Hand-Torn Pan Mee (Malaysian Hand-Torn Noodles)

Hand-torn pan mee also known as mee hoon kueh is a simple flour based noodle dough that is hand torn into bite-sized pieces and is cooked in anchovy broth. The noodles are silky smooth, soft, lightly chewy and bouncy. Topped with delicious pork and mushroom, fried anchovies and shallots, it is definitely the epitome of comfort food that brings back a lot of childhood memories.

INGREDIENTS

Dough:

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1-1½ cups water

Broth:

¾ cup anchovies
8 cups water

Meat and Mushroom Topping:

½ tsp oil
230g ground pork
3 garlic cloves
4 small shiitake mushrooms (soaked in hot water and sliced)
1/8 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tbsp oyster sauce
½ tbsp thick caramel sauce or kecap manis (for color)
Few drops sesame oil
Pinch of white pepper
2 tbsp water or mushroom water

Garlic Shrimp Topping:

½ cup small shrimp
2 garlic cloves (finely minced)
Salt and pepper (to taste)

450g choy sam or any green vegetables (cut into 2 inches long)

Garnish:

¼ cup fried anchovies
3 tbsp fried shallots
Sambal (optional)
Lime wedges (optional)
Red chilies or Thai bird’s eye chili in soy sauce (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Making the dough

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Make a well in the centre and fill in the egg. Mix the egg with the flour.
2. Add 1 cup of water and mix. Add more water as needed to form a soft dough.
3. Too dry dough is inflexible as it makes it hard to achieve the required thickness when making noodles. Lightly dust with flour while kneading if you accidentally added too much water. If the dough is wet, it also makes it hard to handle the dough later.
4. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes until elastic. Pick up the dough and throw onto the work surface 10 times in between kneading the dough. Do this 3-4 times through kneading time. You’ll notice throwing the dough helps it become smooth and elastic.
5. Divide the dough into two big balls. Wrap each with a sling wrap and let it rest for at least 1 hour.

Making the broth

1. In a large pot, add the anchovies and water. Bring the water to boil over high heat.
2. Once boiled, add 1½ tsp salt, turn the heat to medium and let simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the anchovies with a sieve or a slotted spoon.

Meat and Mushroom Topping

1. Heat a pan over high heat. Once hot, add the oil and fry the garlic and meat. When the meat is almost cooked, add the mushroom. Fry for a couple more minutes.
2. Turn the heat to medium high and add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, thick caramel sauce, sugar, salt, sesame oil and white pepper. Stir to combine well. Add the water, taste and adjust seasoning (if necessary). Remove from heat and set aside.

Garlic Shrimp Topping

1. Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add oil and lightly fry the garlic. Once the garlic turns light brown, add the shrimp. Season with salt and pepper. Fry until shrimp turns pink and is cooked through. Add a little water just so the shrimp is slightly moistened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cooking the Noodles

1. Over high heat, bring the liquid to boil. Add 6 cups of hot water into the broth. Once boiled, maintain the heat at medium high. Add more water here because the liquid will evaporate as we cook the noodles.
2. Hold the dough in your hand. Working from the top, press the dough as thin as you can while stretching it. Once you get a rough bite size, tear it off and drop it into the broth to cook. Press and stretch the noodles as even and thin as you can especially the edges for even cooking. Noodles will puff slightly when cooked.
3. Once the noodles float, let it cook for 1-2 more minutes (depending on the thickness and size). Remove cooked noodles with a slotted spoon and set aside.
4. Once you’re done add the vegetables. Add more hot water if needed (serving for four requires 6-8 cups of soup). Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Don’t forget that the meat and shrimp as well as the fried shallots and anchovies will bring in more flavour into the soup. Once the last batch of noodles and vegetables are cooked, place all the previously cooked noodles back into the soup. Turn off heat.

To Assemble

1. Add noodles, vegetables and soup into a bowl. Top with meat and mushroom, shrimp, fried anchovies and fried shallots. Serve immediately as is, or with a squeeze of lime or with chili or sambal.