Country Style Egg Noodle Soup/Pan Meen

 

I remembered fondly how my mother used to prepare the dough and we would gathered around the stove to drop in pieces of flattened dough into the water to cook, while a pot of soup stock of ikan bilies(dried anchovies)simmering on the stove. It is so delicious and comforting! "Pan Mein" is served with "Sayor Manis" (Malaysian-Chinese for sujaichoy) and chilli sauce. It is a native plant in Sabah and is commonly known as Sabah vegetable.I am not sure how and where this dish was originated, and the names vary by ethnic groups. It has been called Mein Fun Goh, Pan Meen, or Meehoon Kuih. It is actually a poor man's food where one can get these items with very little money. I never miss this dish when I visit Malaysia.I've seen the local hawkers in Malaysia made the noodles using the pasta machine and the soup is mostly meat bones and sugar--nothing like preparing it yourself at home. You can get dried anchovies in most Asian or Korean supermarkets and substitute baby spinach or Chinese choy sum for the sayor manis.

Dough:
400 gms. plain flour
½ tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup lukewarm water
Soup Stock:
3 ozs.dried anchovies, heads and guts removed
1 chicken carcass
300 gms. pork bones
300 gms. pork meat
1 medium size jicama, peeled and quartered
10 cups of water
1 small piece of ginger, crushed
2 tsp. ikan bilies stock (if available)
2 Tbsp. oil
Garnishing:
1 packet baby spinach, washed and drained
fried dried anchovies
4 pcs. dried cloud ears fungus, soaked to soften and thinly sliced
8-10 dried mushrooms, soak to soften and thinly sliced
2 Tbsps. oil
2 Tbsps. dark soy sauce
2 tsp. oyster sauce
Chilli Sauce:
5-6 red chili deseeded and minced finely
1 tsp. fish sauce
juice of 2 large lemons
salt, and sugar to taste

Method:
1. In a large bowl, add the ingredients for the dough and mix well to incorporate. Add just enough water to dough to form into a pliable dough. Add more water only if necessary. Note: You can pulse the ingredients in a food processor. Wrap dough with plastic and covered in a warm place for at least an hour, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. In a pan,heat oil and fry the anchovies till golden and crispy. Remove half of it and drained in paper towels for garnishing. Add the rest of the anchovies,water, chicken, jicama, ginger, mushroom stems, and meat into a large pot. Bring to a boil. Remove any scum floating on top of the soup and simmer soup on medium heat for about an hour. Season soup to taste.
3. Heat oil in a shallow pan and fry the cloud ear fungus and mushrooms till soft and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove and set aside.
4. In a bowl mix chilies, soy sauce, and fish sauce, and lemon juice together. Set aside.
5. Bring another pot with enough water to a boil with a few drops of oil and salt. Remove dough from the plastic wrap, use your thumb and index fingers,tear small chunks of dough into small pieces and flatten it into thin pieces and drop them into the water. Remove pieces of dough as they float up with a slotted spoon into another bowl. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough. Note: You can prepare the dough with a pasta machine or simply roll out on a floured surface thinly and cut into strips with a pizza cutter. Add the vegetables to the water to cook.
6.Arrange some cooked noodles in individual bowl, add some spinach and spoon hot soup into the bowls. Garnish with mushrooms mixture and fried onions. Serve hot with chili sauce or a dash of sesame seed oil.
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