HED CHEF: Hokkien yakisoba

At the risk of purists hurling eggs at me, I am sharing Hokkien mee using chukamen, a type of Japanese noodles.

Yakisoba is Japanese for fried noodles.

It's explained in 1001 Foods To Die For that in yakisoba, the noodles used are a Chinese-style, yellow, alkaline, wheat flour noodles called chukamen.

Interestingly, yakisoba is not part of traditional Japanese cuisine.

In the book The Untold History of Ramen: How Political Crisis In Japan Spawned A Global Food Craze, the author tells of how the dish came into being after the US introduced American wheat to the Japanese diet.

Post-war, yakisoba was one of the delicacies sold on the black market at exorbitant prices.

Expect to pay more for chukamen - Japanese yellow noodles - since it is an imported product.

The texture of chukamen is springy and I found that I could pre-cook the noodles in prawn stock for a longer time to really soak up the flavour without the risk of losing its texture.

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INGREDIENTS

• 340g prawns
• 460g squid
• 390g chukamen
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 100g garlic chives, cut into 5cm lengths
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 4 tbsp shallot oil
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• ¼ tsp sugar
• Fried shallots

For prawn stock:

• 15 prawn shells
• 15g ginger, bruised
• 5 garlic cloves, skins on, bruised
• 700ml water

Seasoning:

• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• Small pinch of sugar
• Dash of pepper

METHOD

TNP PHOTO: HEDY KHOO

1. Marinate the prawns in cornflour and sugar and chill for 30 minutes. (photo above) Rinse with water.

2. Bring the water to a boil in a pot.

3. Add prawn shells, ginger and whole garlic cloves. Boil for 20 to 30 minutes. Strain and reserve the prawn stock.

4. In a deep frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and fry half a teaspoon of chopped garlic for 30 seconds before adding the noodles.

5. Add enough prawn stock to cover the noodles mid-way and cook until the cooking liquid reduces. Season with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce. Remove the noodles from pan and set aside.

6. Rinse the pan. Heat the remaining oil and fry garlic until fragrant. Add the egg.

TNP PHOTO: HEDY KHOO

7. Add the noodles. Stir-fry. (photo above)

TNP PHOTO: HEDY KHOO

8. Add the prawn and squid. (photo above)

9. Add the garlic chives.

10. Add the remaining seasoning.

11. Serve hot and garnish with fried shallots.