KL Style Hokkien Noodles (Dai Lok Min)
There are many dishes in Singapore and Malaysia that share the same names but vastly different in style and taste. KL Hokkien Min is one of them. The unapologetic amount of lard oil and fried lard add so much flavor to this dish that I’m sure even a cardiologist will find it hard to resist. Let’s get into making some at home shall we?
You’ll get:
Serves 5
You need:
- 200g of pork shoulder
For marinade
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce
- ½ tsp of oyster sauce
- 1 tsp of sesame oil
- 1 tsp of corn flour
- White pepper to taste
For condiments
- 8 mid-size prawns
- 8 fish rolls
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- Half Chinese cabbage (about the same visual volume of the amount of noodles you are using)
- 250g of thick Hokkien noodles
- handful of crispy lard
For seasoning
- 2 tbsp of lard oil
- 6 tbsp of dark soy sauce (sounds like a lot but don’t worry, this dish is supposed to be dark)
- 2 tbsp of light soy sauce (adjust if the stock is salty or to your taste)
- 1 cup of prawn stock
- 1 tsp of white sugar
- White pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp cold water
Method:
Mix the sliced pork shoulder into the pork marinade and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the rest of your ingredients and set aside within reach of your cooking area:
- Prawn — deveined and deshelled. Keep the shells.
- Prawn stock — stir-fry prawn shells till they turn red then pour in a cup of water and simmer for 5mins. Strain and put prawn stock aside.
- Chinese cabbage — washed and sliced into 2cm strips (discard the thick stem ends)
- Fish balls — halved
- Noodles — prepared according to your packet’s instructions. Mine was soaked in boiling water with a tsp of baking soda for 15mins, washed and strained before then soaking in another pot of boiling water for another 15mins. This is to remove the dough-y taste and smell from the factory-made noodles.
- Mix the cornflour and cold water in a little bowl until smooth and set aside.
When everything is ready, preheat a wok over a high flame and add about 2 tablespoons of lard oil and heat until smoking.
Add the marinated pork shoulder and fry briskly.
When browned, add the shrimp, fish balls and garlic and fry for half a minute. Toss in the Chinese cabbage and fry for a further 30 seconds or so.
Add in the noodles and give it a quick toss. Bring heat down to low.
Add the dark soy sauce and light soy sauce and mix to coat the noodles. Add more dark soy sauce if the colour isn’t dark enough.
Add the stock, sugar, white pepper and a small handful of crispy pork lards and fry to combine. Taste the sauce and adjust the saltiness and sweetness to your preference.
Add in the cornflour/water mixture and toss until the sauce has thickened and the noodles are coated in the gravy.
Garnish with more crispy pork lard and a spoonful of sambal belacan.
My name is Rayner. Cooking and baking are my hobbies and my way to get my mind off work. Come follow my food journey and see what I’m cooking up for the family.
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