tomato fried bee hoon

i was having dinner alone & could not be bothered to cook a full meal just for myself today; so with whatever vegetables i had in the fridge, i cooked fried bee hoon. it didn't turn out too bad - but then again, i'm a fried bee hoon fan!

Ingredients

100 g      bee hoon (rice vermicelli)

1 cup      peeled & deveined fresh shrimps

3 cups    sliced cabbage / chinese cabbage

3/4 cup  thiny sliced leek (1 stalk)

1/2 cup  thinly sliced carrots (optional)

1 tbsp     dried shrimps

2 tbsp     finely chopped garlic

4tbsp      tomato sauce

1             egg

1 cup      water / liquid stock

               salt & pepper to taste

               fried shallots for garnishing

               lime / lemon wedges

               cili padi (optional)

• soak bee hoon for about 8 minutes or until hydrated. drain in colander & leave aside
• soak & wash dried shrimps, drain
• heat wok and cook an omelette with the egg. when done, remove from wok and leave aside to be cut in to fine strips when cooled. leave aside for garnishing later
• heat wok, add about 2 - 3 tbsp oil, add garlic, fry 30 seconds & add dried shrimps, fry until garlic turns light golden brown
• add leek & cili padi, fry till it softens, add tomato sauce, carrots & cabbage then add water / stock
• cover with lid and it boil until vegetables softens
• add prawns & salt to taste
• now add the bee hoon. using a pair of chopstick and ladle (or a tong) mix bee hoon with the gravy. continue gently mixing & turning bee hoon until it absorbs all the gravy
• if it's not cooked through, sprinkle water to bee hoon and mix. 
• garnish with egg, fried shallots, squeeze of lemon / lime and some sambal belacan

Notes
for a vegetarian version, just omit shrimps & dried shrimps. add more vegetables instead

do not soak bee hoon for too long otherwise it gets very sticky as you fry 

always add water to bee hoon by sprinkling a little at a time with your fingers, otherwise too much water will cause bee hoon to be too soggy. nothing can be done then! it took me a few failed fried bee hoon projects before i got the hang of how much water to add... try & try again and one day you will get it!

i did not have bean sprouts today, but you can add sprouts to mee hoon shortly after you add bee hoon into gravy. bean sprouts have water content, so use less water