Making Hawaii chow fun (vegan!) | Noodle factory visit!

I'm back in Hawai'i after three years! One of the first things we did was visit the Ying Leong Look Fun fresh noodle factory in Honolulu's historic Chinatown. Ying Leong makes steamed rice noodles the Guangdong way--thicker than the thinner noodles that you get in Hong Kong-style chow fun dishes. I've loved these thick chewy noodles since small kid time!

Here's the recipe I used to make our vegan version of the noodles, using Ying Leong's mushroom and plain look fun varieties. I quadrupled the recipe for eight people using four roughly half-pound orders of look fun noodles.

Hawaii chow fun recipe:

1/2 pound fresh look fun noodles
kailan greens, chopped into 1-inch pieces with the stems and leaves separated
firm tofu of your choice, chopped into thick matchsticks (I used pressed five-star tofu)
2 t minced garlic
2 t minced fresh ginger

Chow fun sauce:
1 t sesame oil
2 t soy sauce
2 T vegetarian oyster or mushroom sauce
1 T fermented black beans, drained of oil and mashed
1 T shaoxing cooking wine (although I didn't have this)

Get your wok blazing hot and add 2 to 3 tablespoons of neutral oil (you need a fair amount so the noodles don't stick). Stir fry your kailan stems for 30 seconds, then add the greens, garlic, ginger and stir fry for 5 more seconds. Move your veggies to the side of the wok and spread out your fresh look fun in the pan. Stir the noodles from time to time but don't move them too much or they'll fall apart and won't get crisped. Add the stir fry sauce and toss to coat. Cook through for 30 more seconds and serve immediately!