NOT the same dish that Mr. Bourdain ate in Geylang, so this is my take on it after further research (all quantities are agak-agak ie. guesstimates) –

Crab Bee Hoon Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 crabs – halved (I prefer female crabs, for the roe)
• 3 Tbsp tapioca starch
• 1 egg
• 3 cups oil for deep-frying
• 8 cloves garlic
• 5 thumb-sized chunks of ginger
• 4 spring onions, cut into 2-inch lengths
• 1 pack vermicelli aka rice sticks, soaked in hot water until soft, then strained
• 2L prawn stock or water
• 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 Tbsp chicken stock granules

METHOD:

1. 1. Heat oil in wok.

1. 1. Drench crab pieces with tapioca starch and egg. Deep-fry about 90 seconds, remove and set aside.

1. 1. Leave about 1 Tbsp oil in wok, toss in garlic & ginger, fry until aromatic.

1. 1. Add oyster sauce, fry another 10 seconds or so; add prawn stock/water and all other seasoning ingredients.

1. 1. Add crab and simmer for a minute, then add noodles & spring onions.

1. Cover and simmer a couple of minutes until noodles are soft; remove and serve.

Ps. in my video I was practically apologizing for using a thicker variety of Vietnamese rice sticks but that actually tasted delicious – it’s got a much softer, smoother texture than the regular vermicelli/rice sticks I use. I might stick with that from now on.