Wonton Noodle (or) Barbecue Pork Noodle

Delightful Noodle Dish of Singapore

As we moved to stay in Singapore in 1995, we struggled to adapt our eating habits because of a significant cultural gap. Every time we needed to go out to different places in town, there were many varieties of food available that we were not accustomed to at the time.
Photos of the food were made highly attractive to draw in customers to try the menu, and we were new to the sweetest, but interesting tastes of Singaporean cuisine.

I tried many different kinds of food from Singapore during our five-year residence. During our stay, I do not remember being very picky, as I thought every food was interesting and worth a try since I was a food lover. There were several times, however, when my choice of a meal was disappointing as it would not taste as good as well as it was displayed on the menu. But after staying a few years in Singapore, we fell in love with many different foods that we could eat frequently.

Even though we have moved out of Singapore today, we still make some of the food that we used to eat in Singapore. Chicken Rice, Wonton Mee, Lor Mee, Satay, and Roti Prata with curry sauce are some of the most memorable dishes that we frequently make at home now. A particular meal that I enjoy making that has always been popular by many is Wonton Noodles. The savory noodle dish has the complex flavor of both spicy and sweet and is easy to make at home if you have barbecue pork and dumplings handy.

In recent days, frozen dumplings and potstickers have been easy to find in the frozen section of many different grocery stores. We can also choose to make the homemade dumpling ahead of time instead. As I mentioned, the noodle dish should be easy to make, so why bother making one homemade? Using frozen dumplings and potstickers, we can minimize the prep time for this wonderful delicacy we enjoy to this day.

Wonton Noodle (or) Char siew Noodle (5 Serving)

Ingredients

1 lb     Barbecue Pork
32 oz   Chicken Broth
3 tbsp  Dark soy sauce
2 tbsp  light soy sauce
2 tbsp  Sesame Oil
4 tbsp  cornstarch ( 4, 5 spoons may vary depends on the preferred thickness of the sauce)
1 pack  Wonton Noodle (12 oz.)
1/2 cup dry anchovies (small dry fish without head)
1 tsp    black pepper
1 tsp    white pepper
1 tbsp   Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp   Chili garlic sauce
2 cloves Garlic
1 tsp    fish sauce
3 tsp    chopped ginger
2 cups  cut green vegetable (Choy sum)
1 tbsp  oil
1 cup   water

Step By step instruction

1. Boil the noodle (wonton egg noodle) according to the packet direction. Rinse with cold water then strain it and set it aside.

2. Rinse the dried anchovies to make sure there is no more sand in that dried fish. (at least 3 times rinsing needed)

3. In the 4 quart pot, add the oil and heat up with medium-high heat.

4. Add the washed anchovies into the stir-fry garlic and ginger together.

5. Pour all the chicken broth and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

6. Strain out all the anchovies from the water.

7. Add dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, black pepper, fish sauce and oyster sauce together into the soup pot.

8. In the separate bowl, add cornstarch and 1 cup of water then mix it well to make sure to get a smooth mixture.

9. Pour that mixture into the soup pot and stir briefly to get thick gravy by adding cornstarch mixture.

10. Turn down the heat and simmer the sauce pot for another 20 minutes.
(Add sugar and salt to the sauce for your own taste)

11. Heat up the char sew (BBQ pork) in the oven or microwave to make it hot.
Then slice the meat and set it aside.

12. Boil the green vegetable in the separate pan and rinse with ice cold water to keep the green color. Strain those vegetables and set it aside in separate bowl.

13. Steam the frozen wonton or pot sticker in the steamer to make sure all dumplings are heated thoroughly. ( It is optional to make wonton pot stickers crisp in the non-stick pan with little bit of oil)

Preparing the bowl.

In the plate or bowl, Add the noodle (1 cup), add steam vegetables (on the side of the plate), add 2 or 3 pieces of dumpling at the side of the plate together with 4, 5 slices of char sew.  Then pour the sauce (about 1 or 1.5 cups) on top of the noodle.
This noodle is good to have it with pickled green chili and chili sambal for the spicy option.

Creamy Coconut Noodle

This type of Noodle is another option of our country's breakfast treat.  Every Mont Hin Nga ( Myanmar National food) shop serve this coconut noodle as an optional breakfast. For some people who are concerned about their cholesterol, they may choose to cook with dairy milk instead of using coconut milk.

Today, coconut related foods are much more popular in the west and considered a part of a healthy diet. Most grocery store shelves are occupied with coconut related ingredients such as coconut oil, cream, milk, water and coconut powder. Although varieties of preserved food are available at the grocery store, fresh coconut milk is ideal for any coconut related food.

I would like to share this recipe because of my best friend who moved away from my neighborhood 4 years ago. She is my best friend and also an adopted sister to me. I always miss those day we converse every morning after our children's school bus left.  As I cook this noodle dish frequently, I always set aside 2 to 3 servings for my sister and for my friend. She loves this recipe and always asks me how to cook it. I hope she will be able to make this noodle by following my recipe.

This recipe is a lot easier than making Mont Hin Nga. Sometime, we don't have enough time to cook the raw chicken. We may also use rotisserie chicken as an alternative to make the prep work more efficient.

Coconut Noodle  (5 to 6 Serving)

Ingredients

1 lb        Chicken breast bone less , skinless
1 cup      Shallot or onion (finely chopped)
5 cloves  Garlic (finely chopped) about 2 tbsp
1/2 Tbsp Fine chopped Ginger
1.5 cups  Onion   Square cut (1/2" * 1/2")  (for soup)
1 tbsp.    Chili powder
1 tsp       Turmeric powder
1 can      Coconut milk (8 oz.)
2 can       Chicken Broth (8 oz.)
1.5 cups   Besan powder
3 counts   Boiled egg (hard boiled) (sliced)
1 bag       Linguine pasta (fresh) (9 oz.)
1 Count    Lime
1 cup       Spring Onion (Thinly Sliced, for garnishing)
1 cup       Red Onion (Thinly Sliced , for garnishing)
1/2 cup    Oil
3 tbsp      Sugar
1 tbsp.     Salt
2 tbsp.     Fish sauce

Instruction

Prep 1.

1. Cut the chicken into cubed size and marinate with 1 tsp. salt.

Prep 2.

1. In the 1 qt bowl, add the besan powder with 2 cups of water. Mix it well to make it smooth without lump .

Prep 3.

1. Boil the noodle (linguine pasta according to packet instruction) But rinse with cold water.Then strain the noodle with strainer and let it cool down.

Prep 4.

1.  In the 4 Qt. pot, add the oil and heat the pot with medium high heat.

2.  Add finely chopped ginger, garlic and shallot (or onion) into the pan when the oil is smoking hot. Add the turmeric powder and stir to make all the chopped ginger, garlic and onion are blend it in till fragrant.

3. Mix the chilli powder with 2 tbsp of water . Then add to the pot and stir to mix all the ingredients.

4. When the chilli and onion are blending  well, add the marinated chicken and stir it nicely.

5. Add fish sauce while stirring the chicken. Then cook the chicken juices and fish sauce are   evaporated.

6. When the curry chicken is start sticking to the bottom of the pan, add the besan powder mixture together with chicken broth. Then let it boil.

7. Do not forget to stir frequently to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pot. Let the soup simmer for 30 minutes.

8. Add the square cut onion and coconut milk into the pot, stirring well.

9. Wait for another 20 minutes to let it simmer.

10. Add the sliced hard boiled egg into the pot as final ingredient.

11. Add sugar, salt, and fish sauce  to make your own taste. (no limit)
(Every food taste depends on each person's preference)

12. Turn down the heat to medium low heat and let the pot simmer for another 20 minutes   to bring out all the flavors .

Preparing the Serving Bowl

1. In the serving bowl, add 1 cup of boiled egg noodle or boiled pasta.
2. Pour at least 2 cups of soup into the bowl.
3. Garnish with 1 tbsp thinly sliced spring onion and read onion on top.
4. We may add the fresh lime juice to get sour taste. (optional)

We may also choose to make scratch made chicken broth (home made) instead of using chicken broth (store bought).

For garnishing, deep fried crispy yellow flat rice noodle or crispy chow main is great pair for that dish. But it is totally optional.

The creamy coconut chicken soup will taste better next day.