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How to cook Bak chor mee

Bak chor mee is a Singapore noodle dish of springy egg noodles tossed in a tangy, savoury sauce of black vinegar, chilli and lard, topped with seasoned minced pork, sliced pork, pork liver and fish cake, and served with a small bowl of pork-bone soup. This home version builds the dish from its key parts: a simple pork stock, seasoned minced pork, a vinegar-chilli sauce and quickly blanched noodles

Ingredients

For the stock and soup

• 500 g pork bones (ribs or neck bones)
• 30 g ikan bilis (dried anchovies), heads and guts removed
• 20 g dried flounder (tai tor), optional, or add 10 g more ikan bilis
• 2 litres water
• 1 tsp white peppercorns, lightly crushed
• to taste salt

For the minced pork

• 300 g minced pork (about 20% fat)
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp water

For the other toppings

• 150 g pork loin or lean pork slices, cut thinly
• 150 g pork liver, sliced about 3 mm thick (optional)
• 1 pinch salt and white pepper for the liver
• 1/2 tsp cornflour for the liver
• 100 g fish cake, sliced
• 8 pork or fish balls (optional)
• 2 tbsp fried shallots (store-bought or homemade)
• 2 stalks spring onion, finely sliced
• 1 handful lettuce or choy sum, for blanching
• 2 tbsp crispy fried lard bits or fried ikan bilis

For the noodle sauce (per bowl; make 4 bowls)

• 4 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 2 tsp sugar
• 4 tsp chilli sauce or sambal chilli (adjust to taste)
• 4 tbsp shallot oil or lard (or plain oil)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp cooking liquid from the minced pork or stock

For the noodles

• 400 g fresh thin yellow egg noodles or mee kia (use mee pok for flat noodles)

Steps

1. Blanch the bones10 min
   Place pork bones in a pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 5 minutes until grey scum rises, then drain and rinse the bones under running water to remove the scum.
2. Simmer the stock45 min
   Return the cleaned bones to the pot with 2 litres of fresh water, the ikan bilis, dried flounder and crushed peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer over low heat, partly covered, for 45 minutes until the stock looks lightly golden and smells sweet and savoury.
3. Marinate the minced pork15 min
   While the stock simmers, mix the minced pork with soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, white pepper, sugar, cornflour and water. Stir in one direction for about 1 minute until the mixture turns sticky, then rest for 15 minutes.
4. Prepare the other toppings10 min
   Toss the sliced liver with salt, pepper and cornflour. Slice the pork loin thinly against the grain. Slice the fish cake and the spring onion, and wash and cut the vegetables into short lengths.
5. Mix the noodle sauce5 min
   In a bowl, stir the black vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, sugar, chilli sauce, shallot oil, sesame oil and 2 tbsp of stock until the sugar dissolves. Taste: it should be tangy first, then salty and slightly sweet. Divide evenly into 4 serving bowls.
6. Strain and season the stock3 min
   Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a clean pot and discard the solids. Season with salt to taste and keep at a gentle simmer over low heat, ready for blanching and serving.
7. Cook the minced pork4 min
   Spoon the marinated mince into the simmering stock in small clumps over medium heat. Poke gently to separate and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until it turns completely pale with no pink. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
8. Cook the sliced pork and liver3 min
   In the same simmering stock, cook the pork slices for 1 to 2 minutes until opaque and cooked through, then remove. Cook the liver slices for 1 minute only until just firm with no raw red centre, then remove so they stay tender.
9. Blanch fish cake, balls and greens3 min
   Cook the fish cake and balls in the stock for 2 minutes until heated through and the balls float. Blanch the vegetables for 30 seconds until bright green and slightly soft, then drain.
10. Blanch the noodles5 min
    Bring a separate pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Loosen the noodles and cook in 4 portions in a noodle basket or sieve for 20 to 30 seconds (mee kia) or 40 to 50 seconds (mee pok), shaking, until just springy with a slight bite. Drain very well, shaking off all water.
11. Toss the noodles2 min
    Add one portion of drained noodles to each bowl of sauce and toss thoroughly with chopsticks until every strand is glossy and coated. Taste and add a little more vinegar or chilli if you like.
12. Assemble the bowls3 min
    Top each bowl with minced pork, sliced pork, liver, fish cake, balls and greens. Scatter fried shallots, spring onion and crispy lard bits or ikan bilis over the top.
13. Serve with soup1 min
    Ladle hot stock into small bowls, add a few pork slices and spring onion, and serve alongside the noodles. Serve immediately while the noodles are still warm.

Tips

• Drain the noodles well; leftover water dilutes the sauce and makes the bowl taste flat.
• Cook the noodles one portion at a time so each stays bouncy and does not clump.
• The sauce should taste sharper than you think it needs to be, since the noodles and toppings will mellow it.
• Make the shallot oil by frying thinly sliced shallots in oil over low heat until golden; save both the oil and the crisp shallots.
• Keep the stock hot while you work so the toppings reheat instantly and the soup is ready to serve.

Food safety and allergens

Cook minced pork and pork slices until no pink remains, and liver until firm all the way through. Cool leftover stock and toppings quickly, refrigerate in covered containers and eat within 2 days, reheating until piping hot.

Contains: egg, fish, sesame, soy, wheat

Watch it being made

• Fast and easy Bak chor mee recipe | Elizabeth Haigh | Auntie LizChef Elizabeth Haigh · 494,388 views · YouTube
• Bak Chor Mee - 肉脞面The Meatmen Channel · 237,985 views · YouTube
• Singapore’s Best Pork Noodle Soup Recipe REVEALED! Bak Chor Mee Soup 肉脞面 Chinese Bedok 85 HawkerSpice N' Pans · 118,472 views · YouTube

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