KL HOKKIEN MEE
The noodles are simmered in a dark, aromatic sauce that is the star of this dish. Pork fat is the key to making real KL Hokkien Mee!
Malaysia is one of my favorite countries, and I’m especially proud of its world-class cuisine. Because I’ve never really lived in my nation of origin, I made the most of my time in Kuala Lumpur by overindulging during my vacations there! The frequent cravings and homesickness aren’t lessened by this, either.
Malaysian cooking has been a new hobby for me recently. It wasn’t hard for me to decide on a meal to represent my hometown of Kuala Lumpur—KL Hokkien Mee, to be exact.
The KL variant (a.k.a. Char Mee) is renowned for the dark, fragrant sauce in which the noodles are cooked, which is not to be mistaken with Singaporean (which is lighter in color) or Penang Hokkien Mee. It’s the first thing I look for when I arrive in Kuala Lumpur!
Pork fat is the key to making real KL Hokkien Mee (which should be available from your butcher). It enhances the flavor of any dish, so I try not to eat too many KL Hokkien Mees!
As a substitute, a slice of pork belly with an adequate amount of fat on the top might suffice in its absence.
I hope you have a good time with it! One of my favorite Malaysian dishes has been shared with you all.
There are just 456 calories in one serving of this meal.
INGREDIENTS:
- 200 g of pork belly
- 2 cloves of crushed garlic
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of corn starch
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon of oyster sauce
- 250 g of thick hokkien noodles
- 4 cloves of finely chopped garlic
- 1 small baby Chinese cabbage
- Shrimp
- White fish balls
- Chu yau cha
- 4 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of cold water
- 2 tablespoons of pork flavored oil
- 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of corn flour
- 2 teaspoons of white sugar
- ¾ cup of pork or chicken stock
- White pepper
INSTRUCTIONS:
- After marinating the pork belly pieces for 30 minutes, remove them from the marinade and pat dry. Prep the rest of the ingredients and store them in a convenient location for your cooking area.
- Shrimp – peeled, deveined, tails removed.
- Wash and thinly slice 1cm-thick baby Chinese cabbage (discard the really thick stems)
- Half fish balls.
- Noodles – cooked as directed on the package. My noodles were boiled until they separated, then drained completely.
- In a small dish, whisk together the cornflour and cold water until smooth; put aside.
- In a high-heat wok, add roughly 2 tablespoons of pork oil and cook it until it’s smoking, then add the meat.
- Saute quickly the marinated pork belly (be careful of hot spitting oil).
- Add the shrimp, fishballs, and garlic to the pan and cook for a further 30 seconds. 30 seconds later, add the chinese cabbage and cook until it is crisp-tender.
- Toss in the noodles just until they’re coated in the sauce. Mix the noodles with the dark and light soy sauces and coat them. The color may need to be darkened with additional dark soy sauce.
- Sauté a small handful of crispy pig lardons with the stock, sugar, and white pepper until everything is well-combined. Salt and sugar levels can be adjusted to suit your taste.
- Cornflour and water should be added to thicken the gravy, and the noodles should be coated in the gravy. Noodles with gravy should be served on a dish, with a dollop of gravy on top.
- If you choose, you can add extra chu yau cha and a little sambal belacan to the dish.
- To make the chu yau cha and the pork oil: Make tiny cubes of pork fat (or lardons). Dice the pork belly after removing the skin and trimming the excess fat from the top of it. Place 2 tablespoons of peanut oil over medium-low heat and cook the diced pork fat.
- To keep the oil from splattering all over my kitchen, I cooked the pork in a large pot with a partially-covered top. The fat should be rendered until the pork is crispy and brown. This could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of your lardons. Closely monitor it to make sure it doesn’t turn brown too quickly.
- Drain the chu yau cha on paper towels after removing it from the oil. The chu yau cha can be stored in an airtight container or jar once it has cooled fully.
- The pork oil can be stored in an airtight glass jar after it has been sterilised and sterilized.