Hokkien Mee: Chinese hawker favourite goes halal

This is the pork-free version of Hokkien mee for all Malaysians to enjoy. (Choen Lee pic)

KL Hokkien Mee is a dish unique to the central region of Peninsular Malaysia.

Created many generations ago by Kim Lian Kee in Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur, it is a favourite among Malaysia’s Chinese and Indian communities.

Traditionally, KL Hokkien mee is cooked with a lot of pork and lard. There have been attempts to recreate it in halal Chinese eateries and, unfortunately, some of them just come across as limp, sweet black soya sauce gravy with noodles.

Over the years this dish seems to have been a split into two distinct cooking methods and styles – one has the noodles and ingredients fried in a relatively straightforward manner with a lot of oil and soya sauce and the other has the ingredients and noodles fried and then braised or simmered with a soup stock until it almost dries up.

This recipe is for the latter version.

Try naturally fermented, zero MSG soya sauces and incorporate squid and fish cake for an added dimension of flavour. (Choen Lee pic)

Ingredients

• 480 g thick yellow noodles
• 20 g garlic, about half a bulb
• 77 g chicken, sliced (or more, as it will not change the dish)
• 9 medium-sized prawns, shelled and gutted
• 175 g Beijing cabbage, chopped (or more)
• 250 ml soup stock
• 3 Chinese soup spoons cooking oil

Mix together

3 Chinese soup spoons thick dark soya sauce, slightly sweet

2 Chinese soup spoons very salty soya sauce

Note: Try naturally fermented, zero MSG soya sauces.

Optional

• Squid, sliced, for an added dimension in seafood flavour.
• Sliced fish cake, again for added depth of flavour.

Method

• Fill a two-litre saucepan halfway with water, bring it to a boil and blanch the noodles for a minute or two.
• Drain all the water off – it will look yellow and smell too. Repeat the process and blanch the noodles a second time. This removes the excess alkalinity from the noodles and the oil if they are coated with oil.
• In a wok/saucepan, heat the oil at the highest heat setting and fry the garlic until browned.
• Add the prawns and chicken and stir-fry briefly until they change colour.
• Add the soya sauce mix and continue to stir-fry.
• Throw in the chopped cabbage – stir, stir, stir.
• Add the noodles and stir-fry until everything is evenly coated with sauce.
• Pour in the soup stock, stir and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low, cover the wok/saucepan and simmer for five minutes.
• Remove the lid, set the hob to the highest setting and keep stirring until the sauce reduces further. If squid is being added, now is the time to do it.
• Turn off the heat, close the lid and let it rest for a couple of minutes to allow the noodles to soak up the gravy and absorb it.
• Tip: the longer it is soaked in the gravy, the tastier it gets.
• Serve with a side of sambal.

This article first appeared in butterkicap.com.

Butterkicap is a food and culture platform and community that enables anyone to experience Malaysia through stories of her people, food and places.

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