This thick noodle is particularly famous in Kuala Lumpur, known to be cooked in super high heat charcoal, used to be my favorite choice for Dai Chao (Hawker stir-fried food).
I have been craving for this noodle for sometimes, so much so that I actually went to buy pork belly to make the crispy pork lard that, in my opinion, is essential for this noodle dish.
It is not easy when you can't just pick up the car key and head out for something you like on the street!
Note: The original recipe was posted on 10/9/2012, I even took the trouble to make the lard and crispy pork lard. The taste of that attempt was good but still lack the umami that this noodle is supposed to have, it also has a hint of sourish, which is not supposed to be there in the dish.
I tried a few more rounds and figured that the issues was with the Udon noodles and the shop bought chicken stock that I used. Udon noodle is too chewy for this dish and gave a funny, tart taste to the dish and the shop bought chicken stock is not helpful either, there is something in the chicken stock that does not belong to Asian dishes.
I remembered seeing a bottle of plaice powder at a hawker stall that serves KL Hokkien Mee back in Malaysia, since I have homemade plaice powder , I used it to season the sauce and used fresh thick shanghainese noodle to make this dish, and guess what?
BINGO! It tasted exactly the way it should be! Full of layers of flavours and fragrance!
1 tsp 芡粉
Ingredients:(2 servings)
225 gm / 1/2 packet of thick noodle
1 1/2 cup water
2-3 Shrimps
2-3 fish ball(sliced)
1 piece of chicken or pork(Thinly slice and marinate with some pepper powder, salt and sesame oil for 20 minutes
1 small bunch of chinese mustard green/Choy Sum or cabbage (cut into 2 inches in length)
1 tsp of Plaice powder
1 tsp Fried Shallot slices
1 tsp Crispy Pork Lard (Chu Yao Zha)
1 tbsp Pork Lard
1 tbsp Minced garlic
1 tsp corn starch
Seasoning:
2 tsp Oyster Sauce
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 tbsp Dark/sweet soy sauce
1 tsp Soy Sauce (or to taste)
1. 首先把材料都准备好,锅里下 1 tbsp 的猪油和少许的食油,把蒜蓉爆香。加入鱼丸和肉片炒香,倒入清水和大地鱼粉,煮滚后把面条加入继续焖煮至面条变软,这个过程大约5 分钟,如果是乌东面可以久一点,粗面条时间和高汤请酌量减少。
2. 把芡粉和半杯水混合备用,加入酱油,老抽,糖,虾和青菜翻匀。
3. 焖煮至虾熟透了,加入芡水,当汤汁变浓稠,就可以熄火。
1. Heat up 1 tbsp of pork lard and some oil in a wok, stir in minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
2. Add fish ball and chicken/pork, stir until the meat changes color, add stock/water and plaice powder, bring to boil.
3. Add noodles and continue cooking for a few minutes until noodles become soft.
Note: If you use udon noodle, cook a little longer time, otherwise, reduce cooking time and stock/water accordingly, depending on the kind of noodle you choose.
4. Mix 1 tsp cornstarch with 1/2 cup of water. Season with soy sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar, add shrimp and vegetable.
5. When the shrimp turned red and is cooked, add cornstarch water, when the gravy thickened. It is time to serve.