Merdeka Open House 2008: Pan Mee

I have to thank Babe for picking my idea, fixing the theme of this year's Merdeka Open House event as Mee and My Malaysia.

I am actually away from Kuala Lumpur, blogging all the way from my hometown, Sandakan. Yes, I am a proud East Malaysian, Sabahan to be specific, coming back home for the National Day long weekend break. I am not quite sure why but I am prone to raised-eyebrows whenever I mention that I originate from Sabah. Then, the conversation would proceed to questions like, 'Do people in Sabah still live on trees', 'Do you people travel in boats (luckily not sampan)?', 'So you are surrounded by refugees?', etc..... Oh my, I wonder how well school sujects like Geography and History actually help.

Despite the suggestion of submitting something that could be the comfort food of one's family, I've decided to do it a little differently. My submission for this annual event is actually a one-bowl noodle dish which I was not familiar with as a child and teenager. It was not until I left home for KL for my studies that this dish became one of my favourites.

Pan Mee, or literally means 'Sheet Noodles' owing to the flat, thin shape of the noodles, is believed to originate from the Hokkian province of China. As Sabah is basically dominated by the Cantonese and Hakka , it's not surprising that this dish is not popular in this part of the country. So, my ignorance as a child is excusable, I believe :). So, I brought back the idea, and made this noodle dish for my parents today. An aunthetic version, at least to my knowledge, and here it is.


Merdeka Open House 2008: Pan Mee
Serves 6

Ingredients:

(A) Noodles:
300g all purpose flour
200g high protein flour
1.5 tsp salt
3 eggs
8-10 tbsp water
2 tbsp corn oil
Tapioca flour for dusting

(B) Minced meat:
400g lean pork meat, minced
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
Few drops of sesame oil
Dash of pepper
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Oil for frying

Seasoning:
1.5 tbsp oyster sauce
1-2 tbsp dark soy sauce
Salt & pepper to taste

(C)
30g black fungus, soaked till soft and shredded
5 chinese mushrooms, soaked till soft and sliced
50g ikan bilis (anchovies), deep fried till crispy
3L chicken broth
30g leaves of sayur manis
Fried shallots



Method:

1. To prepare handmade noodles, please refer to an old recipe of mine here.
2. Marinade minced pork in light soy sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil and pepper in (B) for at least 1 hour. Heat oil in a pan, fry chopped garlic till fragrant. Add minced meat and fry till half-cooked. Add in mushroom and continue to fry. Add a little water if too dry. Season with oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, salt and pepper.
3. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add 1 tsp salt and few drops of oil into water. Blanch noodles in boiling water until cooked. Remove and soak in cold water. Remove noodles from cold water and drain. Divide into bowls.
4. Bring chicken broth to boil. Add black fungus and sayur manis; continue to boil for a while but not to overcook vegetable.
5. Pour soup into bowls of noodles. Top with minced meat mixture, deep fried anchovies and garnish with deep fried shallots. Serve immediately.

Left: Raw pan mee from pasta mchine; Right: Boiling chicken broth

Deep frying sliced shallots