Google: “Wat tan is a Cantonese word for silky smooth eggs. Hor fun usually refers to the flat rice noodles or in Hokkien we call this as kway teow. Hor fun noodles are briefly cooked and then silky smooth egg gravy and a mixture of seafood and/or meat are smothered on top of the noodles. Wat Tan Hor is especially delicious served with Pickled Green Chilies dipped in soy sauce.”

Today, my wat tan hor is a twist to the one my grandma and mom had always made them. Without fried hor fun, I have added more stock to make it a soup and of course adding the last few chickens’ meat, bought pork balls, fish cakes, and different vegetables than the usual wat tan hor fun style, as I wanted to finished off my last 4 bottles of drumsticks stock. So, I can make new batches when I can get drumsticks on sale. I had written down the drumsticks stock.

I have omitted bean sprouts, fish balls, bok choy as they are expensive to get. Be creative and look for other vegetables to add in. I always like to create food that suits my palate, and it has got to be satisfying, comforting, and delicious. I am glad that adding more stock to the wat tan hor and turning it into soup to go with rice, instant noodles, or just have the soup on its own. Let’s cook soup to keep warm!!!

Ingredients

Drumsticks stock

12 drumsticks
4-6 c water, just enough to cover the drumsticks slightly above 1”
4 garlic cloves
3-6 c extra water, divided
3 Tsp chicken powder stock
1” ginger
salt
black peppercorns

Wat tan soup

3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 carrots, cut to bite size
6-8 cabbage leaves, cut to bite size
1 can of baby corn, drained and dried
2-4 stalks of spring onion, cut about 1 inch long
2 packets fish cake, thinly sliced
2 packets pork balls, cut into bite size
1 packet small tofu pok
2 Tsp garlic minced
2-4 Tbs oyster sauce
2 Tsp light soy sauce
2 Tsp dark soy sauce
1 Tsp salt, extra (OPT)
1 Tsp white pepper, (OPT)
4-6 Tbs cornflour
4-6 Tbs water

Method

Do chicken stock one day in advance

In a pot, add drumsticks, 4 c water and bring it to a simmer on low heat about 35 minutes. As it simmers, skim the foam (impurities) off the top with a fine-mesh skimmer or a spoon. When it is done, strain stock through sieve into another pot (I usually line it with a muslin cloth).

Add remaining stock ingredients into pot with drumsticks. Simmer very gently for 1-2.5 hours. The longer the stock, the more flavour it will have, but the drumsticks will lose flavour. Remove the drumsticks from the pot once it has cooked.

Let it cool and remove meat from bones. Keep in an airtight container in fridge. Add in 3 extra c of water and 3 Tsp powder stock into stock. Bring it to boil to make soup and check seasoning. Switch off hob. When the stock had cool completely, spoon into sterilized jars with tight lids, label name and date make before you refrigerate them.

When you want the chicken pieces, use a clean dry spoon to scoop the amount you want. You can add the chicken pieces with anything. At least you have ready cook meat. Save you time. You can freeze them if you want to keep them for more than 4 weeks to 6 weeks.

Cook wat tan soup

Bring the leftovers 4 c drumsticks stock and the few pieces of chicken meat to a boil. Add corn flour to 4 Tbs water in a bowl and mix well, making sure there are no lumps and set aside. Once drumsticks stock had boiled, and chicken meat are warmed up. Add garlic minced, cabbage leaves and carrots; cook for about 5 minutes until soft.

Next, add fish cakes and pork balls; stir to mix well for about 5-8 minutes. Now add oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Stir to mix well. Pour 3 extra cups of water into the stock. Pour in the corn flour mixture and simmer until the soup thickens. Then add in baby corns, tofu pok, and spring onion; stir and warm up for about 5-7 minutes. Finally, pour in the beaten egg, swirling it over the soup mixture until the egg is 3/4 cooked. Then remove from heat. Spoon into bowls and serve immediately with rice and a glass of white wine. Enjoy!!!

Note: 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. You can add buk choy or any green vegetables of your choice, prawns, and pork instead of chicken pieces. If you are using prawns cook prawns about 70-75% doneness during the precooking stage, so that they will be just done at the end of the cooking process.

https://helenscchin.com/2022/02/01/wat-tan-soup/

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