Sar Hor Fun (沙河粉) Stalls in Penang

Sar Hor Fun (14 October 2012)


Sar Hor Fun (沙河粉) is a hawker dish of broad rice noodles. It is a hawker food of Cantonese origin believed to have originated from the town of Shahe^₁, which is today part of Tianhe district in the city of Guangzhou, in Guangdong Province, China. Nowadays, there is some confusion resulting in the dish being called Char Hor Fun, taken in Hokkien to mean "fried hor fun" or "fried broad rice noodles".

The sar hor fun stall, Medan Selera Taman Free School (27 April 2013)


Sar hor fun, Medan Selera Taman Free School (27 April 2013)




Sar Hor Fun is believed to have been brought in Malaya in the third quarter of the 19th century, when there was an influx of Chinese immigrants from southern China. Although the noodle used in Sar Hor Fun is similar to that used in Char Koay Teow, and indeed both are from the same family, preparation of Sar Hor Fun in Penang is very different from the stir-fried Char Koay Teow. The Sar Hor Fun noddles are broader than that of Char Koay Teow and appears elastic and slippery.

Hawkers selling Sar Hor Fun usually sells other cooked noodle dishes such as Yee Foo Mee and Hokkien Char. A plate of Hokkien Char costs between RM3.00 to RM5.00. You can order it with or without egg, which costs an additional 50 sen.

Sar Hor Fun (16 August 2008)

Sar How Fun Recipe

In addition to having it at the hawker stall, you can also prepare Sar Hor Fun at home. You can buy the noodles at most major wet markets in Penang - just ask for "hor fun" noodles and some "bihun" (fine rice noodles). Other ingredients include prawn, strips of lean pork meat, char siew (barbecued pork), garlic and chye sim (Brassica chinensis, also called Chinese mustard green).

Here's the recipe to prepare Sar How Fun for one person. Ingredients
Preparation of Sar Hor Fun comes in two parts. The first is to cook the hor fun, the second is to cook the bihun and the third to cook the toppings. You start by soaking the bihun in water until soft. Then you drain it and set it aside. Remove the hor fun from its pack and set aside.

After heating up the wok, you add 1½ tablespoons of cooking oil. Toss in the hor fun and stir it with ½ tablespoon of soy sauce and ½ tablespoon of sweet soy sauce until cooked and perhaps lightly charred (it tastes best that way). Dish it up and put it aside.

Repeat the process to stir fry the bihun, using the same amount of cooking oil, soy sauce and sweet soy sauce. Then put it aside as well.

Add some oil to the work and stir-fry the garlic till fragrant, then add the pork, char siew, shrimp. Next pour into it the chicken broth and water. Add in the seasoning and bring it to boil. Mix the corn flour and water to create a starchy mix and pour it in to thicken the gravy. Finally add in the chye sim, give it a quick stir, then turn off the heat.

Put together the cooked hor fun and bihun on a plate, then pour over them the gravy and toppings, and you have your own homecooked Sar Hor Fun!

Where to find Sar Hor Fun Stalls in Penang

Reference