“Bak Chor Mee is one of the go-to foods we have in Singapore. One of my favorites is found in Simpang Bedok, at a spot that’s been there for more than 15 years.
There are many factors about why a Bak Chor Mee restaurant is considered good or not. In its purest form, the noodles are lightly tossed in a sauce made with liquid lard, soy sauce, Chinese vinegar, and sambal. Then the noodles are topped with ground pork and other delicious toppings. My favorite shop would have soy braised shiitake mushroom, sliced pork liver, and meat balls topped with crispy pork crackling. Another key criterion of good Bak Chor Mee is the QQ of the noodles. QQ is our version of al-dente and refers to the bouncy bite of the noodles.
I never really thought to make this until I discovered locally made Umi Organic ramen noodles. Then, I knew I wanted to made a Sibeiho version of Bak Chor Mee here in my adopted home of Portland. It’s so good that Sibeiho Bak Chor Mee has become a rotating family and friends meal favorite. On meat free days, I also make a delicious vegan version that is just as fun to eat and takes me down my Singaporean childhood food memory lane.”
Recipe by Holly Ong
Grew up in Singapore
Lives in Portland, OR
Profession: Co-Founder, Sibeiho, a Singaporean food startup
Leisure: Hike! Kayak! Drink Wine!
Word of the day: OMG! Thankful
Childhood cuisine: Singapore food is multi-cultural with a mix of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Nonya culinary influences
Makes 2 generous servings or 3 moderate servings
1 box (12 ounces) Umi Organic ramen noodles
1/2 cup Impossible Meat/Beyond Meat or ground pork
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
Pinch of salt
Noodles Sauce
1 tablespoon OMG! Sambal®
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinkiang vinegar (can substitute balsamic)
Optional: 1 tablespoon pork lard (homemade or store bought)
Garnishes
Cripsy shallots
Green scallions, cut into rings
Pork crackling
Optional Toppings
Canned chickpeas
Soy braised shiitake mushrooms (recipe follows)
1 pack pork meatballs (this is usually sold at Asian grocery stores in the freezer)
2 to 3 soy braised eggs (recipe follows)
Directions
Heat a large pot filled with water. While it’s heating up, assemble all your other ingredients. Mix together the Impossible Meat/Beyond Meat or ground pork with the white pepper, Shoaling wine, and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Open the Umi Organic ramen noodles and toss them gently to declump the noodle strands. This is important as it needs to cook in the pot with freely flowing water. Portion them into 2 or 3 depending on your serving size.
Whisk together the noodle ‘sauce’ and divide between 2 or 3 bowls.
When the water has big boiling water bubbles, you can cook the noodles. Be sure to reserve your cooking water afterwards.
Once the noodles are all cooked, divide them between the bowls and toss lightly in the noodle ‘sauce’.
Place the Impossible Meat/Beyond Meat or ground pork in a large slotting spoon and hold the spoon in the boiling water until the meat is cooked. The slotted ladle/ spoon is used because it acts like a sieve to cook the ground pork in the noodle water. If you put ground pork directly into vigorously boiling water, it would disintegrate and it would be hard to sieve it out. The closest western technique I can think of is poaching an egg when you position a slotted spoon in boiling water and crack a egg into it so as to not 'lose' the egg whites.
Once the meat is cooked, divide it between the bowls. Add the meatballs to the boiling water and cook until fully heated. Place on top of the sauced-up noodles. Add the optional noodle toppings and garnishes. Serve and enjoy!
Soy Braised Mushrooms and Eggs
40 grams dried shiitake mushrooms, about 6 to 8 pieces
1/3 cup light soy sauce
1/ 2 cup dark soy sauce
1/2 cup Shaoxing wine
1 1/2 cups water plus extra for soaking
2 eggs
Rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms. Then place them in a deep bowl, add water to submerge, and add a plate to weigh down the mushrooms. Soak overnight. If you forget and need this in a hurry, you can use hot water. Whatever you do, KEEP the mushroom water. You can use it as part of the 2 cups of water needed to cook the mushrooms the next day.
The next day, slice big shiitake mushrooms into thin slices and halve smaller ones.
In a small pot, combine the shiitake mushrooms, 2 cups of mushroom water, and light and dark soy sauce. Simmer over low heat until mushrooms are nice and soft--about an hour or so. Alternatively, cook in a slow cooker on low overnight.
Hard boil the eggs. Peel them and leave them to soak in the cooked soy mushroom liquid (with the mushrooms), preferably overnight to get the nice dark soy color. You can make this soy mushroom ahead of time. It keeps for up to 5 days.
Photos by Shawn Linehan.
