Name: Dry Noodles with Fish Balls
Yield: Serves 3–4
Cuisine: Teochew
Ingredients: Bean sprouts as desired, blanched for 3 seconds in boiling water and drained; Fish paste; Mee kia or mee pok 400 g (14⅓ oz); Crispy lard cubes as desired; Salted preserved cabbage (tung chai) as desired, rinsed, patted dry and chopped; All-purpose chilli sauce 1½ Tbsp or to taste; Sliced red chillies or bird’s eye chillies as desired; Liquid lard 2 tsp; Crisp-fried shallots as desired; Dark soy sauce 1 tsp; Black vinegar 1 tsp or to taste; Sesame oil ½ tsp; Chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) as desired; Chopped spring onions (scallions) as desired; Salt 2 tsp; Lukewarm water 500 ml (16 fl oz / 2 cups); Light soy sauce 3 Tbsp or to taste

Preparation info

Serves
3–4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Chinese Heritage Cooking

By Christopher Tan and Amy Van

Published 2018

About

Many food stalls selling this dish no longer add lard to the sauce mixture for health reasons. But if you only indulge once in a while, try it the old-fashioned way, as the lard adds immeasurable flavour. If you like, you can shape half the fish paste into patties, deep-fry them until golden, then slice them into the noodles, so there will be two different textures of fish balls.