Cha Chaan Teng Hong Kong Diner Style Macaroni and Ham Soup- Recipe

This is by far one of Hong Kong’s ultimate breakfast comfort foods.

Cha Chaan Teng Hong Kong Style macaroni and ham soup is a traditional Hong Kong breakfast staple across diners (aka Cha Chaan Teng) and fast food spots around the city.

Macaroni noodles is ladled into a warm bowl then topped of with a SUPER creamy and silky chicken broth and garnished with a few slices of lightly fried ham.

This was also my favorite breakfast when I traveled to work to Hong Kong when I was a designer at Perry Ellis. I would go to China a few times a year and this always fit into my breakfast stipend. LOL. After making it a few times I think I finally nailed it.

If you’ve ever been to Hong Kong and have made it past the long lines and waits to try the macaroni soup at Australia Dairy Company, you know exactly what I’m talking about! For this recipe, it's super important to get it’s super creamy and milky texture. Unlike most other recipes that have a clear broth, I like it how they do it in Hong Kong which is super thick and creamy and you can only do this with... wait for it.... Condensed cream of chicken stock! It's not Cha Chaan Teng Hong Kong Style macaroni and ham soup without it!

This quintessential Hong Kong dish popped up in diners across the Hong Kong in the 1950s to provide localised western dishes to factory workers and day office workers. They were served fast and it was very inexpensive for the area workers.

This dish is also often served with a slice of spongy crust-less white buttered bread toast with a side of runny scrambled fried eggs. Mmm

INGREDIENTS

2 cups elbow macaroni (I used La Molisana Bronze Die macaroni noodles, they are much smaller than the typical macaroni noodles and swell up to a nice smaller shape)
1/2 tsp salt

Soup Broth:
1 can cream of condensed chicken soup (10 1/2 oz- campbells is fine)
4 cups water
1 tsp Shaoxing wine
Sesame oil - about 1 tsp
1 Maggi tablet of chicken bouillon (or about 2 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon)
1/2 tsp salt to taste
1/4 tsp white pepper

Scrambled Eggs:
3 eggs

2 thick cut ham slices:
Canadian style bacon or any other ham slice
1 tsp neutral cooking oil (Youyou) or any neutral oil

PREPARATION

1. Boil macaroni pasta with 1 tsp salt. Add about 3-5 min over package instructions- you want these slightly over cooked like how they do it in China.

Rinse under cool water, drain and set aside.

2. In another pot, add 1 can of cream chicken, spices, and water. Bring to broth to a boil and mix well, use a ladle to press down on the creamed chunks to dissolve cream, then lower to simmer for 10 min. Then add Shaoxing wine, white pepper and sesame oil simmer for 5-10 min until ready to serve.

Bring to a boil, then simmer until carrots are tender. Add pepper to taste, add salt / pepper to taste.

3. To cook ham slices, add a tiny bit of oil to small pan over high heat until hot and glossy, then add ham and fry both of the sides until a little browned and fragrant.

4. To serve ladle a scoop of drained noodles into a bowl and ladle in some soup broth- the broth should cover the noodles (or add some noodles into pot until simmering, and then ladle and serve, careful you may not need all the noodles, you want a good amount of broth in there because the noodles will soak up some of that yummy broth).

Garnish with ham slices and optional fried egg or soft scrambled eggs.