Topic: Singapore egg noodles

[DalPuri]

I used to buy a lot of frozen pork belly from Bejam (before Iceland) and make a dish from The Anglo-Indian family's Recipes.
Bean and Meat curry.
Pork belly and French beans. Delicious. 

I dont remember any of the main dish recipes i'm afraid. 

[Peripatetic Phil]

Is the knorr in place of soy/seasoning ?

It is indeed, Mr Wisty.  I tried the dish while it was being cooked, and it clearly lacked salt/seasoning : I reached for the Knorr Chinese Catering Chicken Stock powder, then retracted my hand and used one Knorr stock pot instead.  It worked very well, although I still dressed it with a little soja sauce while eating it.  Had I not added the two fresh chillies (overkill, see above), I would probably have dressed it with a little XO chilli oil as well.

** Phil.

[Kashmiri Bob]

Looks delicious Phil.  Must try it. Not had much success with noodles in the past.  Had some of those Amoy straight-to-wok ones, which ended up as straight-to-bin.

Rob 

[Peripatetic Phil]

Thak you for your kind comments, chaps : if you want to replicate it, I would strongly recommend replacing the fresh egg noodles by fresh rice noodles -- the latter work much better in this dish, to my mind.

** Phil.

[fried]

Any chance of the Char siu recipe?

[Peripatetic Phil]

Any chance of the Char siu recipe?

To be honest, we rarely make it : like pai pa duck and crispy pork, the restaurants make such a good job of it that there is little point in trying to replicate their achievements at home.  Some time ago I listed a "simulated char siu" recipe (probably under Singapore Rice Noodles) that uses ham and a commercial char siu sauce to get pretty d@mn close, otherwise I would fall back on Kenneth Lo, Ko Chai (Patricia Young) or Ella Mei Wong.  Let me know if you'd like one of these transcribed : I don't really want to have to transcribe all three !

** Phil.

[fried]

Thanks Phil. I'd appreciate a transcript of just one that you think is good  . I've never thought of making it at home, but since I've just moved a bit further from the Chinese area of Paris, I'd like to have a go at doing it myself.

Thanks again.

[Peripatetic Phil]

OK, here is Ella-Mei Wong's, from her Yum Cha : Dim Sims & other Chinese Delights

CHAR SIEU

2lb pork loin
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup sweet sherry
2 tablespoons honey dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water

Cut pork into thick strips 2" wide and and any length that will fit in the oven.  Rub in salt.  Marinade in hoisin sauce, sugar, soy sauce,  tomato sauce, garlic and sherry for at least one hour.  Brush on melted honey, then barbecue, roast, or hang pork strips with hooks from the top shelf in the oven, with a pan below to catch the drippings.  Cook for 30--40 minutes at a moderate temperature.  Alternatively thread the pork strips on a rotisserie and cook at a moderate temperature for 30--40 minutes.

Variations (from other authors) : +:= peanut oil or sesame oil, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon MSG, 1/4 teaspoon mixed herbs (Ken Lo),  use both thick and thin soya sauce (Ko Chai).

** Phil.

[fried]

Thanks again.

I also imagined there'd be some food colouring in it for some reason.

I'll try it soon.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Thanks again.  I also imagined there'd be some food colouring in it for some reason.  I'll try it soon.

Yes, there is no doubt that char siu is normally red, and there is nothing in the recipes listed by all three authors which could account for that, so it would indeed seem that a little E-number might be needed !  Do let us know how you get on.

** Phil.