Hokkien Mee / Sotong Mee

No! There is only one dish to show for this post. Wondering why there is 2 names? Let me tell you a story... tsk tsk...

Once upon a time... Hah! Its a plain joke. When I was young or even till now when I tell my kids about this dish, I always called it Sotong Mee instead of Hokkien Mee. Even now when people mentioned about Hokkien Mee, the first thing that comes to my mind is the Cze Char stall kind. That is why from young we tend to differentiate both by naming one as Sotong Mee the other as Hokkien Mee.

So after telling you grandfather story, now you already know what I am referring to already. Yes! Its Hokkien Mee aka Sotong Mee. Haha.

I always love the sweetness of the seafood and the crunchiness of the beansprouts with the smoothness of the thick bee hoon and soft yellow noodles with the flavour of the stock with "Zhu You Cha". (fried pig's fats - ok, I know its fatty but its super tasty).

I always wanted to do this dish at home, and finally I did.

Hokkien Mee aka Sotong Mee

Ingredients:
$1.00 Bean Sprouts (to be honest, auntie never tells me how heavy is the bean sprouts since young)
500g Yellow Noodles
500g Thick Bee Hoon
100g Cai Xin
2-3 Beaten Eggs
1 Fish Cake - sliced into bite-size slices
500g Prawns
4 Sotongs (Squid) - cut into small bite-size rounds
300g Pork Belly - cut into small bite-size pieces after scalding
2 Big Bones
300g Spare Ribs
Some Pigs Fats (uncle give me FOC, so not sure of how heavy it is. Haha)
Salt and Pepper
Some Sesame Oil to taste in Stock
4 Cloves of Garlic - chopped finely
2-3 Limes - cut half

Method:
Stock Preparation:
1) Blanched the Pork Bones and Spare Ribs and boil them for 2 hours, season with salt and pepper and some sesame oil
2) Fry the Pork Fats till its lightly brown, and hardened, dish up the oil and the fats separately
3) De-shell and de-vein the Prawns and place them in the stock
4) Slightly scald the Prawns, Squid and Pork Belly till cook in the stock and dish up to leave aside

Frying the Noodles:
1) Heat up the Oil from the Pork Fats in a wok
2) Saute the Garlic till light brown, add in the Fried Pork Fats
3) Place in the Bean Sprouts, Cai Xin and Fish Cake and cook for about 30seconds
4) Add in eggs and stir fry for another 10seconds
5) Place in the Yellow Noodles and Thick Bee Hoon for about 1 min
6) Place in the Prawns, Squid and Pork Belly and stir fry for 15seconds
7) Pour over the stock (amount depends on personal preference), stir fry for 15seconds and cover the wok for 1min and simmer under medium / low heat
8) Lift up the cover, slightly stir fry and dish up
9) Serve with a lime by the side

Note:
*Cook the noodles in batches so it will be easier to toss around in the wok
*The amount of stock over the noodles depends on the personal preference if you like it wet or dry

Good Luck!