Mee pok
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Mee pok
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| Traditional Chinese: | 麪薄 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese: | 面薄 | ||||||
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Mee pok is a type of Chinese noodle that is flat and yellow, often varying in thickness and width. The dish is of Teochew origin and is eaten in Chaoshan (China), Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. They are usually served tossed in a sauce (often referred to as "dry", or tah in Min nan/Hokkien), though sometimes served in a soup (where it is referred to as "soup", or terng). Meat and vegetables are also placed on top.
Mee pok can be categorised into two variants, fish ball mee pok (yu wan mee), and mushroom minced meat mee pok (bak chor mee). Bak chor mee is usually exclusively made with flat noodles only, while yu wan mee can be made with other types of noodles.
Mee pok is a staple offering in hawker centres and coffee shops in Singapore and usually more than one stall would be selling it, together with other Chinese noodle dishes.
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[edit] Mee pok sauce
The sauce in which the noodles are tossed in is a very important aspect of the dish, and is considered a representation of the cook's skill and experience. The importance of the sauce in mee pok can be thought of similarly as the sauces that accompany pasta.
The sauce consists of 4 components: chili, oil, vinegar and other condiments such as soy sauce and pepper. The chili is made from various ingredients and usually consists of elaborate processes such as frying and blending. The chili is what sets a good Mee Pok apart from a bad one. Oil is also essential for ensuring good smooth texture in the noodles. Traditionally, the oil from frying lard is used, together with the deep fried cubes of lard. However, vegetable oil is sometimes used as a healthier version, though at the expense of taste. Vinegar is added for an added sourness, and like other parts of the sauce, one can request to the cook how much vinegar he/she would like.
Occasionally the chili sauce is omitted and tomato sauce used instead, this is usually the case for children, who are uncomfortable with the spiciness of the chili.
[edit] Soup
Soup is served on a side bowl if one request for the "dry" version, or served together with the noodles for the "soup" version where the sauce is omitted. The soup is often of a mediocre quality, as the "soup" version is not requested as often as the "dry" version. Exceptions to this are a few hawkers who specialize in the "soup" version, however these are very rare.
It is common practice to leave the soup unfinished in both the "dry" and "soup" version, as it is often made using large quantities of salt and MSG.
[edit] Mee pok noodles
Usually, the noodles are factory made, and requires substantial preparation before cooking. Different hawkers prepare and cook their noodles differently, but the desired outcome is the same: springy noodles that have a firm bite and are not soggy.
Hawkers often toss the noodles vigorously to remove excess flour and soda and to separate noodles which have stuck together. Other processes include stretching the noodles, cutting into a desired length, and separating into serving portions.
The cooking process of the noodles usually consists of blanching in hot and cold water multiple times, though some hawkers omit the cold water. The noodles are then drained substantially and placed in either sauce or soup.
[edit] Bak chor mee
This version of mee pok consists of no fish products such as fish balls or fish cakes. The noodles are often served with minced meat, pork slices, pork liver (tur kwa), sliced mushrooms, meat balls, beansprouts, bits of deep-fried lard and a slice of lettuce. More traditional hawkers will also place a few small pieces of fried crispy sole fish as garnishing.
[edit] Fish ball mee pok
This version of mee pok is usually served with toppings of fish balls, sliced fish cakes, Geow (a type of small dumpling made with fish meat paste wrapping a small bit of minced meat), minced meat, meat balls, lettuce or taugeh (beansprouts in Hokkien). Requests can be made to add or omit any of the above toppings, to prepare it in soup or "dry" style, and with or without the chili sauce.
[edit] Other variants of toppings
Newer varieties of toppings include deep fried dumplings, abalone slices, imitation crabstick, and other processed fish products.
[edit] Mee pok in popular culture
- Mee Pok Man is the title of a film directed by Eric Khoo, a Singaporean film director.
- Bak chor mee featured prominently in an episode of The Mr Brown Show, which satirized the James Gomez saga during the 2006 Singapore general elections.
