Mee Pok Noodle (Singapore Style Noodles)

Recipe is taken from a blog - teczcape and serves well in satisfying my craving for this singapore-styled dry noodls, having stayed away from Singapore for a number of years. For those who are not familiar with Mee Pok Mee pok is a type of Chinese noodle that is flat and yellow, often varying in thickness and width. Most hawker stalls (Singapore, Malaysia) mee pok come in two variants- fish ball mee pok (hee wan mee), and minced meat mushroom mee pok (bak chor mee). The sauce in which you toss the noodles is an important aspect of the dish, and is often 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 four components: chilli, oil, vinegar and other condiments such as soy sauce and pepper.

• Ready In: 15 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

•  noodles (Mee Pok, if mee pok is not available, use linguine or other long pasta you wish)
• 1  lb ground pork
• 10 -15  caps shiitake mushrooms, julienned
• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 1  tablespoon  red chili pepper flakes
• 3  garlic cloves, finely minced
•  chinese black vinegar, to taste
•  dark soy sauce, to taste
•  salt and black pepper, to taste
•  fried shallots, garnish

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil, add noodle and a large pince of salt, return to boil and cook.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil over medium heat in large frying pan, fry shallots till light brown.
3. Remove shallots from pan, leaving oil in pan.
4. Add minced meat, fry for 3-4 mins, add dark soy sauce, stirring and breaking up the meat till browned and fragrant.
5. Add shitake mushrooms, lightly fry for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add vinegar. If mixture looks dry, add chicken broth/water and let it simmer 2-3 minutes.
7. When cooked in pan, transfer to a bowl.
8. Add olive oil, chilli and garlic to another pan, lightly fry for 1-2 minutes.
9. When pasta is done, drain well and pour into frying pan containing EVOO, chilli and garlic.
10. Add portions of meat, mushroom, some vinegar, salt and peper, and toss well.
11. When serving, garnish with shallots and top with remaining portions of meat and mushroom.