Fried Bee Hoon with SPAM

Whew, it’s been forever since I last posted something. I thought I would have more time in the summer to blog since school was out but it didn’t turn out that way. We were all too busy cramming as much “outside” time as possible into our long summer days. :) This summer has been unusually cool and we love it! It was not great for the produce – our zucchinis kept rotting off the moment they started growing and it took forever for the tomatoes to ripen but other than that, we have no complaints. Now that school has officially started, Alex and I will be preoccupied with school work again but we’ll make sure to fit some baking sessions into our schedule since Alex loves baking. For now, I’m going to try to post some of the things I’ve made over the past two months.

This homestyle fried bee hoon (thin rice noodles/rice sticks) with SPAM (American-equivalent of luncheon meat) was put together one evening for a quick and simple meal. Most of the time, I don’t follow (and I don’t have) actual recipes for fried rice or noodles. When I do make these dishes, my main reason generally is to either use up leftover ingredients or put something together quickly using whatever ingredients I happen to have at the time, as in this case. However, this also means that none of the outcomes are ever exactly the same. I probably should start keeping track of the combination of ingredients that I use so I can actually replicate a dish if I wish to. :) Our favorite brand of bee hoon is actually the Dynasty (brand) Maifun Rice Sticks which I get at my local grocery store. I haven’t had much luck with many of the chinese-made bee hoon that one would find in Asian stores – they always turn out gummy and bland-tasting. At first, I thought it was because I didn’t know how and was not lucky enough to pick the “good” brands. Then, my mom sent me a couple packages of bee hoon (Blue Swallow brand) a few months back and claimed that they are supposedly the best. Well…let me just say that we are going to stick with the Dynasty brand from now on. The fried bee hoon turned out satisfyingly tasty, and as with most Asian dishes reminded me of home. :)

1 package (6.75 oz) Dynasty Maifun Rice Sticks
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 can SPAM (regular or lite), sliced into ½-inch cubes
3 large eggs
1 handful dried wood ear mushroom, softened and rinsed
1 package (16 oz) coleslaw mix
¼ cup sherry wine
2 tablespoons fish sauce (optional)
2 Serrano peppers, sliced thin
Salt and white pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles (rice sticks), cook, stirring often until the noodles are softened but slightly underdone, about 2 minutes. Drain the noodles and set aside to cool. Using the same pot (dry it first) or a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant. Add the cubed SPAM and continue to cook until lightly browned. Push the SPAM to one side and crack the eggs into the pot. Scramble the eggs and when they are almost set, add the mushroom and coleslaw mix. Cook until the cabbage in the coleslaw mix is just wilted. Add the noodles, sherry wine, and fish sauce (if using) to the pot. Stir to combine and cook until the noodles are heated through. Add the Serrano peppers and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot/warm.