Braised Noodles with Stewed Pork Slices is again, one of my experiments. Setting up this blog has resulted in me having to experiment with new recipes so that I can keep up with my postings! Haha!

Before you go “wah!” about this dish, let me tell you first that it is more a dish / recipe of convenience and simplicity than sheer cooking-from-scratch. So, the stewed pork slices come from the can and the noodles are from Sitiawan, Perak (where I previously cooked Sitiawan Noodle ala PabloPabla). Feel free to use any type of instant noodles but I think it will work well with the noodles which are slightly flat, not unlike fettuccine or linguine. As for the result, it’s simply delicious! Hochiak!

This is my recipe for Braised Noodles with Stewed Pork Slices

Ingredients

• 5 pieces of instant noodles (this should serve 3 to 4 people)
• 1 tin of stewed pork slices (cut into rings)
• 300 grammes bean sprouts (remove root)
• 1 small carrot (julienned)
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
• 2 large eggs (beaten)
• Have 150 ml warm water ready
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil (palm oil)
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  

Seasoning

• 1 teaspoon of fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons of dark soya sauce
• 1 teaspoon of light soya sauce
• salt to taste
• 1/3 teaspoon of white pepper powder

Method

Using a non-stick frying pan if available, fry the eggs in a couple of batches to form thin layers of fried egg. Cut the fried eggs to strips.

Next, boil sufficient water in a pot. Cook the noodles till al-dente and then, run it over cold water. Place them in a bowl. Drizzle the sesame oil over the noodles and stir well. Place aside.

Heat oil and saute garlic with carrots. Add fish sauce and about 50 ml of water. Open the tin of stewed pork slices and pork half of the stew into the carrots. Let the gravy simmer, add the rest of the water plus seasoning. Add the cooked noodles and bean sprouts and reduce to medium heat, stirring well to ensure noodles are coated with gravy. Cook for not more than 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, with the frying pan, heat up the pork slices with the remaining gravy from the tin till it begins to boil. Remove from heat. Pour gravy onto the noodles and mix well.

Serve noodles onto individual plates and garnish with egg strips and pork slices.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Food, Noodles, Stew, Pork

Mee Suah Kueh is my wife’s recipe. In fact, many have not heard let alone seen this “cake” which is made using Mee Suah. The mee suah used in this recipe is the one manufactured in Muar, Johor which comes in little packets with red banner. There are about 4 pieces of mee suah in each packet.

This recipe comes in 3 stages. Firstly, to cook the mee suah in a wok, followed by quick steaming and then, cooling it overnight before frying it the next day. Despite the complexity it sounds, it is actually very simple to cook.

It is great for tea time and can also be eaten with rice. Dip it into chilli sauce for added oomph!

This is my wife’s recipe for Mee Suah Kueh

Ingredients

• 2 packets mee suah (8 pieces)
• 50 to 100 grammes lean pork / chicken meat (chopped roughly)
• 50 to 100 grammes prawns (chopped roughly)
• 1 whole bulb garlic (chopped finely)
• spring onions (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons palm oil
• 2 soup bowls of hot water

Seasoning

• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder

Method

Heat oil in wok and fry garlic till beginning to brown. Add meat and continue to stir fry till meat changed colour. Next, add prawns and stir well for 15 seconds.

Add water and bring to boil. Add mee suah and stir well to evenly coat with other ingredients. Sprinkle the spring onions at this stage.

Add more water to just cover the mee suah so that it cooks in a thick and sticky soup (not runny). Once the mee suah is evenly coated, remove onto a stainless steel plate or pan.

Steam it for 3 minutes. Allow to cool overnight.

Cut into squares, dip into beaten egg and deep fry till golden brown. Remove and place onto kitchen napkin to absorb excess oil prior to serving.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Cake, Mee Suah, Chinese, Asian

Mee Suah Soup is one of my favourite noodle soup. Mee Suah, which is usually sold in dried form, is made from rice flour and is very brittle in uncooked form as the strands are really thin. This dish is more or less an automatic dish for breakfast on the first day of Chinese New Year at my home. It is also eaten to celebrate the chinese birth days at home.

Mee Suah is also cooked in different ways. There is the famous Red Mee Suah cooked by the people of Foochow dialect and there is also the chicken soup Mee Suah. Our family recipe is quite easy to prepare and cook and if you could get your hands on the ingredients, give it a try. Oh, by the way, generally there are two types of mee suah (or at least, in Malaysia). One is the factory pre-packed mee suah manufactured in Muar, Johor whilst the other is made by the Foochow community - usually from Sibu and Sitiawan. The former is thicker and bland tasting on its own whilst the latter is fine and thin (and smoother) but saltish in flavour. If you are using the former, you will need to add seasoning (eg. salt to taste) but for the latter, no seasoning is needed. My recipe here uses the latter.

This is my recipe for Mee Suah Soup

Ingredients

• 250 grammes of mee suah (or 4 pieces)
• 50 to 80 grammes of pork tenderloin (sliced thinly)
• 5 pieces dried chinese / shiitake mushrooms (sliced thinly)
• 2 large eggs
• 5 bulbs shallots (sliced thinly)
• 2 stalks spring onions (for garnishing)
• 4 tablespoons palm oil
• 5 soup bowls of hot water

Method

Heat oil in wok and fry shallots till golden brown. Remove fried shallots.

Leaving about 2 tablespoons of oil in wok, add mushrooms and saute for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Push to the side of the wok.

Add pork and stir fry till changed colour. Push to the side of the wok. Add remaining oil into wok and fry the eggs. Try not to break the eggs too much. Return mushrooms and pork into the fried egg and stir well for another 15 seconds or so.

Add water and bring to boil. Add mee suah and stir well. Mee suah cooks fairly quickly and should turn colour when done.

Garnish with fried shallots and spring onions prior to serving. Serves approximately 3 to 4 bowls here.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Chinese, Soup, Mee Suah, Noodles

Sambal Ikan Bilis is commonly found in many hawkers in Malaysia and Singapore, especially Nasi Lemak vendors. It is the main condiment to Nasi Lemak and can actually make or break the popularity of Nasi Lemak vendors. What is less common would be Sambal Ikan Bilis with Tang Hoon (glass vermicelli) as seen above. This dish is more often cooked at home rather than being sold outside.

At home, we usually prepare the sambal (chilli paste) beforehand and keep them in the refridgerator for use as and when needed. Recipes differ from one cook to another and mine is actually a very simple no-frills version.

This is my recipe for Sambal Ikan Bilis with Tang Hoon

Ingredients

• 3/4 bowls of ikan bilis (rinsed)
• 20 grammes / 1 small bundle of Tang Hoon (it is in dried form and it should be soaked to soften it beforehand)
• 1 large onion (cut into rings)
• Cooking oil (palm oil)
• 40 ml hot water

Sambal ingredients (pound together)

• 4 to 8 red chillis (ensure seeds are completely crushed during pounding)
• 6 cloves garlic
• 4 cloves shallots

Seasoning

• Salt and sugar to taste

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and fry ikan bilis till crisp. Remove ikan bilis and discard oil.

Heat oil 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and saute sambal ingredients on medium heat till aromatic and semi-brown. Set aside.

Next, heat up 2 teaspoons of cooking oil in wok and saute onions till beginning to limp. Add sambal and continue to stir briskly for 15 to 30 seconds. Add tang hoon and water and bring water to boil. Let the tang hoon cook for not more than 1 minute whilst you add seasoning. The water should be reduced by now.

Return fried ikan bilis into the wok and mix well with the ingredients prior to serving. The fried ikan bilis is only added in prior to serving to preserve its crunchiness as against the softness of the tang hoon.

Serve with white rice.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Sambal, Ikan Bilis, Malaysia