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INGREDIENTS

STOCK

2 litres (8 cups) water

3 dried shiitake

mushrooms

4 pieces dried kelp

(kombu)

3 Tbsp dried wakame

2.5-cm knob ginger,

peeled and sliced

2 potatoes, peeled and

diced

1 tomato, cut into

wedges

1

/

4

cup red lentils or

soaked soybeans

1

/

4

tsp dark soy sauce

1

/

2

tsp light soy sauce

1 Tbsp fermented

soybean paste (

tau cheo

)

HOKKIEN MEE

2 servings of yellow

noodles and thick

rice noodles, in your

preferred proportion

3 Tbsp oil

3 cloves garlic, peeled

and minced

2 fried tofu puffs, cut

into bite sized pieces

4 blocks firm tofu,

broken by hand into

smaller pieces

1 large oyster

mushroom, sliced

2 handfuls of bean

sprouts

3 stalks Chinese chives,

cut into 5-cm lengths

1 Tbsp light soy sauce,

or to taste

GARNISHES

2 limes, halved

2 Tbsp sambal chilli

(see page 26), or to taste

claypot hokkien mee

Serves 2

METHOD

STOCK

1.

In a soup pot, add water, shiitake, kelp and wakame. Cook over

medium-high heat and remove kelp just before the water boils. Add

ginger, potato, tomato and lentils or soybeans. Bring to a boil and

simmer over medium-low heat for at least 30 minutes.

2.

Remove from heat and strain. Season with light soy sauce, dark soy

sauce and fermented soybean paste. This should yield 600–800 ml stock.

3.

Set aside the cooked shiitake for the noodles.

HOKKIEN MEE

4.

Cook the yellow noodles and rice noodles according to packet

instructions. Set aside.

5.

Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a claypot and add garlic. Fry until light brown.

6.

Add yellow noodles, rice noodles, tofu puffs, firm tofu and 125 ml

(½ cup) stock. Stir over medium heat for 1 minute until stock is

almost absorbed.

7.

Add 60 ml (¼ cup) stock, shiitake and oyster mushrooms and

bean sprouts. Simmer lightly covered over medium-low heat for

1–2 minutes until bean sprouts are slightly translucent.

8.

Add chives, mix everything together, add another 125 ml (½ cup)

stock before covering with lid and simmering for 3 minutes.

9.

Turn off the heat. Pour 125 ml (½ cup) stock over the cooked noodles,

or according to how soupy you prefer the dish. Top with cut limes and

sambal chilli.

NOTES

•

For the kelp in the stock that was not added to the final dish, you can make

kelp pickles, or use it in stir-fries or soups. To make pickles, slice them into

strips and marinate in soy sauce, vinegar and spices like star anise or chilli if

preferred, and leave overnight in the refrigerator.

•

The beauty of homemade Hokkien mee is that you can use whatever noodles

you fancy! I recommend thicker noodles as thin noodles will break up after

simmering in the broth for some time. Pasta can be a good alternative to

Chinese yellow noodles.

•

Garlic here can be replaced with preserved Chinese radish (

chai poh

). It gives a

wonderful umami while being subtle enough to let other flavours shine.

•

Chives add an extra layer of fragrance at the end. It can be replaced with

chopped coriander or parsley stem, or ready-to-eat seaweed, which serves the

same function with a different flavour profile.

•

Gluten-free options: swap yellow noodles with gluten-free pasta and use

tamari or liquid aminos to replace soy sauce.