Chilli pan mee

Chilli pan mee is a flat noodle dish served with a minced meat sauce, topped with fried anchovies, spring onion, chilli sambal and poached egg, with the option of soup on the side.

Chilli pan mee Credit: Georgia Gold

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  2:15 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 250 ml (1 cup) white vinegar
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 500 g wheat noodles (from the refrigerated section of Asian grocery stores)
• dried shrimp sambal, to serve (recipe below)
• 15 g (½ cup) dried anchovies
• 3–4 spring onions, finely chopped
• blanched bok choy (pak choy), to serve

Stok ayam (Chicken stock)

Makes about 1 litre (4 cups)

• 1 kg chicken bones or carcasses
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp grated ginger
• pinch of salt

Chilli pan mee sauce

• 300 g minced beef or pork, or a combination of both
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 red shallots, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ½ tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp sugar

Fish ball soup

• 1 litre (4 cups) Chicken stock (recipe below)
• 8–12 fish balls (see Notes)
• salt
• 1 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped

Sambal hae bee (Dried shrimp sambal)

Makes about 500 g

• 140 g dried shrimp, rinsed, soaked for 10 minutes, drained
• 3–4 red shallots, peeled
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled
• 20 g (about 30) dried chillies, seeded, rinsed, soaked in water for 15 minutes, drained
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) vegetable oil, plus extra if needed
• 2 tsp tamarind paste, or to taste
• 1 tbsp sugar, or to taste

Instructions

1. To make the chicken stock, place the chicken bones, garlic, ginger, salt and 2 litres (8 cups) water in a large stockpot. Make sure the water completely covers the chicken. Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour or until the stock has reduced and has a rich umami flavour. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the solids, and transfer to an airtight container. The stock can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
2. To make the chilli pan mee sauce, combine the minced meat with the oyster and soy sauces in a bowl. Set aside to marinate. Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat, add the shallot and garlic and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Add the mince and stir until combined, then add the white pepper, sugar and 3 tablespoons water. Stir again, then simmer, breaking up any large lumps with the back of a wooden spoon, for 5–8 minutes until the sauce has reduced and the meat is cooked through.
3. Pour 4 litres (16 cups) of water into a large saucepan, add the vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Gently crack one egg at a time into the water and simmer for 2–3 minutes until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and set them aside on a plate.
4. To make the fish ball soup, bring the stock to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the fish balls and boil for 2–3 minutes, or according to the packet instructions. Season with salt and pepper, then add the spring onion and boil for another minute. Remove from the heat.
5. Blanch the wheat noodles in boiling water according to the packet instructions.
6. To make the dried shrimp sambal, process the softened dried shrimp and 2–3 tablespoons water in a blender or food processor to a coarse paste. Remove and set aside.
7. Add the shallot, garlic and dried chillies to the blender or processor and blitz to a coarse paste. Again, add 2–3 tablespoons water, if needed to loosen the mixture.
8. Heat the oil in a wok or a frying pan over medium heat and stir-fry the chilli paste for about 10 minutes until fragrant and the oil has separated. Add the dried shrimp paste and stir-fry for another 5 minutes. Stir in the tamarind and sugar, then taste and adjust if necessary. The flavour should be a good balance of spicy, sweet, sour and salty.
9. Continue cooking the sambal for another 30 minutes, constantly stirring to make sure it doesn't stick to the wok or pan. Add a little more oil if the texture is too dry. Remove from the heat and let the sambal cool completely, then transfer to a clean airtight jar and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
10. Divide the blanched noodles among four bowls and top each with 1 tablespoon sambal, 3 tablespoons chilli pan mee sauce and a poached egg. Finish with the dried anchovies, spring onion and blanched bok choy. Serve with the fish ball soup.

Notes

• Fish balls are made with a fish paste and are commonly used in fried or soup-based Asian dishes. Look for them in the frozen section of larger supermarkets or your local Asian grocery stores. Fish cakes are similar to fish balls, and usually come as a thin rectangular cake, though there are many different shapes and flavours available these days.

• For the Chicken stock, you can replace the chicken bones with a whole chicken (about 1.2 kg) or chicken pieces (about 12 pieces) if you are planning to use the stock to make chicken rice or any other dish requiring chicken meat. Because this stock freezes well, it's worth doubling or tripling the quantities and storing the excess in the freezer for a quick meal another time.

Penang Local by Aim Aris and Ahmad Salim, published by Smith Street Books (RRP $39.99). Photography by Georgia Gold. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.