Pan Mee or Flat Egg Noodles is a Malaysian favourite that's popular in West Malaysia, namely Kuala Lumpur. It's a type of hand made egg noodles of Hakka origins, served in an broth derived from anchovies.
Living in East Malaysia, it's pretty difficult to find good Pan Mee, so I decided to make my own. The first attempt had garlic that I sauted together with the anchovies before adding stock, which rendered the broth a little bitter and the second attempt, I decided to omit the garlic altogether and that yielded better results.
It's fun to make and utterly delicious. Prep time was minimal, especially if you prepare the dough ahead of time (recommended, since the dough needs to rest). Here's the recipe:
For the Noodles:
250g plain flour
1 egg
Pinch of Salt
80ml water
Mix all ingredients together, knead until even and rest the dough for atleast an hour. The more you knead, the better the texture of the noodle. Use a pasta machine to roll and cut or roll by hand and cut using a knife. I don't have a pasta machine so I do everything by hand.
For the stock:
Anchovies
Water/Stock (either chicken or pork)
Fry anchovies until crispy in a pot with some oil, remove some anchovies for garnishing, add stock and season to taste. (salt only, no pepper)
For the Garnishes:
1. Cangkuk Manis, blanched in the broth, just before serving
2. Previously Fried Anchovies
3. Mined Pork - Marinated in Soy Sauce, Pepper, Sesame Oil and Sauted
4. Wood Ear blanched in broth, just before serving
Assembly:
Cook noodles in boiling water, drain and place in a bowl. Add garnishes on top and ladle broth over into the bowl. Serve hot with a side of chilli in soy sauce and a wedge of lime.
Utterly. Delicious.
