Pan Mee (Hakka Flat Noodle Soup)

Is started with a picture on Facebook from Rasa Malaysia.  It got me reminiscing my childhood 'pulling' the noodles and dropping it into the broth. Then came the thought...  I then posted that I might just attempt to make it. Then the craving came... followed by a day-long of rain and I decided this would be ideal on a cold day.

As soon as I got home, I checked to see if I had the ingredients. The basic stuff were there but I still had to go out to get some other stuff.  I started with the stock... MacGyver style, if you know what I mean... Pot of water to boil... some Maggi Ikan Bilis Stock Cubes... 3 cloves garlic... lots of pepper and some salt. Not too much slat hough as the flavour will come from the minced chicken and crispy ikan bilis too.

Then I quickly made the dough based on the recipe and allowed it to rest. By this time the stock had come to a boil. Switched the fire off and went off to buy the rest of the stuff that I needed. I needed a pasta machine, chicken (to replace the pork in the recipe), some vege (I had spinach in mind but they were not available), ikan bilis and of course, very important... CILI PADI.

When I got home I started with the minced chicken. Diced two chicken breasts, followed by a quick chop to mince it. Added some corn flour to it, pepper, soy sauce and sesame oil. Mixed it up and allowed it to rest a bit.  Chopped some garlic and tossed it into a pan with oil... add the chicken... I didn't have dark soy so I used sweet soy (kicap manis)... some oyster sauce, some fish sauce, lots of pepper... toss a bit... add water and allow it to reduce to my desired consistency. Voila! Done... I didn't add the shiitake mushrooms as my wife doesn't like it.

Then I fried the ikan bilis till crispy and set it aside and proceeded to prepare the noodles using my new pasta machine...

This is the dough. It should be sufficient for three to four portions... but it would only be sufficient for two if was my kind of portion. Hahaha...

This is the pasta maker... RM68.50...

This shot is an after thought... took it after I finished gobbling my noodles down. That's why you can see that it's contracted slightly.

The end product.. there was something missing... something crucial to making a good pan mee... the sambal belacan... next time... next time...

Slow-cooker Brined Chicken

My wife and I decided to have chicken for buka puasa today. She went out and bought the chicken yesterday and I brined the chicken last night for 12 hours. I used this brine recipe... just didn't put the olive oil. I stuffed some garlic in the cavity with a couple of bay leaves and added some black pepper. Brought the ehicken out in the afternoon and let it dry for a while. I then rubbed some paprika on the chicken. I wrapped some potatoes in aluminum foil and placed it on the base of the pot. I then three in some quartered onions on the base as well for moisture and flavour. Propped the chicken on the potatoes to avoid it sticking to the pot and to avoid the base from getting to moist. Set it to HIGH and let it cook away. Easy-peasy...

After THREE hours on HIGH... the chicken is ready.

This was dinner. Whole chicken, some brown sauce, sautéed asparagus with butter and garlic, potatoes, dates for breaking of fast and apple juice. Yummy...

The meat was tender and falling off the bone... look at the drumstick.

A closer look at the asparagus and the moist and tender chicken meat.

The chicken was tasty. You wouldn't know there was soy sauce in the brine nor would anyone know the chicken was brined. The saltiness went to the jus of the chicken at the base of the pot. Sadly I didn't take a picture of it. It was perfect to make gravy... which I intend to do as I have saved the jus. This recipe would be perfect for oven roasting where you'll be able to achieve a very crispy skin.

Next week... Slow-cooker Pot Roast!