Emilie Meyer
Pan mee is a noodle dish of Hakka origin that is popular in Malaysia, especially in Kuala Lumpur. The dish is typically spicy and uses flat noodles, which are made from wheat or egg. The noodles are tossed in a spicy umami chilli paste and topped with ground meat, poached eggs, and crispy anchovies. The spiciness of the dish can be controlled by adjusting the amount of chilli used or by serving it with blanched greens, a soft egg, or something sweet like sweet potato.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Noodles | Flat, made from wheat or egg |
| Toppings | Mushrooms, minced meat, poached egg, anchovies, spinach or sweet potato leaves |
| Spiciness | Very spicy, can be controlled by removing seeds and membranes of chillies |
| Variations | Soup, dry tossed, chilli prawn |
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What You'll Learn
How to make the chilli paste
To make the chilli paste for your pan mee, you will need dried chillies, fresh chillies, dried shrimp, shallots or onions, and oil.
First, soak the dried chillies in warm water until softened. Drain and squeeze out the excess liquid, reserving the chilli soaking liquid. Place the soaked chillies in a food processor with fresh chillies and blend to a rough paste, adding chilli soaking liquid if necessary. Next, heat vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the dried shrimp and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Then, add the chilli mixture and stir-fry until well combined. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, or until the mixture is dark and jammy. You can adjust the spiciness of the chilli paste by removing the seeds and membranes of the chillies before blending.
The chilli paste is a key component of chilli pan mee, a popular noodle dish from Malaysia, particularly Kuala Lumpur. The dish typically consists of wheat noodles tossed in the chilli paste along with ground meat, poached eggs, and crispy anchovies. It is known for its fiery spice and umami flavour.
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Preparing the toppings
For the mushroom and pork topping, soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water for about 15 minutes. Squeeze the mushrooms to remove excess liquid and use a knife to remove and discard the tough stems. Then, cut the mushrooms into thick slices and set aside. For the pork, marinate minced meat with soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, pepper, and sugar. Stir the cornflour mixture through the mushroom and pork topping and simmer until thick and glossy. Stir through sesame oil and pepper and set aside.
For the chilli topping, soak the dried chillies and shrimp in warm water until soft. To reduce the spiciness, remove the seeds and membranes of the chillies. Pound the fresh and dried chillies together and set aside. Heat oil in a pan and sauté the dried shrimp until fragrant. Add the pounded chilli to the pan and continue to sauté until the colour changes to a darker shade.
For the anchovy topping, heat oil in a pan over high heat and add the dried anchovies. Fry until golden brown and crispy, then drain on a paper towel.
For a soft-boiled egg topping, boil 1.2L of water and add 300ml of room-temperature water. Submerge the eggs and allow to cook to your desired consistency.
Other toppings include sliced shallots, chicken, fishballs, and vegetables such as yu choy, pucuk manis, or choy sum.
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Assembling the dish
There are several variations of pan mee, including chilli pan mee, soup pan mee, kon loh pan mee, and crispy chilli prawn pan mee. Here's how to assemble each of these dishes:
Chilli Pan Mee
Boil wheat noodles until cooked. Place the noodles in a bowl with fried anchovies, minced meat, chilli topping, vegetables, and a poached or soft egg. You can also garnish with spring onions and fried shallots. Before eating, mix everything in the bowl.
Soup Pan Mee
Boil water and add an anchovy stock cube, salt, and white pepper. While the broth is boiling, cook the pan mee noodles, marinated chicken meat, sliced mushrooms, fishballs, and vegetables. Drain the excess water and pour the broth into a bowl of cooked noodles and condiments. Top with fried anchovies, shallots, and fried shallot oil.
Kon Loh Pan Mee
This is a dry tossed noodle dish drenched in soy sauce. To make the sauce, combine light soy sauce, fried shallot oil, salt, pepper, and crispy prawn chilli. Boil the noodles with condiments such as marinated chicken slices, sliced mushrooms, fishballs, and vegetables. Drain the excess water, transfer to a bowl, and toss with the sauce and toppings.
Crispy Chilli Prawn Pan Mee
This variation involves making a chilli prawn topping by stir-frying dried shrimp and chilli paste. The noodles are then tossed in the chilli prawn topping and served with ground meat.
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What to serve it with
When serving Pan Mee, there are a variety of side dishes and toppings that can be used to enhance the flavour of the dish and provide a contrast in textures.
For a side dish, a bowl of soup with spinach or sweet potato leaves is a popular choice, adding some sweetness to the lightly salty soup. Alternatively, blanched greens can be served as a side, providing a refreshing contrast to the spiciness of the Pan Mee.
For toppings, there are several options to choose from. Fried anchovies, also known as ikan bilis, are a common topping, adding a crispy texture to the dish. Minced or ground meat, typically chicken or pork, is another popular choice, providing a savoury element to the noodles. Poached or soft-boiled eggs are also often used, adding a creamy texture and helping to bind all the flavours together. Other toppings include mushrooms, especially shitake, sliced shallots, and vegetables such as yu choy, choy sum, or pucuk manis.
To add extra flavour, a variety of sauces and garnishes can be used. Chilli paste or spicy chilli sambal can be added to the Pan Mee to increase the spiciness of the dish. Soy sauce, dark sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce, and pepper are also commonly used to enhance the savoury flavours. Fried shallot oil and spring onions can be used as garnishes to add a touch of freshness to the dish. Lastly, a squeeze of lime juice can be added for a tangy twist.
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Variations of the dish
There are several variations of pan mee, a noodle dish of Hakka origin that is popular in Malaysia, especially in Kuala Lumpur. The name "pan mee" translates to flat noodles in English, and the dish is traditionally made from wheat or egg noodles.
One of the most popular variations is chilli pan mee, a super spicy noodle dish that originated in Kin Kin restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. The dish consists of flat noodles tossed in spicy umami sauce made with dried chilli, garlic, dried shrimp, and seasonings. It is then topped with ground meat, poached or soft eggs, and crispy anchovies. The special chilli topping is usually placed separately, allowing customers to add it according to their preference.
Another variation is the soup pan mee, which is drowned in a flavourful anchovy broth. The noodles are cooked in the broth along with marinated chicken meat, sliced shitake mushrooms, fishballs, sawi hijau, and pucuk manis (sweet leaf or 'manichai' in Chinese). The dish is then served with fried anchovies, shallots, and fried shallot oil.
A dry-tossed noodle variation is the Kon Loh Pan Mee, which is drenched in soy sauce. The Crispy Chilli Prawn Pan Mee is another option for spice lovers, with an umami-packed chilli noodle dish.
Some people also like to add blanched greens, sweet potato, or lime juice to their pan mee to balance out the spiciness of the dish.
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