I love noodles. Don't you?

If you are a follower of this blog, you would have noticed that my Mum was big on noodle recipes. Some of these recipes (sans curry laksa) have already been blogged in great detail and my coming cookbook will also feature them. They are indeed worth learning and mastering.

Another of her favourite recipes which she only cooked regularly for those of us at home is "Mee Hoon Kueh." It is sometimes called "Pinched Noodles" or Pan Mee.  I have many memories of enjoying these bowls of homemade goodness. The noodles are pinched, flattened and randomly shaped by hand (fingers rather) with varying thickness, which makes the texture interesting. This is the character of this dish, as opposed to uniform machine-made noodles.

The garnish of crunchy fried ikan bills and fried shallots adds more flavour and variation in texture.

It is easy to do this at home as the broth is quick and simple to prepare. Kneading the dough is not as messy as it sounds. Sufficient kneading is important to get the chewy or al dente texture. Kneading the flour-water mix is not much different from doing the dough for bread and pasta.

This is just my preference but keep the dough simple. Don't add eggs in and it will make the texture harder. The recipes here includes minced pork and mushrooms but really, all you need is fried anchovies, some Chye Sim, al dente noodles and a very good broth.

If you prefer your noodles to be very thin and flat, you can put pieces in cold water and flatten them before boiling.

After a long day in church, it makes for a perfect Sunday evening meal.

For the broth

1 kg pork rib
1 small chicken, skinned
170 g (1 cup) soy beans (optional) 1 chicken stock cube
1 tsp salt
5 litres water

For the noodles 500 g (1.1 lbs) plain flour 150 ml (3/5 cup) water
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil

Toppings 
300 g (10.5 oz) anchovies (ikan bilis)
100 g (3.5 oz) dried shitake mushrooms
300 g (10.5 oz) minced pork 2 cloves of garlic, diced
6 tsps fried shallots
Oil for deep frying
1 tsp oyster sauce
1⁄2 tsp dark soy sauce
White pepper to taste

Making the Broth

Heat up the water for the broth in a deep pot. Add the other broth ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.

Making the Noodles
Add oil and salt to the flour. Slowly add water and knead. You need to knead it into a smooth dough and you will know it is done when the dough no longer sticks to your hand as you knead. You may need to add more flour or water along the way. It takes me about 20-30 minutes to get the dough done.

The kneaded dough

Preparing the Topping

Heat up the oil in the wok and deep fry the ikan bilis for half a minute or still till they are crispy.

Rehydrate the mushrooms and diced them.

Add a teaspoon of oil in a wok and brown the garlic. Then add the diced mushrooms and minced pork.

Put in the oyster sauce and dark soy sauce and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Set aside.

Assembly

Heat up a pot of water till it is rolling and boiling.