KL Hokkien Mee

So the second Malaysian dish i decided to cook for Fathers' Day was KL Hokkien Mee. My dad loves Hokkien noodles and was accustomed to buying them with the premade, salty sauces which were pretty nice in their own right. But i wanted to cook Hokkien Mee from scratch!! And i can say i had moderate, if not complete success.

The first thing any self respecting Malaysian will tell you when it comes to making good Hokkien Mee: it's all about the lard! None of this vegetable oil business. True hokkien mee is cooked in pork lard with the leftover pork scratchings from the rendering added to the noodles.

My friend 3 Hungry Tummies gave a good recipe for KL Hokkien Mee and whilst i'm sure mine is not as good as his, i'm on my way! The only disappointment i had with the dish was that it was not as rich black as i had hoped. Was this the brand or type of sweet soy that i used? I'll have to try again!

Ingredients (Serves 6 as part of banquet)

• 250gm pork belly, skin removed
• 250gm pork fillet, sliced
• 400gm prawn cutlets
• 800gm hokkien noodles
• 4 tbsp sweet soy (kecap manis)
• 4 tbsp dark soy
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 bunch choy sum, sliced

Method

Take the pork belly and dice it finely into little 0.5cm pieces.

Place in a saucepan with water and slowly bring to the boil
As the water evaporates, the fat should render out of the pork

Fry until the pork is golden brown
Remove the pork and place in a bowl. Pour off the pork fat into a separate bowl and retain.

Heat 1 tsp of the pork fat in a large wok over high heat

Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds
Add the prawns and pork fillet and saute until almost cooked

Add the chicken stock and choy sum and cook until the stock is slightly reduced

Add the soy and sweet soy along with the noodles and stir through

Continue to cook until the sauce thickens and the noodles darken
Stir through the remaining lard and the fried pork.
Serve hot with chilli on the side.