Minced pork linguine - Bak Chor Mee with fish balls

The weather this week was better than the last toasty. I felt better...to dream of noodles, reminiscing the times in Singapore where I can get a variety of noodles dishes. Drooling over some of these noodles made me want to make my own for Presto Pasta Night - more of that below. What makes me like noodles, is the wide variety and different forms in which noodles can be prepared, and represented. There is flat rice noodles with fish balls, and minced meat-bak chor, tossed in tomato ketchup, fiery chili and in some cases black vinegar for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even supper. :O The locals usually call this bak chor mee, or fish ball noodles (dry or soup version available). There is also the classic prawn noodles in which jumbo prawns are added sometimes, and calling at a premium of SGD5 per bowl!!! Of course, we can easily get wonton noodles with slices of BBQ pork, and prawn noodles topped with BBQ pork slices. Gosh...even the Yong Tau Foo comes with a bowl of thick bee hoon vermicelli topped with minced meat .

Have I made you crave for some noodles?

The longest chopsticks to eat your noodles

I don't have 4 months of patience to collect shrimps heads to make prawn noodles, but I can always start with something easier.



Minced meat with linguine - Bak Chor Mee Pok with fish ball and spinach
Ingredients: Minced pork, dried mushrooms julienned, 1 glove minced garlic, 1 shallot sliced thinly, 1tbsp or more dark soy sauce- to taste, 1tsp oyster sauce, brown sugar to taste, salt and pepper to taste, 1tbsp or more black vinegar- adjust accordingly, water, frozen fish balls (option) - boil to cook, spinach-blanched.

Directions: Cook some linguine and set aside. Heat some oil in frying pan, fry the garlic till fragrant, then add pork and lightly fry till the pork is cooked (no more than 5mins so that the pork is not too chewy-tough). Dish out the pork and set aside. Add in the shallots and mushrooms and fry on low-medium heat for 6-8mins, till shallots turn translucent/golden brown. Add in dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar and water, allow the mixture to simmer for 10mins or more on low heat till entire mixture(of shallots and mushrooms) becomes soft. Add in the pork to the mixture and continue to simmer with some dashes of black vinegar.

Before serving, add in pasta and mix well with minced meat mixture (picture above). If you like more black vinegar, more dashes this time, and mix well with pasta.



Top pasta with more minced meat , serve with boiled fish balls and cooked spinach. ENJOY!

I always like black vinegar in my minced meat noodles - bak chor mee. How about you?

Why is that plate of Bak Chor Mee so difficult to reach?

I hope the PPNers over at Ruth's Presto Pasta Night enjoy this snippet of some of these many types of noodles dishes we have back at SE Asia. And oh...how cravings and PPN have "motivated" me to make my own. :)

Tag: minced pork, linguine