Foodie

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Kuala Lumpur Black Hokkien Mee

The style of frying these noddles, the darker the better, is only done well with the fat yellow hokkien noodles that are sold only in Kuala Lumpur but now, i am sure these noodles are readily available anywhere in Malaysia.. The crave for this noodle is so great that whenever we are home for holidays, we would request a stop to pack some as soon as we leave the airport for home. I homemake these hokkien noodle and although the thickness it there, i am not happy with the shape though. But, beggars have no choice - the pasta maker did it's best. I have also found an alternative by using japanese udon and it is very near to home. For this dish, pork fat rules and of course you could skip it and be healthy.


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Ingredients:

500g fat yellow hokkien noodles (tai lok meen) - soak noodles in cold water for 15 mins to get rid of some of the potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution used to make these noodles.
100g meat (pork or chicken) - cut into thin slices
150g prawns, shell and devein
100 g squid - cut into bite size
100g Choy sum wash and cut into 1 inch pieces
100g pork fat, cut into cubes and fried till crispy (keep the oil)
2 cups stock/water

Seasoning:

1 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce(add more if not dark enough)
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp monosodium glutamate(optional)

Method:

Season the prawns and squid with a dash of salt, sugar and pepper.

Heat 2 tsp of the lard (from frying the pork fat) and saute the squid and prawns. Dish out and leave aside.

Add in another tsp of lard and brown meat, sprinkle in a pinch of salt and pepper to the meat before turning over to brown the other side.

Add in stock/water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes before adding in the choy sum.

Then add in the noodles and the seasoning, mix well, cover wok with lid and simmer until noodles is tender. Add more dark soy sauce if the color is not black enough and simmer noodles till gravy is thick.

Add in the cooked prawns and squid and more lard.

Turn the heat to high again and give noodles a quick stir. Add the crispy lard cubes before dishing up the noodles.

Serve with sambal belacan

sambal belacan:

5 fresh red chillies - cut small
2 chilly padi(optional)
1 sq inch x 1/4 inch thick raw belacan or 2 tsp belacan powder.
a pinch of salt
a pinch of sugar
lime juice.

Grill raw belacan until it is dried and fragrant. (i will wrap with paper kitchen towel and microwave 1 minute at the time until it can be crumbled)

I do not own a mortar so i use the chopper. Chop everything up except the lime juice.

serve with lime juice. adjust the taste as some belacan can be very salty.


Serves

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've tried making this recipe. I've found that one brand of Udon noodle is very different from the next. The best are the al dente kind. You don't want to buy noodles that are very mushy or starchy. But at the same time also do not want something that repels the sauce. I bought a few brands and made different samples with each. I'd suggest doing the same if you have time or the patience :-)

Unknown said...

speedoflight

i sure to heed to your suggestion but these udon can be expensive

Lee Ping said...

Dear Lily,

I tried out your hokkein mee recipe and it was a success. You mentioned serving this dish with sambal belacan. I was wondering if you have the recipe for it.

THanks!

Unknown said...

leeping

sambal belacan:

5 fresh red chillies - cut small
2 chilly padi(optional)
1 sq inch x 1/4 inch thick raw belacan or 2 tsp belacan powder.
a pinch of salt
a pinch of sugar
lime juice.

Grill raw belacan until it is dried and fragrant. (i will wrap with paper kitchen towel and microwave 1 minute at the time until it can be crumbled)

I do not own a mortar so i use the chopper. Chop everything up except the lime juice.

serve with lime juice. adjust the taste as some belacan can be very salty.

Tong How said...

wow, the perfect place for good recipes, thanks!, i am adding you to my favourites =)

Tong How said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Hi,

I have been using Udon noodles - readily available in any asian supermarket, I soak my udon noodles in water and some dark soy sauce for 10-20mins =)

Unknown said...

victor

what a good idea.

Anonymous said...

wah this black noodle u also know to cook
so good n nice
i found good si fu here
can i learn from u
thank 4 ur recipe

Anonymous said...

lily,

You mentioned soaking the noodles to get rid of some of the potassium carbonate/ sodium bi carbonate solution... Why this step? Is this solution harmful to our health? Why is this ingredient even used to make the noodles in the first place?

Just curious..

Unknown said...

anonymous

there are some manufacturer who used alot and it gives a bad aftertaste. by soaking it gets rid of some.

try eating noodles made with potassium carbonate with pickled green chillies or a squeeze of lime or lemon. the acid in these neutralizes the alkali and the dish taste so much better

Anonymous said...

Dear Lily,

My name is Amy Tan. I am from Orlando. I saw you ang koo recipe. I would like to share my mom's secret with you about making angkoo. My mom add some mash sweet potato to the glutinous flour and knead it together to form a dough. The result, the angkoo will stay soft at all time.

Unknown said...

amy tan

thanks for the tip. i have made angkoo adding mashed sweet potato and when i was taught this traditional hokkien recipe, i found that it was so easy and wish to share it

Unknown said...

Hi Lily, I am a student studying in Canada and is a big fan of your blog from the tempting Malaysian hawker delight,homecooked meals to dessert of all kinds.
I am just wondering in your 'Tai Lok Meen' recipe, the dark soya sauce used is the salty ones or the sweet ones? Simply miss this dish, remember that some stalls will cook this noodles with "pork lard" and hey are tastier! But nowadays, most ppl are health concious.
Thanks

Kerry

Unknown said...

kerry

actually the pork fat which has all the fat rendered are ok, once in a while, eat in moderation.

the dark soya sauce i use is koon chun brand and it is Thick Soya
Sauce which is not so sweet as the indonesian kicap manis. Dark soya sauce sold here is soya sauce of which in cantonese is called 'low chow'.

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