Malaysian Hokkien Noodles (Hokkien Mee)

Malaysian Hokkien Noodles (Hokkien Mee)

Hokkien Mee is a delightful meal of stir fried egg noodles where the main ingredients of pork lard and dark soy sauce are tossed well with pork pieces and fresh seafood. This dish is commonly found in Kuala Lumpur, one of my street foods favourite.  These noodles are best cooked in a wok under hot charcoal, similarly to Char Kuey Teow (Fried Flat Rice noodles with fresh prawns and Chinese sausage) with the “Breath of a well-used Wok”. It adds a pleasant smokiness flavour to it!

The Hokkien noodles are braised in a dark fragrant sauce, the secret to this dish is the pork lard. They are available at your local markets or butcher. You can use a good piece of pork belly with a decent layer of fat.

Ingredients:

    •    200 – 300g of pork belly, sliced into 1cm pieces. Some skin removed and cut into tiny cubes. These cubes are deep fried into croutons
    •    Two handfuls of fresh prawns, deveined
    •    ½ or 1 packet of fish balls, cut in halves (From the Asian groceries store). Fish cakes are an alternative option
    •    2 packets of Hokkien Noodles
    •    6 cloves of garlic, crushed
    •    2 tablespoon of black bean paste (They are sold in jars at the Asian groceries store)
    •    A small Chinese cabbage or a bunch of Chinese spinach (Choy Sum)

Seasoning for the sauce:
    •    A few dashes of light soy sauce to taste
    •    6 or more tablespoon of dark soy sauce. Or a generous drizzle over the noodles, until well covered
    •    A few dashes of sesame oil
    •    White pepper to taste, around 2 or less teaspoons
    •    Salt to taste (a pinch or two)
    •    A few pinches of sugar
    •    1 tablespoon of corn flour, mixed with 4 tablespoon of water
    •    2-3 cups of chicken stock

 Method:

1. Soak the noodles with warm water until soft. Drain and set aside. 

2. Add some vegetable oil in a wok and fry the pork belly pieces, and set aside. Fry the chopped pork skin cubes into crispy croutons and set aside. Pour out the oil mixture (It will be pork flavoured. This lard is perfect for any stir fried noodles).

3. Leave around 3 talespoon of the oil from the fried pork, and fry the prawns, lightly. Try not to overcook them, and set aside. 

4. Tip out the oil and add about 4 or more tablespoons of the fresh pork oil. Fry the crushed garlic and add the black bean paste. I prefer to use spicy black bean paste (this is optional).

5. Add the noodles into the wok and stir well. Then, add the seasonings of light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, salt (can be omitted, depending to your taste) and sugar. Toss the fried pork pieces, prawns and fish balls around the wok and mix well.

6. Cover the noodles with the stock and some water, approximately almost half of the wok. In a bowl, mix the corn flour well with the water and add it to the wok. The corn flour and water mixture will add to the thickness of the sauce.

7. Mix well and add in the cabbage or spinach and cover the noodles with a wok cover. Let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes. If you do not have a wok cover, mix the vegetables well, while the sauce simmers. Ensure the sauce has a thick and saucy consistency. You may add more stock or water, and the corn flour mixture.

8. Add the fried crispy pork croutons, and stir well. Serve the glossy noodles with any extra croutons. A serve of sambal belacan (Malaysian chilli paste) is optional. I love this paste and ordering an extra serve at the hawker stall is common!