After the richness of the pork ribs in my last post, I wanted to try something more simple and everyday. So I thought about how I normally make a quick mee hoon for dinner and how I could pimp it with Taucu. In my mind, I imagined it wouldn't work as the paste would end up in clumps and cling to the mee hoon unattractively. So it was a bit of a blocker which I needed to figure out.
After further research, I learnt that the Taucu must be pounded well before use (luckily my bottled version was already well ground) and that frying it well reduces lumps. Also, I decided to make this a mee hoon which isn't stir fried by adding liquid in the wok so that the mee hoon would absorb Taucu liquid while cooking instead of just plain water. This si similar to the theory of how pasta water is salted so that the pasta absorbs saltiness as it is cooked rather than being plain.
It turned out really good and was worth many repeats. I look forward to your comments on this one.
Mee Hoon with Taucu
1/2 onion, sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tblsp Taucu
1 tsp chilli paste (chili boh)
*You can put in any vegetables yo want. I went with a medley;
4 snake beans, chopped
2 stalks and heads of broccolini
1/4 carrot, chopped
1 handful of mee hoon, enough for 2 people, soaked in room temperature water for 20 minutes
1 tofu, sliced and pan fried
200 ml chicken stock (mine is home made)
1 tblsp light soy sauce
2 drops sesame oil
salt & black pepper
1 egg
In a wok, saute the onion and garlic on medium heat until fragrant. Lower the flame. Add the Taucu and chilli paste - continue to fry until the colour begins to darken. *This is the most important step so have patience and be careful not to burn the Taucu.
Add all the vegetables and fry together. Add in the remaining ingredients except the egg and increase the flame to medium. Control the heat so the liquid is simmering. *You will notice that there is a lot of stock - as I mentioned earlier, this is not a fried mee hoon but more a steamed dry mee hoon.
When the vegetables are tender and the mee hoon has absorbed the flavours, crack the egg into the middle and turn off the flame. Mix evenly so the egg cooks and sticks to the mee hoon evenly. The dish will dry up due to the binding quality of the egg.
Best eaten piping hot, chilli padi on the side. Enjoy!
After further research, I learnt that the Taucu must be pounded well before use (luckily my bottled version was already well ground) and that frying it well reduces lumps. Also, I decided to make this a mee hoon which isn't stir fried by adding liquid in the wok so that the mee hoon would absorb Taucu liquid while cooking instead of just plain water. This si similar to the theory of how pasta water is salted so that the pasta absorbs saltiness as it is cooked rather than being plain.
It turned out really good and was worth many repeats. I look forward to your comments on this one.
Mee Hoon with Taucu
1/2 onion, sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tblsp Taucu
1 tsp chilli paste (chili boh)
*You can put in any vegetables yo want. I went with a medley;
4 snake beans, chopped
2 stalks and heads of broccolini
1/4 carrot, chopped
1 handful of mee hoon, enough for 2 people, soaked in room temperature water for 20 minutes
1 tofu, sliced and pan fried
200 ml chicken stock (mine is home made)
1 tblsp light soy sauce
2 drops sesame oil
salt & black pepper
1 egg
In a wok, saute the onion and garlic on medium heat until fragrant. Lower the flame. Add the Taucu and chilli paste - continue to fry until the colour begins to darken. *This is the most important step so have patience and be careful not to burn the Taucu.
Add all the vegetables and fry together. Add in the remaining ingredients except the egg and increase the flame to medium. Control the heat so the liquid is simmering. *You will notice that there is a lot of stock - as I mentioned earlier, this is not a fried mee hoon but more a steamed dry mee hoon.
When the vegetables are tender and the mee hoon has absorbed the flavours, crack the egg into the middle and turn off the flame. Mix evenly so the egg cooks and sticks to the mee hoon evenly. The dish will dry up due to the binding quality of the egg.
Best eaten piping hot, chilli padi on the side. Enjoy!
