Fish Ball Mee Pok (Mee Pok Tah Recipe)
One of the most popular hawker dish in Singapore has to be the humble dry mee pok noodles (“mee pok tah”/面薄干) . I love mee pok so much, I wish to eat it everyday if I am not on a low-carb diet >_<. “Mee pok” are flat egg noodles, which I liken as the Asian equivalent of linguine, but better (in my biased opinion). You can cook this with “mee kia” (a thinner version of mee pok) as well. If you are in the mood for a soupy dish instead, check out the bak chor mee soup recipe.
Related Recipes:
With the minced meat, this is also one of the popular variants of bak chor mee (minced meat noodles/肉脞面), with the other one usually served with mee kia, braised mushrooms, pork slices & pork liver. When I serve my family this bowl of dry fish ball mee pok (鱼圆肉脞面), the first verdict was “amazing, looks like!” followed by “taste like!” so that made me really happy :p
Before eating, remember to mix the noodles well to coat everything with the sauce. Delicious….!
From left to right – mee pok, lettuce, bean sprouts
A slotted ladle with big holes are ideal for cooking the noodles
Slotted ladle with smaller holes for cooking minced meat, bean sprouts and fish cake.
Whenever I queue at fish ball noodles and bak chor mee (minced meat noodles) stalls, I love to watch the hawker in action and that is where I learnt the steps of cooking this Singapore dish. Some hawkers do an extra step of ladling hot stock over the bowl of marinated pork for a short few minutes before actually cooking the minced meat in the pot. I later discovered through my own kitchen experiments that this little extra step keeps the minced meat very tender and not clumpy after cooking – don’t skip it!
Fish Ball Mee Pok Recipe
If you do not take chilli, substitute the sambal tumis with ketchup. For a halal version, omit the lard, use minced chicken instead of pork, and replace lard oil with shallot oil.
Ingredients:
- 1 litre home-made ikan bilis stock (you may also use hot water)
- 12 fish balls
- 4 fish dumplings
(A) Marinated Pork (per serving; you need four servings)
- 40 grams minced pork
- 1/4 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 dashes white pepper powder
- 1/2 tsp corn flour (starch)
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
(B) Sauce (per serving; you need four servings)
- 1/2 tsp Chinese fish sauce
- 1 tsp black vinegar
- 2 tbsp hot stock (see step A3 below)
- 1 tbsp sambal tumis if you do not take chilli, substitute with ketchup
- 1 tsp crispy lard pieces optional
- 1 tsp lard oil may substitute with shallot oil
(D) Noodles (per serving; you need four servings)
- one bundle (about 70 grams) of “mee pok” (or “mee kia“)
- a small handful (about 10 grams) of beansprouts
- 8 thinly sliced fish cake
(E) Serving suggestions
- sliced chilli padi in light soy sauce
- chopped spring onions
- a few leaves lettuce torn to smaller pieces by hand
Directions:
- Add (A) in a small bowl and allow to marinade for at least 10 minutes in the fridge.
- In a soup pot, bring soup stock to a simmer. Add fish balls and fish dumplings. Cook until the fish balls float to the surface which takes a few minutes. Keep the soup bubbling at a low heat.
- In a serving bowl, add (B). Stir with a spoon to mix it well.
- Add one ladle of hot stock over the bowl of marinaded pork. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, bring another pot of water to boil. Cook mee pok through a slotted ladle until just cooked, about 30-45 seconds. Rinse the noodles in tap water for a few seconds, drain and add to serving bowl.
- Blanch fish cake slices and bean sprouts in a slotted ladle for 30 seconds. Drain and transfer to serving bowl.
- Return the bowl of marinated pork in hot stock back to the soup pot. Cook the pork for a few seconds using a slotted ladle and separate the pork to smaller pieces with wooden chopsticks. Drain the pork and top the serving bowl.
- Garnish with lettuce and spring onions. Ladle a small bowl of soup to go with the mee pok. Serve with a saucer of sliced chilli padi in soy sauce.
- Mix the noodles thoroughly with the sauce before eating.