Mee Shay (or) Noodle of Shan State ( Food from Eastern Province of Burma)
This Noodle recipe is our favorite family recipe that we make as most weekends delicacy. My father tried to make this combination of this noodle recipe since we were very young.
As I am back from Singapore and Burma trip, I asked my family " What typical dish do you want this weekend? " My son suddenly answer " Mee Shay Please!". I am also happy to make this dish and never get bored of enjoying this spicy and tasty dish. This noodle has different types of Ingredient which are most related with Chinese sauces and pickled vegetables.
Every time I made that dish, we always have our dinner together with my sister family who live near to my city.
This type of noodle has several ingredients that help the noodle convincing to be so flavorful dish. This noodle dish can be made from Japanese Udon noodle, prepared with either chicken or pork.
Last 25 or 30 years ago, this typical noodle dish prepared with wide, flat wheat noodle that was the pretty famous dish at one big name cafe ( Not sure that cafe is still there now). My dad treated us as weekend branch every time we were visiting Shwedagon Pagoda ( Famous Tourist Landmark of Rangoon, Burma).
There is another reason for writing this recipe that my close friend who kept on asking me how to make that dish. Hope everybody enjoys making this dish together with me by following those complicated ingredients and steps.
Shan Mee Shay ( or ) Noodle of Shan State ( Food from Eastern Province of Burma)
Ingredients ( 4-5 serving)
1 lb Fresh Fettuccine Pasta (or Any dry wheat Noodle )
1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken (or) Pork
1 cup Salted Soybean
1/2 cup Salted Black bean
1 lb (pkt.) Pickled Mustard Leaves
1/2 lb Pickled vegetable from Shan State ( optional)
2 cups Fresh bean sprout
1 cup Sliced Ginger
4 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
3 tsp Black pepper
1 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
5 tbsp Corn Starch (or) Potato Starch
5 tbsp Crushed red pepper
1 tsp Chilly powder
2 tbsp Fine chopped Garlic ( For Noodle)
1 tbsp Fine chopped Garlic ( For Meat)
2 tbsp Fine chopped Chinese Celery leaves
1 tbsp Fine chopped Chinese Celery leaves ( Garnish)
1 tbsp Fine chopped Spring Onion ( Garnish )
5 tbsp Canola oil
2 tsp Salt for meat
Instructions
1. Season the meat with salt, Dark Soy Sauce and 1 tbsp light Soy Sauce. Then put that meat in the 2 Qt pot with 2 cups of water and ginger. Let it boil with the medium-low heat on the stove.
2. If we cook with pork, we need to let the meat pot simmer for at least 30 minutes with low heat. When the meat is tender enough to eat, it is ready. Cut the meat into small pieces 1/4 inch square size and set it ready in the bowl together with meat broth.
If the meat is chicken it will take only 15 to 20 minute to boil. Then cook small pieces of boiled chicken meat, 1 tbsp oil, chopped garlic 1 tbsp and 1/2 tbsp sliced ginger, 1 tsp chilly powder, add everything together and cooked again for 10-15 minutes.
3. Mix the 2 tbsp chopped garlic and 2 tbsp chopped Chinese celery with 1/2 cup of cold water. Set it ready in a small bowl.
4. In small pot ( 1 qt ) pot, add salted soy bean together with soy sauce then heat the pot with medium-high heat just to make it warm ( about 5 minutes). Set it ready in the small bowl too.
5. In the skillet, add oil, chilly powder and crushed red pepper then heat the pan with medium-high heat just to make fragrant ( for 3-5 minutes). ( Be careful not to burn the chilly oil because it can be easy to get burnt and taste bitter). Set it in the small bowl also when it is ready.
6. Cut pickled mustard into small pieces, put all chopped pickled vegetable into the pan that we use at step 5. Heat those pickled vegetables for 5 minutes just enough to kill bad bacteria from it.
Set it in the bowl when it is heated through.
7. In 1 qt pot on the medium-high heat, add 1 cups of water and let it boil. Mix the cornstarch with 4 tbsp of water in the cup. When the water is boiling, add the mixture of cornstarch into that pot and turn down the heat to low then start stirring with a spoon until this glue is bubbling. It may take about 5 to 10 minutes to start boiling. When it starts boiling turn off the heat and set it aside.
8. Prepare the fresh pasta noodle by following the packet instructions. Some fresh prepared ready to eat noodle, briefly make it warm in the boiling water for 1 minute, then strain it and set it ready in the bowl.
9 . Prepared the bean sprout by rinsing in the cold water to clear all the darts. Then Put it in the microwave safe bowl with 1 tbsp of water and cook with high heat for 1 minute.
We could just use the very hot boiling water to steam the bean sprout for 1 minute if we choose not to use Microwave.
10. When all the prep ingredients are ready, we can start fixing the delicious noodle bowl.
11. In the individual serving bowl, put the hand full of prepared noodle ( about 2 cups)
Add 3/4 tbsp of slated soybean sauce (step 4), 1 tsp of garlic mix ( Step 3), 1 tbsp of pickled vegetable ( step 6), 1 tsp of fried chilly oil ( step 5), 2 tbsp of chopped meat ( step 2) and 2 tbsp of glue ( step 7). Garnish this noodle bowl with a little bit of chopped spring onion and chopped Chinese celery on top.
12. Enjoy the noodle bowl by mixing all the ingredients together thoroughly with chopsticks and spoon. If we have chicken broth boiled from the bone with ginger, enjoy this noodle together with clear chicken soup garnish with pepper and spring onion.
It is complicated but worth trying if there is no restaurant available to serve this dish.
(Note: In the Photo, I used two different types of noodle and meat individually )
