Pan Mee/Ban Mian
I have been feeling under the weather lately and I finally caved into making my own pan mee (or commonly known as ban mian). This bowl of noodle soup holds an important role in my heart because it is very comforting and truthfully, it reminds me of the Sunday brunches my mother used to take-away for me while I worked as a weekend swimming coach. I also find that pan mee can be garnished and topped with pretty much anything you like. From pork to chicken to even fish balls. So here’s my simple recipe on pan mee ; the most comforting bowl for a cold rainy day too.
Dough/Noodle Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
3/4 cups water (if this is too wet, add another teaspoon of flour)
Broth Ingredients
1/3 cup dried anchovies
4 cups water
2-3 red dates (optional)
Topping Ingredients
150g pork slices (or ground pork)
1 tbsp oil
4 small shiitake mushrooms, sliced (soaked in hot water and sliced)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tsp soy sauce
½ tsp oyster sauce
½ tsp thick caramel sauce
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sesame oil
½ tsp oil
Pinch of white pepper
1 tbsp water (or mushroom stock from the water that soaked the mushrooms earlier)
Garnish
Blanched choy sam
Sambal
Fried shallots or anchovies
Red chillies or Thai bird’s eye chilli in soy sauce (optional)
Steps:
In a mixing bowl, combine all the dough ingredients and knead until the dough becomes elastic. Cover with cling wrap and allow it to rest for 1 hour.
In a pot, add all the ingredients for the broth and just allow it to simmer for 40 minutes.
In a pan/wok, heat oil on high heat and add the garlic and pork. Stir fry until meat is slightly under cooked.
Add in the mushrooms slices and continue to cook for a couple about 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat and add in the rest of the meat ingredients and coat it with the sauce. Stir well to evenly coat all of the ingredients.
If more seasoning is needed, add more salt and pepper to your liking. Once done, remove from the heat and set aside.
After the hour has passed, divide the dough into smaller sections and roll each dough ball out to desired thickness (I like my pan mee a bit thicker)
Bring a pot of water to boil and with the rolled out dough, start tearing off the dough tear it off into the water.
Cook the noodles in to the pot one batch at a time, making sure they have enough room to cook and won’t clump together.
Once the noodles are ready, they will float to the surface of the water.
When the noodles are cooked, place it in a bowl, add the pork and mushrooms topping and garnish to your liking.
Enjoy while it is warm!
