KL Hokkien Mee as Inspired by Rasa Malaysia

My fondest memory of our trip to Kuala Lumpur some years ago was the hawker foods that I enjoyed so much. I wont forget the kind of Bakuteh that we ate in one of the stalls there. After that experience, I never eat Bakuteh in Singapore again. Whenever I feel like eating Bakuteh, I will just go back to that fondest memory in my heart and in my palate...ahhh Kuala Lumpur and its food ! Several weeks ago, my friend and I decided to go to Johor Bahru and in one of the malls, there's this eatery that offers Bakuteh. We decided to try to, we both enjoyed it but still I prefer the Bakuteh in Kuala Lumpur...nothing can beat that. Oh dear me.. I talked of Bakuteh where in fact, I am bringing you my KL Hokkien Mee today. LOL!

Singapore Hokkien Mee is different from KL Hokkien Mee in texture, color, variation and even in taste. I would say that the first one is very light, fresh and comforting to the stomach. The KL Hokkien Mee is dark with crispy pork fat, with thick sauce, medium prawns, pork belly and sliced fish balls. The taste of soy sauce is kinda strong but the prawn broth and pork fat has made all the difference. If you like comfort and freshness with the slight acidity of native calamansi and sambal, then Singapore Hokkien Mee would be nice. It has prawns, sotong and sliced pork too. Well, I couldn't say more but I think that after this, I will be having Singapore Hokkien Mee and will get back on you guys to show it, tell you about it.

And now for a short history taken from Mr Wiki:

Types

There are three distinct types of Hokkien mee, with each being ubiquitous in specific localities in and Singapore and Malaysia.

Type

Penang hae mee (prawn noodles)

Singapore hae mee (prawn noodles)

Hokkien char mee (fried noodles)

Origin

Penang

Singapore

Kuala Lumpur

Cooking method

Broth-based

Stir fried

Ingredients

Egg noodles and rice noodles

Fat yellow noodles

No dark soya sauce used

Dark soya sauce is used

Prawn is the main ingredient, with slices of chicken or pork, squid, fish cakes, kangkung and sambal added as well.

Prawn is the main ingredient with slices of chicken or pork, squid and fish cake.

Slices of chicken or pork, squid and cabbage

While both the Penang and Singapore versions are commonly known as hae mee (福建蝦麵), and consist of prawns as their main ingredients, the two variants are prepared differently. The Singapore hae mee is stir fried and has a lighter colour, while the Penang variant is cooked in a prawn-based spicy broth. On the other hand, Hokkien char mee, which is more common in central Peninsular Malaysia and particularly the Klang Valley, was originally developed in Kuala Lumpur. By default in the Klang Valley, the term Hokkien mee refers to this darker, stir fried variant. The Penang variant is sometimes referred to as mee yoke.

For the recipe:

250 grams of pork belly, thinly sliced and marinated with the combination of: 

2 cloves grated garlic, 

1 tbsp soy sauce, 

1/2 tsp oyster sauce, 

1 tsp ground white pepper, 

1 tsp sesame oil and 1 tsp corn flour. 

Set aside in the fridge for 30 minutes.

150 grams crispy pork fat : 

dice the pork fat, use a deep pot, put 2 tbsp of oil and cook over medium low heat, cover partially and stir from time to time until its crispy and golden. Drain on paper towel and keep in the jar. Set aside the oil

12 pcs medium prawn: 

peeled, deveined, tails and head removed, in a pot put the scrap from prawn, add 1 1/2 cup water and boil to make a stock. Set aside

10 pcs fish balls sliced into 3

6 cloves garlic, grated

500 gms thick Hokkien noodles, wash with warm water and drained

6 pcs leaf of chinese cabbage, washed and sliced into 1 cm thickness

2 tbsp pork fat oil

2 - 3 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp ground white pepper

2 tbsp cornflour mix with 1/4 cup water

2 tsp white sugar

1 1/2 cup shrimp stock

crispy brown pork fat

Direction:

In a wok or pan, add pork oil and heat until smoking, add the marinated pork belly and fry briskly until brown.

Add the shrimp, fish balls, and grated garlic, fry for a minute.

Toss in the cabbage and fry for 30 seconds.

Add the noodles and give a quick toss.

Add the dark soy sauce and light soy sauce and mix to coat the noodles

Add the shrimp stock, sugar, white pepper and crispy pork fat.

Taste according to your preference.

Add in the cornflour water mixture and toss until the sauce has thickened.

Serve immediately, good for 4 person.

Hokkien Mee noodles is also one of my favorites. But I decided to cook the Kuala Lumpur version. The result is similar to what I eat in Hawker stalls. I still prefer the Singapore style because I find Dark Soy Sauce too overwhelming. ☺️although its delicious too.. with the crispy pork fat and prawn.

Penang Fried Flat Noodles ( Char Kuey Teow )

Here is one popular noodle dish in Singapore that people love because of its simplicity. Char Kuey Teow is always a favorite by migrants here in Singapore. It wont take long when you order this and the idea is to eat this right away fresh from chef's hand. Life in Singapore is busy and you're always on the go so there wont be time to cook. The time you will spend for cooking should be a time devoted for rest and sleep. Why cook ? when hawker stalls are just in the corner to eat, to having here, to go, or to take away..lol.

Just like Singapore, English is our second language back home. English accent proves to be difficult to grasp at first and more than a dozen times I felt frustrated because I can speak the language but I can not understand. Until one day, I realized that one must listen listen very well and understand the words the way locals did. In the end imitating Singapore accent has helped me to communicate well with the locals..yeah lah! and ordering food at the hawker stalls become easy.

Well, time for sharing the recipe and it's my nature to post with a little history of every food that I like:

Char kway teow, literally "stir-fried ricecake strips", is a popular noodle dish in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.[1] The dish is considered a national favourite in Malaysia and Singapore.

It is made from flat rice noodles (Chinese: 河粉; pinyin: hé fěn; Cantonese Yale: hó fán) or kway teow (Chinese: 粿條; pinyin: guǒ tiáo; Cantonese Yale: gwó tìu) of approximately 1 cm or (in the north of Malaysia) about 0.5 cm in width, stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, a small quantity of belachan, whole prawns, deshelled blood cockles, bean sprouts and chopped Chinese chives. The dish is commonly stir-fried with egg, slices of Chinese sausage, fishcake, beansprouts, and less commonly with other ingredients.[2]Char kway teow is traditionally stir-fried in pork fat, with crisp croutons of pork lard. In Penang, Char kway teow is commonly served on a piece of banana leaf on a plate, so as to enhance the aroma on the noodles.[3]

Char kway teow has a reputation of being unhealthy due to its high saturated fat content. However, when the dish was first invented, it was mainly served to labourers. The high fat content and low cost of the dish made it attractive to these people as it was a cheap source of energy and nutrients. When the dish was first served, it was often sold by fishermen, farmers and cockle-gatherers who doubled as char kway teow hawkers in the evening to supplement their income. ( Source: Wikipedia )

For the recipe:

Chili Paste:

Grind all the ff ingredients using a food processor, set aside

1/4 cup seeded dried red chili ( soak in water )

2 fresh red chili ( seeded )

3 small shallots ( peeled and sliced )

1 tsp oil

a pinch of salt

Sauce :

Mix all of the ingredients, blend them well, set aside.

5 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1/2 tsp fish sauce

scant of salt 1/2 tsp

Other ingredients:

12 shelled prawns

450 grams flat rice noodles

450 grams bloody cockles ( extract by opening shells )

2 chinese sausage sliced diagonally

1 cup of fresh bean sprout

a bunch of chinese chives cut inti 2 inch length

2 eggs

1 tbsp chopped garlic

2 tbsp oil

Direction:

Heat up a wok or pan, add a tsp of oil' and stir fry the chili paste. Set aside.

Clean the wok or pan ( or use another one ), heat it up, put 2 tbsp oil, add a tbsp of chopped garlic and do a quick stir

Add the sausage and prawn, make a few quick stir until the prawn change color and the sausage produce the aroma

Add the bean sprout, followed by the noodles, add the sauce and stir vigorously to mix well. Put the noodles in a bowl

Using the same wok or pan, add a little oli, crack the eggs and stir. Put back the noodles covering the eggs and wait for 15 seconds

Add about 1/2 tbsp of chili paste, if you like spicy add more. Put the cockles . Stir fry and make sure the egg is cook.

Add the chives, do quick stir and serve immediately.

Note: You can cook by two batches. Remember its best to cook in a wok , with high fire..cook fast, move fast like a chinese ninja..lol! Yes, you can do it. This is simple and I'm sure most of the seasonings are in your kitchen. Don't worry about the cockles because you have the right not to include it. lol..In my case, I cooked the shrimp ahead and use it without the skin. I don't wanna be bothered taking out the skin while eating.. so, what do you think? oh come on...you should try this.

Oh there you are... the time and effort is worth it. If you love Asian Food, then you've got to try this. The family and friends will love it. Seriously this is a kind of dish that you can be proud of. Oh come on..I know you wanna try. Go ahead follow your cravings.. Lets eat. Lets giggle. Lets be merry. Gladly Shared to: Mix It Up Monday Melt In Your Mouth Monday Inspiration Monday A Round Tuit Monday Mad Skills Party Monday Inspire Me Monday Block Party Monday Made By You Monday

Nutty Dried Mango White Chocolate Cookies

When I started my blog we've just moved here and its been an on and off thing as I work and manage the home. I am a mother so to speak but to say only these things would be unfair to myself because I never thought of it that way. I am me and I found that baking, cooking and writing is equally about myself, my life and my struggles. I want to write, I want to express my thoughts because it makes me feel good and useful. As I wrote before, ( http://kocinadepinay.com/life-is-what-we-make-it/ ) "Every woman is a person, not a camouflage. I enjoy conversation,making friends and I am not afraid to share my experiences. There are people out there who might need my reflections as a woman, as a person and probably they are just right there in one corner, afraid and lonely." So, yeah...I would always go back to where I begin. I wont even care if my readers have long been gone, it doesn't bother me at all.. write Lizza write.. This is totally changing my aging self and they say age is just a number but it's not true, personally speaking.. I feel the curse of aging..ha ha ha! and I can see it too. There are days when I look at the mirror, I would see myself..and oh my..yes its me and perimenopausal hits me.. its bulls eye! There's no escape, neither me nor you. So, I better get going and challenge myself to do the things that I love.. this time I wont be looking back, this time I will continue to progress and put my perspective into a reality, so help me God! Please I'm not a melodramatic mama here ..this is a happy post...ha ha ha!

So I will begin by telling you about these magical cookies that I made last time. It seems that my daughter is worried about her weight and I often tell her to go out, do some running or brisk walking. My son who is now serving his two-year National Service and a certified health buff has told me to stop feeding his sister with unwanted or unnecessary food for health and weight sake. You see growing up I didn't enjoy eating because I was born in the hard times..oh well this is another story. My tendency is to buy all the things that I know would be good and delicious. I bring home all the nice things that I can buy. I bake and I cook them too. Until my son told me that I needed to stop because I'm not doing any help to his sister and even to him at times. He told me that in as much as I want to do those things because I love them, I should stop, its enough because they are not small children anyway, they've had their time and they enjoyed it ..but I need to stop..yes STOP. These words struck me face to face and the realization hits me, my children have grown already. How come I don't know that..I didn't notice that..blame it on me yes.. and I will blame myself because I'm a working mother. Oh what a life..I love my children and I miss them badly as a small children.

Then let's go back to these magical cookies..I played around with ingredients. I put nuts, dried fruits and chocolates. But there's this batch of cookies that I will never forget because it brought me home, down the memory lane and they're so good. I never realize that putting our very own 7D Dried Mango together with white chocolate chips and pecan would be that great. By the way, I opted to make cookies for my children. I stopped bringing home all the goodies and our cabinet is empty.. just empty of those unnecessary for the health and weight. But the real me wont just stop like that..so in the end my world turn into cookies and I'm sharing with you the first ever delicious dried mango cookies in my whole 48 years of existence here on earth.. ha ha ha.. please join me in laughing!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

4 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups quick cooking oats

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup chopped dried mango

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnut

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar.

While doing that process, combine all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Set aside

Add the eggs one at a time. Add in the vanilla

Add the flour mixture gradually. Combine properly.

Add the oats and make it just combined, then add the ff : nuts, dried mango and white chocolate chips.

Don't over mixed. You can use apricot instead of dried mango, but use white chocolate chips only.

Drop 1/4 cup of dough or you can use a medium ice cream scoop about 7 cm apart onto lightly greased baking tray.

Bake for 16-20 mins 180 c /375

It's like embracing home once again.. I'm proud of our Philippine Mangoes, it's the best and the flesh is very rich and sweet. When its dried, its sweeter than sour and the texture is soft and chewy. Big and round that's how I wanted my cookies. I can't tell you how thrilled I am but Im sure the picture speaks for it.. these cookies are truly wonderful in a cup of coffee or tea. Let's eat. Let's giggle. Let's be merry.

Gladly shared to: Take A Look Tuesday Mix it Up Monday Inspire Me Monday Fluster Creative Muster Wonderful Wednesday Wow Me Wednesday Full Plate Thursday Foodie Friday @Rattlebridge Farm Pin Junkie Friday Feathernest Friday