How to Make Wheat Noodles for KL Hokkien Mee

I did a near-identical broadcast on this a couple of years ago but made a couple of minor tweaks to the KL Hokkien Mee recipe this time around, so I’m re-sharing the recipes here.

FYI the title of this broadcast originally made reference to homemade udon, but the ingredients are such a diversion from traditional udon that I’ve decided instead to call it wheat noodles.

Also, this noodle recipe was pulled from my friend and fellow Serembanian Lily Ng’s blog – lilysbest.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/homemade-udon-noodles.html – and in it she similarly admitted that she should call it something other than udon, even though that was what she set out to make originally.

Homemade Wheat Noodles

Ingredients –

3 cups plain flour

3 cups tapioca starch

3 tsps salt

1 ¾ cups water

Pot of salted water for boiling the noodles

Large bowl of cold water

Method –

1. Set aside ½ cup tapioca flour for dusting.
2. Combine plain flour and water and begin to mix in dough mixer. Gradually add tapioca flour.
3. Knead until soft and pliable. Remove and store in a bag for 3 hours.
4. Bring pot of water to a boil.
5. Cut about ¼ of the dough from the bag and roll on bench, dusting with tapioca flour as needed.
6. Roll into a rectangular shape about ½ cm in thickness. Cut into ½ cm strips.
7. Drop the dough strips into the water in loose strands. Be careful not to over-agitate the noodles during the cooking process or they will break.
8. Noodles will begin to float to the surface when they’re done. Cut a noodle in half to  make sure it’s completely cooked through, then remove the rest with a sieve.
9. Transfer into bowl of cold water, then remove and it’s ready for use.
10. Repeat with rest of dough.

KL Hokkien Mee

Ingredients –

4 prawns, peeled

4 slices fishcake

2 pieces squid

2 slices chicken

1 TBS minced garlic

250g thick Hokkien or Udon noodles

Some Chinese greens eg. Choy Sum (I used Baby Bok Choy because that’s what I had on hand)

Seasoning –

2 TBS Thick Caramel Sauce (aka thick soy – I use Cheong Chan)

1 tsp light soya sauce

2 tsps oyster sauce

200ml chicken stock or water

1/2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp chicken stock granules

Dash of pepper

Steps

1. Mix tapioca starch with cold water and set aside.
2. Heat up a saucepan until smoking, then add about 2 tablespoons of oil and bring to smoking point.
3. Add garlic, then noodles and fry briefly.  Add prawns, fishcake, squid and chicken and cook a further minute.
4. Add seasoning ingredients and allow to simmer.  Adjust to taste.
5. Simmer until the sauce is thickened and noodles are coated with gravy, adding the choy sum towards the last 30 seconds or so.
6. Remove from heat and serve with fresh belacan (shrimp paste) sauce with calamansi lime.