Hakka Noodles 客家麵

When my friend Makcik Manggis from "Jom makan, jom masak masak.." requested for some Hakka dishes, this simple noodle dish sprang to mind (more wonderful Hakka dishes on the way). This is a popular hawker dish in Malaysia, there is also a very similar dish in Taiwan where there is a sizable Hakka population. I rendered some chicken fat and used some of the delicious cracklings as toppings, it is definitely worth the extra 15 minute jog. Selamat mencuba makcik!

P.S This is a halal version using chicken but use pork if your prefer. 

serves 2

you'll need;

1 chicken breast, minced, marinated with dash of soy, white pepper, sesame oil and corn flour

1/2 cup of dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes and diced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup of mushroom soaking water

1/2 cup of chicken stock

dash of soy

dash of fish sauce

dash of white pepper

corn flour solution

3 fresh egg noodles (thick) 

bean sprouts, blanched

1 spring onion, chopped

chicken cracklings (optional)

homemade crispy shallots 

oil used for frying shallots (shallot oil) or chicken fat

Marinated minced chicken and cubed mushrooms.

Saute garlic til lightly brown then add in the chicken, fry for a minute then add in the mushrooms.

Add seasonings, stock and mushroom soaking water. Simmer for a few minutes, check for seasonings then thicken with a little corn flour solution.

Cook noodles with plenty of hot water for 15 seconds, remove and rinse in a big pot of cold water. Bring the water back to a rapid boil, return noodles and cook til al dente. Blanch the bean sprouts.

Place a little chicken fat (or shallot oil) and a dash of soy in a bowl, mix in the cooked noodles and blanched bean sprouts. Ladle the meat and mushroom sauce over and top with chopped spring onions, chicken cracklings and crispy shallots. A bowl of broth with choysum and some cut chillies with soy will complete this wonderful meal.