| Mee pok | |||||||||||
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| A dish of bak chor mee | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 麪薄 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 面薄 | ||||||||||
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Mee pok is a type of Chinese noodle characterized by its flat and yellow appearance, varying in thickness and width. The dish is of Teochew origin and is commonly served in a number of countries such as Chaoshan (China), Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Mee Pok is commonly served tossed in a sauce (often referred to as "dry", or tah in Hokkien (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ta)), though sometimes served in a soup (where it is referred to as "soup", or terng). Meat and vegetables are added on top.
Mee pok can be categorised into two variants, fish ball mee pok (yu wan mee), and mushroom minced meat mee pok (bak chor mee). Bak chor mee is usually exclusively prepared using thin noodles ("mee kia"), while yu wan mee can be cooked with other noodle varieties.
Mee pok is a staple commonly offered in hawker centres and coffee shops in Singapore, together with other Chinese noodle dishes.
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The sauce in which the noodles are tossed in is a very important aspect of the dish, and is considered a representation of the cook's skill and experience. The importance of the sauce in mee pok can be thought of similarly as the sauces that accompany pasta.
The sauce consists of 4 components: chili, oil, vinegar and other condiments such as soy sauce and pepper. The chili is made from various ingredients and its preparation often includes frying and blending. Oil, traditionally lard, ensures a smooth texture in the noodles, although vegetable oil is sometimes used as a healthier though less tasty version. Vinegar is added for its sourness, and diners may specify how much vinegar is used.
The chili sauce may be replaced with tomato sauce for children, who are uncomfortable with the spiciness of the chili.
Soup is served in a bowl as a side dish accompanying the "dry" variant, or served together with the noodles for the "soup" version where the sauce is omitted.
Usually, the noodles are factory made, and requires substantial preparation before cooking. Different hawkers prepare and cook their noodles differently, but the desired outcome is the same: springy al dente noodles.
Hawkers often toss the noodles vigorously to remove excess flour and soda and to separate noodles which have stuck together. Other processes include stretching the noodles, cutting into a desired length, and separating into serving portions.
The cooking process of the noodles consists of blanching in hot and cold water multiple times, though some hawkers omit the cold water. The noodles are drained and placed in either sauce or broth.
This version of mee pok has no fish but is served with minced meat, pork slices, pork liver (tur kwa), sliced mushrooms, meat balls, beansprouts, bits of deep-fried lard and a slice of lettuce. More traditional hawkers will also place a few small pieces of fried crispy sole fish as garnishing.
This version of mee pok is usually served with toppings of fish balls, sliced fish cakes, Geow (a type of small dumpling made with fish meat paste wrapping a small bit of minced meat), minced meat, meat balls, lettuce or taugeh (beansprouts in Hokkien). Requests can be made to add or omit any of the above toppings, to prepare it in soup or "dry" style, and with or without the chili sauce.
Newer varieties of toppings include deep fried dumplings, abalone slices, imitation crabstick, and other processed fish products.
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