Bak Chor Mee (肉脞面 - Minced Pork Noodle)

I have been cooking, quite a fair bit.

The weeklong Lunar New Year break was filled with my mother's hearty simplicities, a batch of compulsory pineapple tarts, my new favorite Japanese rice spread with a raw egg - Tamago Kake Gohan (卵かけご飯), and Vijay's undivided obsession in the form of Hakka stewed pork belly.

Meanwhile, at the cafe, dinner service is getting busier during week nights. We're excited to see new customers discovering our comforting, hearty menu after a long day's work. On weekends the kitchen crew can hardly eat our own meals without either gobbling them down or go halfway before returning to stone cold leftovers later.

Despite this constant busyness, staff meals are never compromised on. The cafe's kitchen believes in taking care of the crew, for without them being we will not be able to service our customers. So with every bit of our strength, we indulge our team with the best ingredients and flavors as much as we can.

I've been trying out new things, using ingredients already in the kitchen, at times bringing my own finds from the market. I try to savage what is usually thrown away and made bottles of flavorful prawn oil for future applications. I cooked nasi lemak in a pot over the stove for the first time in my life, almost burned it and got it perfect the second time. There's no shortage of ideas between my kitchen mate and I. We learn from each other and surprise our staff with things not on the menu to their delight.

This version of Bak Chor Mee is albeit my own interpretation. The minced pork is marinated and stir fried instead of just blanched. The mushrooms are simply sautéed and seasoned instead of stewed. I made the chili sambal using a raw sambal blend we put in the cafe's sambal fried rice, cooked down with prawn oil and some shallots. There's no pork lard and just a dash of Sherry vinegar in the sauce.

If you want to make this following the authentic Singaporean method, I strongly suggest reference to this recipe by Shu Han. It is done similar to those sold at the stalls, the way would eat at least once a month.

Bak Chor Mee (肉脞面 - Minced Pork Noodle)

Serves 2.

• 350 grams good quality hand minced pork (meat marbled with fat is best)
• 2 tablespoons good quality soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon good quality oyster sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 250 grams shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3-4 shallots, thinly sliced
• peanut oil for frying
• 2 tablespoons good quality soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon good quality oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili sambal
• 1-2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 portions of thin egg noddles (mee kia)
• scallions to serve, thinly sliced
• Romaine lettuce (or other greens) to serve

Marinate the minced pork with soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and peanut oil for at least 30 minutes. In a wok or large frying pan, sauté the mince over high heat till cooked, then set aside, discarding most of the liquid released from the pork.

Wipe down the wok/pan, then sauté the mushrooms over high heat in some oil. Season accordingly with salt and pepper, set aside. Add oil to the pan to about 4 tablespoons worth, then fry the sliced shallots till just golden brown. Remove the shallots and pour the shallot oil into a medium mixing bowl. Add to the bowl the ingredients for the sauce - soy and oyster sauces, sambal, vinegar and sesame oil.

Bring a medium pot of water to boil and cook the egg noddles according to the level of doneness preferred. Drain and immediately toss the hot noodles in the bowl of sauce ingredients. Divide the dressed noodles into serving bowls lined with a few pieces of lettuce or your choice of greens. Top with minced pork, mushrooms, fried shallots and scallions to serve. Add more sambal on the side as desired.