Mee Hoon Kuih in Soup

This is another of my daughter's Must Eat Before College request that I obliged this week. This posting is for you, my darling daughter! Now that you have your  own apartment complete with a kitchen you can cook a little taste of home whenever you want. Of course, 1-800-Mommeeee is always available to you.


This is a traditional Hokkein dish which is essentially fresh handmade pasta in a flavorful broth. It is a favorite of my family here in the US as well as our families in Malaysia. My mother makes a top notch version. She is particular, often making and serving individual bowls. That way, the pasta is truly el dente. Since I am the only one forming the pasta and somehow my family is always already too hungry when I make this dish, I make all the pasta first before calling everyone to the table. I just remove, drain and keep the cooked pasta hot in a big serving bowl. A drizzle of shallot oil keep the pasta separate.


The toughest part of the dish is stretching out the dough thin enough to make Mee Hoon Kuey (pasta), tearing the pieces off and dropping it into hot simmering broth. It is a tedious hot work so you must love your family! Not many families make it at home in Malaysia these days because of the work and skill involved. Lucky for them it is possible to order this dish at food stalls. Some vendors have updated it, rolling out the dough through a pasta machine and making fettucine style pasta. I prefer the old fashioned, rustic torn off pasta.The toppings is everything!! I serve it with fried anchovies, meat topping, chinese bok choy, fried peanuts and fried shallots. Like I said, lots of work but yummy! 

Broth

8 cups water

1 lb chicken bones

1 cup dried anchovies, rinsed

20 whole white peppercorns, washed and lightly crushed

3 stalks of scallions

1 inch of fresh ginger, sliced into rounds

salt to taste

Minced Meat Topping

3 tablespoon cooking oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 shallots, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

1 lb chicken or pork, coarsely minced and seasoned

with 1 teaspoon of cornflour and

pepper to taste

8 oz prawns, coarsely minced

2 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon salt

Seasoned Shiitake Mushroom
1/2 cup dried chinese shiitake mushroom, rehydrated
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon thick soya sauce
dash of salt and pepper

Vegetable

Napa cabbage, Bok Choy, Choy Sum or other greens of choice, picked and scalded.

Garnishes and dips 

Shallot crisps

Fried anchovies

Fried peanuts

Bird eye chillies, finely sliced and mixed with soy sauce

1 recipe Mee Hoon Kuih dough

Step 1:prepare stock:

Bring water to boil in stock pot. Add chicken bones, ikan bilis and peppercorns. Lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes, skimming off scum. Add salt to taste. Strain to clean pot and keep warm.

Anchovies in muslin bags from Korean store

Step 2: make the Mee Hoon Kuih Dough
4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 tablespoon cooking oil( I substitute 1 tablespoon sesame oil for flavor)

3/4 to 1 cup of water, depending on the flour and 

weather

To make dough

Place sifted flour in a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Add salt and oil. Gradually add enough water as you knead for the dough to form a ball. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes by hand. Rest dough, covered with a clean tea towel, for at least 30 minutes before using. Cling wrap if not using immediately. Can be kept refrigerated for 3 days.

Flour, eggs, sesame oil and water

Rest the dough

Step 3: make meat topping

Heat oils in frying pan, sauté shallots and garlic until lightly brown. Add chicken or pork meat and prawns, and cook for 1 minute (sometimes I just used sliced pork alone). Add oyster sauce and salt. Remove from heat and set aside.


Step 4: Cook seasoned Shiitake Mushroom

Drain rehydrated shiitake mushroom. Add 1 teaspoon of oil to hot pan. Add chopped garlic and shallot. Saute until lightly golden brown. Add drained mushroom. Season with salt, sugar, pepper and 1 tablespoon of thick soya sauce.

Step 5: Make garnishes

Fry garnishes and set aside. Scald Choy Sum, Napa cabbage, Bok Choy or your choice of vegetable. Set aside.

Fried Anchovies ( Ikan Bilis)

Fried Peanuts

Fried Crispy Shallots

Step 6: Cook Mee Hoon Kuih

Bring a pot of broth to a rapid boil. Reduce to a simmer. Remove a manageable size of dough from the bowl, with your thumb and pointer finger of both hands, stretch out a small section of the dough to almost translucent, about 1/4 inch. Tear into bite size pieces and drop into boiling broth.

Cook for 1 minute or until cooked but still firm to the bite ( al dente). It should float to the top when cooked. Remove with perforated spoon or noodle strainer and rinse under running tap water or a bowl of cold water to stop cooking. Drain and add to serving bowl with a drizzle of shallot oil to keep them separate

Step 7: Assemble dish

Place cooked mee hoon kuih in a bowl. Ladle a portion of soup broth over the mee hoon kuih. Add minced meat topping, mushroom and vegetable. Top with shallot crisps, fried anchovies and fried peanuts. Serve with bird eye chillies in soy sauce.