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Hong Kong Style Instant Noodles
Note: Updated with recipe on page 2 which was previously missing. Sorry!
Today is the fifth day of Singapore’s partial lockdown (#circuitbreakersg), I hope everyone is adapting well to staying safe by staying home. Luncheon meat (spam) and instant noodles seems like the most popular foodstuff that were wiped out during the first waves of our country’s panic supermarket sprees. With these two ingredients, I thought of making Hong Kong style instant noodles, aka gong zai mian (港式公仔面) which is a popular breakfast dish at the tea cafes (茶餐厅) in Hong Kong.
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Since we probably can’t travel for quite a while, eating this dish makes me reminisce about the good food in Hong Kong and I look forward to the day we can travel overseas again. As an instant noodles dish, this isn’t too shabby, cos we have an egg, (luncheon) meat and greens in one bowl.
These are the ingredients for one person. For authenticity, use the popular Nissin 出前一丁 though if it is perfectly fine to use any brand of instant noodles. Ham (火腿公仔面) can be used in place of luncheon meat (午餐肉公仔面). For greens, I used baby Shanghai green which can be replaced with any available greens.
To start, simply make sunny side up egg(s) and pan fry the meat until lightly seared.
(By the way, here’s a fun trivial shared by Hong Kong reader modaciter via comment (thanks!) on the origins of the dish name. Apparently, the word “gong zai” (公仔/doll) was not due to the cute boy mascot on Nissin’s packaging pictured above. Before Nissin’s 出前一丁, there was another brand of instant noodles called Doll Brand whose Chinese name is “公仔麵”. Its popularity leads to 公仔面 becoming the “official” name for instant noodles, regardless of the brand of ramen noodles used.)
In a small pot, cook the instant noodles and greens with the powder soup sachet provided. You can also cook the noodles separately to remove the “wax” first if you have this practice. I used a personal-sized pot from Daiso which is the perfect size for one person. You can cook the instant noodles and eat straight from the pot later. It saves the effort of having one less bowl to wash up :p
Top noodles with the previously cooked luncheon meat (or ham) and sunny side up egg. Enjoy home cooking (even if they are instant noodles) during this period!
First posted in Oct 2009, updated in Apr 2020.
You manage to make every single texture you cook look tantalizing, whether it’s soupy, crispy, noodle-y…..how do you do it? I’m also curious how long an average photoshoot, like this one, takes you to set up/photograph? Your food must get cold I imagine.
Looks good!:wink:
You are making me feel sheepish because I think your photos are way better than mine. I’m really the noob here lol
Average photoshoot I would say about 10 minutes, more or less depending on how hungry I am, lol. Sometimes when I am too hungry, I didn’t take any photos and have to cook it again :D
Yum yum! I too default to instant noodles when I need a quick dinner!
Your pictures always make me drool on my keyboard. I love Nissan noodles as well, I bought 10 packs from Park N Shop the other day.
This type of noodle is called “gong zai” noodle not because of the cute character on the bag. In fact, there’s another brand of instant noodle in HK that was more popular before Nissan arrived, and that brand is called Doll Brand (Gong Zai Meen in Canto). So that’s why people still refer to instant ramen as gongzai noodle, even though Nissan is much more popular than Doll Brand these days. (I’ve tasted Doll Brand before and it’s not bad as well.)
Hey girl, thanks so much for your clarification! I’ve updated your explanation on my blog post. I’m so grateful. I didn’t know there was a doll brand, I got to find it when I go HK next time, just for comparison ;)
I love instant noodles….!! So unhealthy, but I just love them and can’t get enough of them. I try to reduce my intake of instant noodles, but there are times when I just crave for them. My favourite instant noodle is actually an Indonesian brand called ‘Indomie’ – Mie goreng flavour. I also love instant korean noodles and ‘Yum Yum’ – duck flavour – a Thai brand – the noodle texture is not very good but the soup is delicious. It’s funny, because I also wanted to post about instant noodles a few days ago in my blog, but haven’t done so yet, just because I just couldn’t take good shots of the noodles. You’re a pro in photography!
Oh I love the “Indomie Mee Goreng” as well! It was my childhood fave, where I didn’t dare to take much chilli then and I love dry instant noodles. Nowadays I eat the “Myojo char mee” which is also a dry version but with chilli spice :up:
I’m definitely not a pro in photography. Took several attempts to take the photos as well, and there is much room for improvement in the final result :P Thanks for your kind words! :)
I used to eat a lot when I was staying alone. But now, my hubby is an anti-instant noodles person. So I was also influenced by him and stop eating it for a long time. ;)
That’s good news actually, coz it shows you are eating healthy. I’m now living on my own and still eating instant noodles! Noooo …
I’m a closet instant noodle lover too. (I also love luncheon meat). I noticed that the same brand of noodles in Taiwan are thicker and chewier than the ones in the US, which is really too bad. I guess I’ll have to stock up on my next visit!
Maybe they made some adaptations to suit the western palate. Asian noodles tend to have a more springy texture :-)
A big bowl of noodles with an egg and some veggies sounds fantastic!
Quick dinner with instant noodles, very interesting option when you’re in hectic days.
With lot of vegs can be a perfect meal also :)
Cheers!
Gera
you make the instant noodles look fabulous!
I like my noodle texture ‘Q Q’ too! It seems like cooking instant noodle also require skill! I like Nissin Tonkatsu flavour..yummy!
I think I tried the Nissin Tonkatsu in Tokyo before (yes I cooked instant noodles for supper when I’m overseas :P) and it’s good stuff!