Recipe: Hokkien Mee

Ahh, Hokkien Mee. There’s nothing quite like going out with friends or family for supper and sharing a large plate of fragrant Hokkien Mee, really. There are quite a few variants of the hokkien mee, but arguably the most popular and common one is hokkien mee with dark sauce. It’s the one that you’ll be hard-pressed not to find when roaming the streets of Malaysia. This dish is synonymous with the thick and viscous sauce, doused atop the succulent Hokkien Mee.

Often more than not, the hardworking hawkers are seen preparing this dish in a large wok that’s fuelled by the burning charcoal. In fact, this technique of cooking using extreme heat is colloquially known as “Wok Hei” or when literally translated, means “Breath of the Wok”.

In fact, that is often the arguing point for many when it comes to recreating this local delight. Many believe that although one may attempt to cook Hokkien Mee similarly, it doesn’t come as close to the version sold in hawker centres.

But of course, with the right cookware and tools, recreating this deliciously fragrant dish will be no tougher than following this exact recipe!

Ingredients (2 Servings):

• 200 g of pork belly with it’s fats removed and sliced into pieces no larger than 2cm

(Marinade -for pork)

• 2 ½ cloves of crushed garlic
• ½ tablespoon of oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon of corn starch
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• White pepper

(Condiments)

• Shrimps
• Fish balls
• Thinly chopped garlic (4 cloves)
• 1 baby Chinese cabbage
• 250 g of thick Hokkien noodles

(Seasoning)

• 2 tablespoons of cold water
• 1 tablespoon of cornflour
• ¾ cup of pork stock
• 4 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce

Directions:

1. Mix the pork belly slices into the pork marinade for around half an hour.
2. While waiting for the pork belly slices to soak in the marinade, prepare the other ingredients:
   • Shrimps – peel and remove the tail
   • Fish balls – sliced in half
   • Cook the noodles
   • Baby Chinese cabbage – thoroughly wash to remove germs, then thinly slice into fine strips
   • Pour cold water into a bowl, add the cornflour and mix till smooth and let it sit
3. Preheat a wok over a scorching hot flame and add approximately 2 tablespoons of pork flavoured oil till the wok begins smoking.
4. Toss the marinated pork belly in and proceed to fry.
5. Once the marinated pork belly begins to brown, you may add in the fish balls, shrimps, garlic and fry for about 30 seconds.
6. After that, add in the baby Chinese cabbages and fry for an additional minute.
7. Add the noodles into the mix and toss it evenly between the condiments.
8. Add both the dark and light soy sauce and mix it evenly to coat the dish. At this point, the dish should be taking on the dark coating that it is famous for!
9. Add the pork stock, sugar, white pepper and fry. Throughout the process, remember to keep tabs on the taste of the sauce.
10. Finally, add in the mixture of cornflour and water and evenly mix until the desired sauce viscosity is achieved!
11. Serve your scrumptious dish to a table of hungry guests!