Mee Hoon Kueh

There's this restaurant in SS19 that sell's char kuey teow (stir fried rice noodles) and pan mee (Hokkien style handmade egg noodles), also known as mee hoon kueh (same dough but pulled to small pieces instead of noodle form) for some. I'm not sure about the char kuey teow stall but the pan mee fellow operates between breakfast and lunch. And the amount of people who frequents the pan mee stall, it must be depressing for the char kuey teow lady.

TW's been raving about how good it was, so one fine Saturday morning we decided to sacrifice some sleep and made our way there. The stall's modus operandi somehow baffles me. You get there, take a number (scribbled in red ink on a carton box cut out) and get a seat (if you're lucky enough to find one, it's usually very packed). And then you wait. (I'm told that a half hour wait is pretty normal and is considered reasonable) Then the waiter will somehow figure out that it's your turn and track you down. Can they even remember which face belongs to what number? I reckon they must have been taking a whole lot of ginkgo biloba.

But I must say that it's worth the wait. I had mine kon low (dry) style while TW had the wet version. I wasn't disappointed as the dough is really really soft and the minced pork topping was tender and well seasoned.

Anyway I figured, hey why wait when you can make your own pan mee? It's not that difficult. And so that was what I had for dinner yesterday. TW convinced me that we simply have to have the same type of chilly sauce that we get from the stall. So she set her heart out on making it while I concentrated on the dough and toppings.

The ingredients you'll need is as follows (for 2 pax);

Step 1 (Dough)
1 1/4 cups of flour
1 small egg
water
1 tsp chicken stock granules

Beat the egg lightly and mix with flour. Add water & chicken stock granules then knead till the mixture forms into a soft dough. The amount of water to add is based on your discretion. Start with a small quantity and keep on adding till the mixture comes together nicely. Cover with a wet cloth until you're ready to cook it.

Step 2 (Dry topping)
100g dried anchovies, rinsed

Fry anchovies in sufficient oil till crispy. Drain and set aside.

Step 3 (Wet Topping)
100g lean pork, minced (add some cornflour to soften the meat)
4 chinese black mushrooms, pre-soaked and sliced thinly (discard stems)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
pepper
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp oil
a dash of sesame oil

Heat oil in a wok, add in garlic and fry till fragrant. When the garlic is about to turn golden brown, add in mushrooms. Fry for a little while and then add in minced pork. Add oyster sauce, pepper and sesame oil, cook till meat is done.

it's ok if it's slightly salty because you're going to mix it in the soup later

Step 4 (Soup)
1 litre of water
1 anchovy stock cube
100g chinese mustard leaves (chye sim) (the best vegetable that goes with pan mee is cekur manis but if you can't find them, any leafy vegetable will do just fine)

Boil water in a large pot and throw in the anchovy stock cube. When water has come to a rapid boil, tear dough into bite sized pieces and toss into the pot (keep soup boiling). Stir occasionally and add in vegetables when you're done with the dough. Cook till the vegetables are done.

don't be fooled by it's bland look, the clear soup complements the toppings nicely

Dish up into bowls and PILE on the toppings. Sprinkle some fried shallots if you like.

Now here comes another important part, TW's work of art - freshly grounded bird eye's chilly sauce.

You will need:

A handful of mixed green and red bird eye's chilly, remove stems
2 cloves of garlic
2 limau kasturi or key limes, juiced, discard seeds and reserve skin
1/4 cup assam water of tamarind juice
a dash of sugar & a pinch of salt
a sprig of coriander

on the left: devil chilly, on the right: crispy anchovies

Blend all of the ingredients. That's it. Hahaha.....be warned though, it's really really hot. Flaming sweat on your upper lips hot. You can use red chillies for a milder version, but where's the kick in that?

this is how you do it, as demonstrated by TW