Hokkien mee is a beloved stir-fried noodle dish that is popular in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The dish is a product of Hokkien immigrants (from China’s Fujian province) adapting their recipes to local ingredients and techniques.
As a result, each region has a slightly different take on the noodles, from the prawn-based brothy preparation of the Singaporean version, to the dark and glossy Malaysian version, which is the inspiration for this recipe.
Malaysian-style Hokkien mee is traditionally made with pork belly, which lends a richness to this dish.
This version is vegan but has plenty of flavour, thanks to the use of umami-rich vegetables (cabbage and shiitake mushrooms) and the mix of dark soy sauce and kecap manis, which impart a rich, caramel-like flavour.
Cabbage, shiitake mushrooms and tofu add flavour and bulk to this vegan dish. (ABC News: Hetty Lui McKinnon)
Tips:
- Buying Hokkien noodles: The soft, chewy yellow Hokkien noodles are the defining feature of this dish. Find them in the Asian aisle of the supermarket or look for fresh Hokkien noodles, which are refrigerated when sold at Asian grocers.
- For a substitute: thick and chubby udon noodles are an excellent option.
- The vegetables are flexible: Green cabbage adds a lovely texture to the dish but you easily substitute with wombok, Asian greens or broccoli. Fresh shiitake mushrooms bring deep savoury flavour but could easily be replaced with Swiss browns, wild mushroom mix or even rehydrated Chinese dried shiitake mushrooms.
- Option to use water in place of vegetable stock: Vegetable stock, thickened with cornflour, brings welcome sauciness and viscosity to the noodles. If you don’t have stock (I make it using a vegetable bouillon powder), you could just use water.
Serve with a side of sambal, a South-East Asian chilli paste. (ABC News: Hetty Lui McKinnon)
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