← Nouns Cooking · Malaysian & Singaporean

Ingredients

• 500 g Cabbage, cut into large pieces
• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked 30 minutes, sliced; soaking water kept
• 10 g dried wood ear fungus, soaked 30 minutes and torn
• 40 g Dried beancurd sticks (fu chuk), soaked 30 minutes and cut into 5 cm pieces
• 50 g glass noodles (tang hoon), soaked 10 minutes and drained
• 1 Carrot, sliced
• 3 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 4 cloves Garlic, chopped
• 2 tbsp Fermented soybean paste (taucu / tau cheo), mashed
• 1 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 tsp Dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 300 ml mushroom soaking water and water
• ¼ tsp White pepper

Method

1. Soak the mushrooms, wood ear and beancurd sticks in separate bowls of warm water for 30 min until soft. Keep the mushroom water.
2. Heat the oil in a wok or wide pot over medium heat and fry the garlic for 30 seconds until pale golden. Add the taucu and fry for 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Add the mushrooms and wood ear and stir-fry for 2 min, then add the carrot and the thick stem parts of the cabbage and toss for 2 min.
4. Add the rest of the cabbage, the beancurd sticks, soy sauce, dark soy, sugar and the soaking water. Cover and braise for 8–10 min, stirring once, until the cabbage is soft and sweet.
5. Stir in the glass noodles and cook uncovered for 2–3 min until they turn clear and soak up most of the gravy. Season with pepper and a little salt if needed.

Tips

• Many Nyonya families add dried shrimp or a few slices of pork belly with the garlic; it will no longer be vegetarian.
• Taucu and soy sauce usually contain wheat. Chap chye tastes even better reheated the next day.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Noob Cook Taste Asian Food What To Cook Today