What is wat tan? Well, It’s silky soft sauce that is great on just about everything from the smoke-filled pan of seafood or meat and vegetables with flat white noodles. It is enticing to most Asian table. Cabbage and choy sum are often added in. Also, most Asian would serve it with pickled green chilies dipped in soy sauce. The secret ingredient is corn flour and beaten egg to thicken the gravy and make it smooth and silky. When adding the egg, you need to swirl it to have broken strands of egg.

Today, my wat tan is a twist to the one my grandma and mom had always make them. I have added together with cabbage are bok choy, fish cake, sliced pork, small cubed prawns, firm tofu, fish and combination balls. Instead of fried flat white noodles, I have added Udon from my previous recipe leftover. In addition, of pickled green chilies I use red cut chili dipped in soy sauce.

My udon wat tan is silky smooth, spicy, delicious and slurpy. I slurp my udon, pork, prawns and vegetables with a satisfying loud slurp. Let’s cook!!!!

Ingredients

Marinade prawns

16 fresh prawns, washed, peeled and de-veined
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 egg, lightly beaten, use only 2-3 tsp Egg depending on how many prawns

Marinade pork

300 g sliced pork
1 Tbs Shoa Xing, Chinese cooking wine
1 Tsp soy sauce
1 Tsp sesame oil

Sauce

2 chicken Maryland, for flavouring stock
400 g udon,
18-24 slices fish cake
12 fish balls
12 combination balls
3-4 stalks bok choy, washed and cut into 3-4 cm sized pieces
3-4 cabbage leaves, washed and cut into 3-4 cm sized pieces
3 Tsp garlic minced
3-4 slices ginger
2 eggs
4 c chicken stock
2 Tbs oyster Sauce
2 Tsp light soy sauce
2 Tsp salt
2 Tsp white pepper
2 Tbs cornflour
3 Tbs water
1 Tsp sesame oil
oil for frying

Garnish and sauce

250 g block firm tofu, cut into cubes
3-4 Fresh Red Chili
3 Tbs soy sauce

Method

Crack 1 egg in a bowl and beat lightly. Add the prawn and marinade ingredients into a bowl; use only 2 Tsp egg and mix well, then cling wrap and refrigerate for later. Reserved the egg for later. Add pork and marinade into a bowl and mix well, then cling wrap and refrigerate for later.

Bring chicken Maryland, ginger, sauces, sesame oil, salt and pepper and stock up to a simmer, make sure chicken is cooked about 25-30 minutes. Check seasoning. Once stock and chicken done, removed chicken onto a plate to cool and keep for another dish.

Cook tofu for 3 minutes and udon in stock for 5 minutes or until tender, turn off heat. Drain and divide into individual bowls. Set aside keep warm. Then add corn flour to 3 Tbs water in a bowl and mix well, making sure there are no lumps.

Heat up 1 Tbs oil in the wok and fry garlic until golden brown. Next add the cabbages and fry for a minute. Then add bok choy and stir fry for another minute. Transfer to a plate. Next add 1 Tbs oil fry prawns with the marinade for about 1 minute, fish cake, fish balls and combination balls for about 5-8 minutes. 

Next add another 1 Tbs of oil into the wok over high heat, add pork with the marinade in until cooked and pour in the chicken stock. Once boiling, pour back cabbage, bok choy and prawns and stir well. Pour the corn flour mixture into the chicken stock and simmer until the gravy thickens.

Crack the remaining eggs into the reserved eggs mixture. Finally, pour in the beaten egg, swirling it over the gravy mixture until the egg is 3/4 cooked, then remove from heat.  Ladle gravy over udon and spoon some cut chili with soy sauce over. Serve immediately. Serve with a beer or white wine. Enjoy!!!!

Note: Best fry ingredients separately as each ingredient has different cooking times. I prefer to refrigerate marinated pork and prawns until ready to be cooked to give pork and prawns a more crunchy texture as well as absorb the marinade. You can set it aside on bench top.

Grandma and mom cook their prawns about 70-75% doneness during the precooking stage, so that they will be just done at the end of the cooking process. Remembered grandma said to add in beaten eggs last and turn off the heat once three-quarters cooked, to avoid overcooking the silky egg strands.

https://helenscchin.com/2020/08/09/udon-wat-tan-silky-egg-sauce/

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