Ming and some friends had requested for this – so here we go! Max’s mom (who is Hakka) used to cook this a lot.

What’s different about MaMaMax’s mom soup is the use of a lot anchovies as well as shallots to sweeten it up.

Mee Hoon Kueh is a type of pan mee noodles that we enjoy eating. It is such a hearty and wholesome meal. The name is derived from Hokkien – mee hoon means wheat flour, and kueh means cake (in Hokkien and other dialects and languages).

Hand-pulled noodles

Mee Hoon Kueh comprises hand-pulled noodles made from all-purpose flour cooked in savoury anchovies-based soup. It is then topped with sliced meat, fried anchovies, vegetables, mushrooms and fried shallots.

Our favourite pan mee spots in PJ

Some of our favourite kopitiams to eat this dish include Restoran Hock Thai in SS2, and Chun Kee @ Restoran Kim Seng in Section 17.

Sweet veggies, savoury anchovies

In our view, a good bowl of Mee Hoon Kueh should have thin hand-pulled noodles with soup that is sufficiently savoury. Sayur manis (ma ni cai) is the best vegetables as it adds sweetness to the broth. And of course, the fried anchovies should be crispy.

The biggest challenge is making/cooking the noodles to get the perfect consistency and chewiness. If it’s too thick, you get dough is that is tough and uncooked in the middle. It should be sufficiently thin and chewy. Mee Hoon Kueh is best eaten with sambal chilli on the side.

Key Tips

* The key to good mee hoon kueh is to really pull it to get thin slices.
* Also, sayur manis (ma ni cai) is really the best veggie for pan mee soup (MamaMax’s recipe is super yums). Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any so choy sum is the next best veggie for this dish.
* The anchovies-shallot soup should be sufficiently savoury, so go easy on the final seasoning and toppings (especially the anchovies). A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY. The remaining oil used from frying the shallots, anchovies and minced meat can be poured into the soup base to UNLOCK FURTHER FLAVOURS!
* Minced chicken/pork is the usual choice – but MamaMax’s recipe involves marinated pork slices – so we follow tradition here!
* We cook for individual servings at the end to yield the best results!
* You may substitute the hand-pulled noodles with ready-made noodles to save time and effort.

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For videos and step-by-step instructions, check out our Instagram post here.

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Key Steps in Pictures

*Preparing the hand-pulled noodles for cooking*

Mee Hoon Kueh [Recipe]

Recipe by ThoKoh MakanCourse: Breakfast, LunchCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Intermediate

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

A recipe for one of our favourite noodles dish ever.

Ingredients

Noodles
250g all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp oil
Pork marinade (or chicken)
150g sliced pork/chicken (or minced meat)
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
dash of salt & pepper
Toppings
5 shiitake mushrooms, soaked and stemmed removed, sliced
7-8 shallots, chopped
7-8 garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 stalks of choy sum (or handful of sayur manis)
1/2 cup dried anchovies
cooking oil
Soup base
7-8 shallots, chopped
1 cup dried anchovies
2.5 litre water

Directions

Make noodle dough
Pour flour into a mixing bowl and crack egg into the middle. Slowly mix with hands as you gradually pour water into the mix. Add the oil and salt.
Knead until dough is no longer sticky. And flour and water accordingly to get the right consistency. Once done, set aside.
Marinate meat
Marinate the sliced pork/chicken with the seasoning and set aside.
Also soak dried shiitake mushrooms.
Prepare toppings
Heat oil in pan and fry shallots until crispy and golden brown. Drain, remove and set aside.
Add anchovies into pan (add oil if necessary). Fry anchovies until crispy and golden brown. Drain, remove and set aside.
Add garlic into pan (again, add oil if necessary) and saute until fragrant. Add the meat, followed by mushrooms. Fry until meat is is cooked. Drain and set aside.
The remaining oil in pan can be kept and added when making the broth.
Prepare soup base
You may wash the anchovies and rinse 2-3 times until water becomes clear. Remove anchovies’ heads to prevent bitterness in soup.
Add anchovies, water, shallots, and remainder oil (from frying the toppings earlier) into a pot.
Bring to boil, and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. Season with salt & pepper if necessary, but the soup should be savoury enough with the anchovies.
Once done, turn off heat.
Assemble for individual servings
Prepare a small pot and transfer some soup from the main pot to cook noodles for one serving.
Once soup is boiling, take some of the dough and gently pull to form a flat piece. Gently drop the noodles into the pot. Make sure the noodles is not too thick or it would be under-cooked in the middle. [You may just use ready-made noodles].
Let the noodles cook until they float. Add the veggies and boil until they are cooked.
Once done, turn off heat and pour content into a serving bowl. Top up with fried anchovies, fried shallots, cooked meat. Serve with some sambal chilli on the side and enjoy!

Notes

The key to good mee hoon kueh is to really pull it to get thin slices. You may substitute the hand-pulled noodles with ready-made noodles to save time and effort.
Sayur manis (ma ni cai) is really the best veggie for pan mee soup. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any so choy sum is the next best veggie for this dish.
The anchovies-shallot soup should be sufficiently savoury, so go easy on the final seasoning and toppings (especially the anchovies). A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY. The remaining oil used from frying the shallots, anchovies and minced meat can be poured into the soup base to UNLOCK FURTHER FLAVOURS!
Minced chicken/pork is the usual choice – but MamaMax’s recipe involves marinated pork slices – so we follow tradition here!
We cook for individual servings at the end to yield the best results!