潮州肉脞面 Teochew Bak Chor Mee

I was actually pondering for quite a while whether to attempt this Teochew bak chor mee as it involves quite a few process in preparing all the ingredients! The pot of good stock base and braising of  the mushroom took quite some time, therefore I've prepared the stock and mushroom the day before.  Follow then is the preparation of a list of side toppings! Marinating the pork fillet/minced pork, pan fried fishcakes/fishballs, homemade fried shallots/oil...Oh I did not prepare sambal chilli paste (no time) nor any lard oil/bak yew pok (fried lard), you may think this bowl of noodle will lack the 'oomph' without the lard. For healthier option I replaced it with my homemade shallots oil, together with the gravy from the braised mushroom and lots of black vinegar, it is more than enough to flavour up the noodle :D 

Yah my little kitchen became like a mini war zone after all the preparation work hahaha...but is worth the effort after seeing my little ones polished up their plate to the bottom ^.*

I've used premium dried shiitake mushroom (花菇) which has a better fragrance and thicker flesh.

Slowly stewing in a small slow cooker. I managed to fill up the pot with 20 dried shiitake mushroom and 2.5 cups water. 

This is how the texture becomes after stewing over 8 hours! So soft and bursting with flavours! 

This amount for this braised mushroom is definitely too much for 4 servings. It took quite some time to cook, therefore it is more cost effective to prepare large amount and freeze it if necessary! 

Braised Mushroom

Ingredient

• 20 premium dried shiitake mushroom, soaked till soften
• 1 bulb garlic, rinsed
• 5 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 5 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2.5 cups water

Method

1. Remove the hard stem of the softened mushroom, place all ingredients including the soaking water, in a medium pot. Bring to boil. 
2. Transfer the mixture into a small slow cooker and stew for 6 hours. Remove the mushroom and cool down. Slice the mushroom thinly and return to the slow cooker. Continue to stew for another 2-3 hours till the gravy thickens and mushroom is tenderly soft. 

I've prepared the below ingredients enough for 4 pax...

Meat & Other Toppings

• 150gm minced pork (with at least 30% fats)*
• 150gm pork fillet, thinly sliced*
• pig liver,  thinly sliced
• braised mushroom
• pork meatballs
• fish cake, fried & thinly sliced
• assorted fried fish balls
• dried sole fish, fried till golden brown
• lettuce
• spring onions
• fried shallots

* Marinate each minced pork and pork fillet with 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1/2 tsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1 tsp cornflour

Noodle Preparations (1 serving)

Ingredient

• 70gm fresh Mee Pok/ Mee Kia Noodles
• 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp shallot oil
• 2 tbsp dark vinegar, or to taste
• 2 tsp crunchy chilli pepper, sambal chilli paste or ketchup, to taste
• 2 tbsp gravy from braised mushroom
• 2 tbsp stock

Method

1. Combine noodle seasoning in a serving bowl. Mix well. Cook the noodle and meat ingredients  simultaneously over 2 stoves if you can manage!
2. Place some stock and pork meatballs into a medium pot and bring to boil. Put adequate amount of minced meat, sliced pork and liver into a sieve. Lower the sieve into the boiling stock and cook for 2-3 minutes. 
3. Cooking the noodle : Prepare a large pot of water for cooking the noodle and large bowl of icy cold water for blanching. When the water has come to a rolling boil, place the noodle in a big sieve and lower it into the boiling water and cook for 2 mins. Shake away excess water and quickly dunk into the icy water to remove the excess starch. Briefly cook again in boiling hot water for another half minute. Drain well and slide the noodle into the bowl of seasoning. Toss well to combine.
4. When the meat are cooked, place it over the noodle. 
5. Top with rest of the ingredients and serving immediately with a bowl of the soup. 

Recipe largely adapted from Tummy Troll

The seasoning for the noodles...more black vinegar please! ^0^

Toss the sauce evenly with the cooked Mee Pok

Blanching the meat ingredients with the soup base

Assemble the rest of the ingredients onto the noodle and serve right away! 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest #11 Sept 2014 : Singapore hosted by Life can be Simple