Singapore-style Rice Noodle (星州炒米粉)

We previously posted Taiwan-style Stir-fried Rice Noodle.  Here is its Cantonese counterpart, the Singapore-style Rice Noodle, a distinctive curry-flavored dish.

1. Bring 4-6 cups of water in a pot to boil and turn off heat.  Place ~1/2 lb of rice noodle in the pot till the rice noodle turns soft (~2-3 minutes).  Take the rice noodle out into a large bowl and cover the bowl with a heavy plate to keep the heat in the bowl for 8-10 minutes (let rice noodle "cook" in the residual heat).  Stir in 1 tsp of veggie oil and 2 tsp of soy sauce afterwards.  Note- Use thin rice noodle.  I usually use 鴻運 新竹米粉 (will add a picture for product and package later).
2. Soak 4-6 dry mushrooms in water for at least 30 minutes (or in hot water for 15 minutes), cut off the stems, then slice into thin strips.  Chop yellow (韭黃) chives into ~1" segments.  Rinse ~2 cups of bean sprout, and set aside. Soak 10-12 dry shrimps in warm water for 10-15 minutes, and mince (optional).
3. Slice ~1/4 lb of lean pork, and marinate with 1 Tbsp of rice cooking wine, 1 Tbsp of soy sauce, and 1 tsp of corn starch, for 10-15 minutes.  Marinate 10-12 (~ 1/2 lb) large shrimps (de-shelled and deveined) with 1 Tbsp of rice cooking wine, 1 tsp of corn starch, and 1/2 tsp of salt, for 10-15 minutes. Note- No need to cut shrimps.  
4. (Low Heat) Crack and beat 1 egg in a bowl.  Place a dry fry pan on low heat (with no oil and no water on the pan), spread the beaten egg evenly and thinly on the pan (by swirling the egg fluid slowly around on the pan).  Cover the pan with a lid and let cook (still at low heat) for 2-3 minutes. Take out the egg crepe and slice into thin strips.
5. (Medium-to-high heat) Heat 1-2 Tbsp of veggie oil in a flat bottom cooking pan. Add the slices of dry mushroom and minced dry shrimps (from Step 2; Do Not add the yellow chive just yet). Stir-fry for a minute or two, then add the sliced pork and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.  Finally, add the shrimps, and stir-fry for ~60 seconds. Take out all the ingredients and set aside.  Note- Try not to over-cook the shrimp!
6. (Curry Preparation- cook the curry powder, a key step for this dish! Medium-to-low heat) Heat the same flat bottom cooking pan. Add 1 Tbsp of curry power on the dry pan (with no oil added, except for what's left from the cooking in Step 5 above).  Spread the curry power a little on the pan, and let it heat up till bubbles come out from the power. Stir the power a bit more for 15-30 seconds.  Note- Uncooked curry powder will make this whole dish taste powdery and untenable!
7. (High Heat) Now, with the curry powder cooked, add 1 cup of water into the pan, and turn up the heat. Add 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of sugar, and 2 tsp of soy sauce into the water.  Bring to boil and add the rice noodle from Step 1.  Add bean sprout first, all cooked ingredients from Step 5 next, and yellow chive last.  Mix evenly with rice noodle, and stir-fry for ~30 seconds. Note- Try not to over-cook the yellow chive!
8. Turn off heat, add 1 Tbsp of sesame oil, 1/2 tsp of white pepper, and the egg slices.  Finally, add 2 tsp of vinegar along the circumference of the cooking pan.  Mix all thoroughly and serve.   Here is a picture of the final product.