← Nouns Cooking · Malaysian & Singaporean

Ingredients

• 8 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked until soft, liquid kept
• 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1.2 l chicken stock
• 30 g dried anchovies (ikan bilis)
• 250 g Minced pork
• 150 g Pork liver, thinly sliced (optional)
• 8 Fish balls (optional)
• 4 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
• 4 tsp Soy sauce
• 4 tsp Fish sauce
• 4 tbsp chilli paste or sambal
• 4 tsp lard or shallot oil
• 400 g fresh mee pok (flat egg noodles)
• 4 lettuce leaves
• 2 tbsp Crispy fried shallots
• 2 Spring onion, chopped

Method

1. Simmer the stock with the ikan bilis for 20 min, then strain and season lightly. Keep it hot.
2. Squeeze the mushrooms, slice them and simmer in a small pan with 250 ml of their soaking liquid, both soy sauces and sugar for 15–20 min until glossy and nearly dry.
3. Season the mince with a pinch of salt and pepper. Drop small spoonfuls into the simmering soup and cook for 3–4 min until cooked through; add the liver slices and fish balls for the last 2 min.
4. In each serving bowl, stir together a quarter of the vinegar, soy, fish sauce, chilli, lard and 2 tbsp mushroom braising liquid.
5. Blanch the noodles in boiling water for 30–60 seconds, shaking them loose, and drain well. Toss straight into the sauce bowls until coated.
6. Top each bowl with lettuce, mushrooms, mince, liver and fish balls, a ladle of soup over the top or on the side, and fried shallots and spring onion.

Tips

• Cook the liver until it is just cooked through with no pink left (pork liver should not be served pink), but no longer, or it turns grainy.
• Contains wheat, egg, soy and fish. Halal stalls make it with minced chicken; it is just as good.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

What To Cook Today Nomadette Noob Cook