Smoky Wok

Pan mee (板麺) or flat flour noodles are of Fujian/ Hokkien origin and is popularly served in Malaysia.  These noodles are mainly made of flour and water and used to be torn by hand in the olden manner.  These flour noodles have since been shaped more uniformly but usually retains its' flat shape.  There are two versions of pan mee in general, one served in a savoury soup of anchovies and pork ribs with the other being a dry version usually tossed with some soy sauce.  Today's feature is my interpretation of the dry version where apart from soy sauce, I used some abalone sauce for some additional umami flavours.  I used dried anchovies, fresh shiitake mushrooms and served the noodles with some fresh Chinese broccoli or choy sum.

The noodles have a toothsome texture and are mildly flavoured and they lend themselves particularly well to a mixture of savoury anchovies and meaty mushrooms.  You can also add some minced pork and slices of wood ear fungus for more texture.  This much-loved noodle dish is one of my favourite noodle dishes and is definitely easy and quick to whip up at home.  Admittedly, I did not make the noodles from scratch today but I think it will be a worthwhile endeavour sometime soon.  I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

This post is part of my series of Yuen Chun Recipes, an ongoing project on this blog.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 dried pan mee noodles (or use other flat noodles to substitute)

8 fresh shiitake mushrooms

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup dried anchovies, rinsed

8 stalks of choy sum or other leafy green vegetables of your choice

Seasoning:

2 tablespoons abalone sauce (I used Yuen Chun's)

2 tablespoons light soy sauce or to taste

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Method:

Firstly, boil the noodles according to package instructions.  For me, I prefer to run the noodles through cold water after they are cooked which helps the noodles from being stuck to each other.  Drain and set aside.

Blanch the vegetables in lightly salted and oiled boiling water until soft.

Heat your wok or pan until almost smoking or hot.  Add about 3 tablespoons of cooking oil.  Swirl to coat.  Turn heat to low.  Add garlic and stir fry until aromatic.  Add anchovies and mushrooms.  Stir fry for about 30 seconds, add the seasoning.  Do a taste test and add more sugar or soy if necessary.  Pour in the noodles from earlier and toss everything together over low heat.  Dish out and serve hot with the blanched vegetables.