Mum’s Hokkien mee recipe

My mum's Hokkien mee

Whenever we have a family get-together, I hope my mum will cook up a batch of her hokkien mee. To my delight, more often than not, she walks in with a big pot of noodles.

I’ve had lots of requests for my mum’s Hokkien mee recipe since my recent post about my niece Ruby’s 4th birthday party. So here it is – thanks to my mum for agreeing to share her recipe and taking the time to write it all out.

Mum’s Hokkien mee recipe

Note: This recipe is for personal use only. Please do not re-publish without permission.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 packet (500g) thick egg noodles – Mum finds Yunion brand “Cooked Hokkien Noodles” the best to use. Wash to remove excess manufacturers’ oil and drain.
  • 150g meat – pork, chicken or beef – amount as desired, sliced thinly and marinated with 1 teaspoon (tsp) cornflour, a dash of pepper, 1/2 tsp light soy sauce and 1 tsp oyster sauce
  • Vegetable of your choice – chinese mustard leaves (choy sum), bok choy, cabbage or even carrots, french beans – quantity as desired, but ideally not more than about a third of the amount of noodles
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 cup chicken or beef stock, homemade or purchased. If no stock available use 1 cup water, adding 1 tablespoon (Tbs) oyster sauce
  • Prawns, squid etc may be added, marinate as per meat – again amount as desired
  • Dark soy sauce – 1-2 Tbs or enough to give noodles the dark Hokkien noodle colour. Note: the noodles become darker as the sauce gets absorbed.
  • Light soy sauce – 1-2 tsp
  • Oyster sauce – 1 Tbs (therefore in total 2 Tbs oyster sauce if water is used instead of stock)
  • White pepper – a dash

Method

  1. Put 1 Tbs oil in wok, fry half the garlic until slightly brown, taking care not to burn. Add vegetables and fry until just cooked. Remove from wok and keep aside (take out sooner if you prefer vegetables to be less cooked and “crunchier”).
  2. Put another 1 Tbs oil in wok, fry remaining garlic until brown. Add meat (or prawns, squid etc) and fry until just about cooked, taking care not to overcook. Remove from wok and keep aside.
  3. Add stock or water to the wok. Add dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper and a little light soy sauce and allow to cook a little. Note: Sauce quantities are suggested amounts only, so add according to your required/preferred saltiness.
  4. Add noodles to the liquid in the wok. Add a little more water if necessary and allow to cook, turning the noodles gently, until almost all the sauce is absorbed by the noodles.
  5. When noodles are ready, return vegetables and meat to the wok – one quick stir and the dish is ready to be served. Serve hot and enjoy!

If any of you guys give it a try, I’d love to hear how it turned out. I’ll pass on your comments and feedback to Mum.

EDIT – 24 November 2011
The notes below were written by my mum in response to queries raised by some of you guys.

Noodles
The Yunion brand, I find, has the best texture – it doesnt become sticky/gluey like some other brands, especially the ones stocked by the supermarkets (as compared to ones sold in Asian outlets). But, really any brand of Hokkien noodles is OK.

Udon, or even spaghetti, can be used too with great success! I think once you have all the sauces and trimmings (meat, prawns, etc) as suggested in the recipe, the end result will be good!

Halal version
Yes, use anything other than pork and the end result can be just as delicious. Just remember, never overcook the meat – in particular if you are using beef, a quick stir fry is all that is required.

Dark soy sauce
I just stick to dark soy sauces made in Malaysia or China to be on the safe side. The brand I use is Cheong Chan “cooking caramel” – that’s the description on the red label on the squarish bottle, bottled in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. I steer clear from sauces from elsewhere, esp the Japanese version as the flavour may be different. Same applies with the light soy sauce – I keep away from Japanese sauces, e.g. Kikkoman as the flavour is quite different (to me at least). The light soy sauce I like to use is the Pearl River Brand Superior light soy sauce – this is a China product.

Chilli accompaniment
I forgot to add in my recipe, freshly cut red chillies in light soy sauce eaten with the cooked hokkien noodles adds to the enjoyment (of course, only if you like “chilli hot” foods). Additionally, we nonyas and babas enjoy the noodles with sambal blachan. Sambal blachan is made by pounding fresh red chillies with freshly toasted blachan in a pestle and mortar till both are broken down into a rough paste.

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