A vegan twist on Fish Head Bee Hoon Soup, or 鱼头米粉. Fried tempeh wrapped in seaweed, paired with a fragrant milk wine broth and silky rice vermicelli noodles.
I used to not like eating fish, so naturally I shyed away from fish head (though I have friends who absolutely love it!). I don’t think I’ve ever ordered a bowl of fish head bee hoon soup for myself, though non-vegan adult Kristin might’ve.
Recently, I had lunch at one of my favourite vegetarian restaurants. It was a rainy afternoon and my mom was craving something a little broth-y. Fish head bee hoon soup was on the menu so we ordered it. When it arrived at our table, I was greeted with a bowl filled to the brim with a fragrant milky wine broth, rice vermicelli noodles and toppings. As I took my first sip, I was like, “THIS IS SO GOOD WHAT”
After a few spoonfuls, I began to wonder why the soup appeared white in colour. Turns out, there was evaporated milk in the broth LOL so I was a little bummed out. I didn’t have any more after that realisation, but daNG that was a good bowl of noodle soup.
Notes on making Vegan Fish Head Bee Hoon Soup
If you’ve seen my other recipes, I often use Chinese cooking wine in small amounts but this dish calls for a lot more than usual. It’s a vital ingredient to make the soup fragrant. I also added Chinese pickled mustard greens, which you can buy whole or already chopped.
As for the “fish”, we’ll be wrapping marinated tempeh with strips of nori, then frying until crispy. I know it doesn’t sound like it’ll taste similar to fish at all, and I thought that too. You’ll be surprised at how delicious this tastes though!
For toppings, I went with tomato and blanched cabbage. You could also use any leafy vegetable you have on hand. Make sure to serve this bowl of noodles with chopped red chili in soy sauce!
If you liked this recipe, check out these as well:
- Vegan Kimchi Noodle Soup
- Sarawakian Pucuk Manis Bee Hoon/马尼菜炒米粉
- Vegan Lo Mein
- Chinese Stir Fried Glass Noodles
- Vegan Hokkien Mee 福建面
If you made this recipe, do leave a comment and rating below because I love hearing your feedback. Make sure to tag me on Instagram @eatwkriss so that I can see your recreations!
Vegan Fish Head Bee Hoon Soup 鱼头米粉
Ingredients
Tempeh "Fish Head"
- 1 packet (170g) tempeh cut into 12 pieces
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- ⅛ tsp white pepper
- 1 nori sheet cut into 12 ten strips
Wet batter
- ⅓ cup rice flour
- 2 tbsp water
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
Broth
- 3 cups water
- 2 g kombu rinsed and cut into pieces
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp ginger sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 stalk of scallion whites cut
- 30 g zha cai 榨菜 (Chinese pickled mustard plant)* rinsed
- 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk**
- salt to taste
- white pepper to taste
- 1 tomato cut into 8 wedges
- 200 g Chinese cabbage cut
To serve
- 100 g bee hoon/rice vermicelli noodles
- green scallions
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper. Cut tempeh and let marinade while you cook. Prepare the rice vermicelli noodles according to package instructions
Make broth
- In a small pot, combine water and kombu. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, then remove the kombu. Reserve the kombu broth for later.
- In the same pot, cook scallion whites, ginger and garlic in sesame oil until fragrant. Add in zha cai, cook for 1 minute. Pour in kombu broth and let simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add in Chinese cooking wine. plant milk, tomato slices and cabbage. Cook on medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Fry tempeh
- Cut the nori sheet into 12 strips. Wrap marinated tempeh with the strips of nori, using any excess marinade to seal the edges so that it sticks to the tempeh.
- Heat up a pot with some oil. In a small bowl, combine wet batter ingredients until smooth and slightly thick. Coat each piece of tempeh, then fry until slightly golden brown.
Serve
- In a bowl, place your noodles and pour over the hot soup with the tomato and cabbage. Place fried tempeh on top and garnish with green scallions. Serve with red chili in soy sauce.
Notes
