Hokkien Fried Mee Hoon

Hokkien Fried Mee Hoon (Nov 2011)

This is the culprit that made me gain those extra weight during my teens! I had this really bad habit of having a late night snack before sleeping and the fact that a wonderful "tai chao" (literally means big fry, otherwise means a Chinese food stall that sells everything!) was located within walking distance from my house in SS2. 

The Hokkien version is more moist than your average fried meehoon. The noodle is braised in its own sauce until every strand of noodle and every morsel of meat is coated with this absolutely amazing flavour! Lard & crispy bits of pork fat are the secret ingredients to a perfect dish...which is why the home cooked version will never taste the same as the stalls!

And still I attempted to replicate the dish less lard and pork fat. The healthier version turned out pretty ok if I may say so. The only thing missing was the gleaming lustre on the surface of the noodle. That, my dear friends, is the work of lard....

Hokkien Fried Mee Hoon Recipe (2 Serving)

Ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic
250g mee hoon, soaked in water (thin rice vermicelli)
50g lean pork, sliced
6 small prawns, shelled & devein
Choy sum, cut 1/12 inch long
Fish cake slices (optional)
Squid, ringed (optional)

Seasoning:
1 tsp chicken stock, mixed with half a bowl of water
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
A dash of pepper

Method:

1. Remove the meehoon from water and drain. Make sure it's soft to use.
2. Marinade the pork with a little cornflour, rice wine and soy sauce.
3. Heat up wok. Add 2 tablespoon of oil (using more oil because mee hoon sticks to the wok easily)
4. Saute garlic, then add pork. Stirfry for a minute before adding the rest of the seafood. 
5. Pour seasoning into the wok and add the meehoon. Turn the heat low. At this point, I suggest that you equip one hand with your spatula and the other with a pair of chopsticks or a large cooking fork.
6. You will need to toss and stir the noodle until it is evenly coloured and the tiny meat morsels are imbedded in every part of your noodle.
7. Add the choy sum and a little water if required.Then cover the wok with a lid and turn up the heat for 1 minute. You are braising the noodle so that it will have a soft sticky texture.
8. Serve the noodle with sambal belachan.