Sitiawan Fuzhou Loo Mein

Oops! I forgot to post this recipes which I wanted to share for some time. This signature dish is very popular among the Fuzhou communities in Sitiawan. The secret to a good loo mein lies in the gravy. The gravy consist of cuttlefish, cabbage, wood ear fungus, golden needle, fried pork belly fats, bamboo shoot and egg . In Sitiawan, I can't actually find any noodle shops that serve this dish has similar and identical taste to each other. One of the best loo mein stall (Ah Choon Loo Mein) can be found in my hometown village of Pekan Gurney, please note this stall only open in the evening. When I was back there, I will have loo mein for breakfast, then some Fuzhou snacks for lunch and loo mein again for dinner. This noodle is definitely an acquired taste for some because of slight pungentness of fermented bamboo shoot and rather sweet taste to the gravy.

I try to cook this dish awhile ago and yes they taste nice, I would prefer to use fresh bamboo shoot but I can only find can bamboo shoot here. Nevertheless, the loo mein I love that I grew up with.... count in on nostalgic value

The fresh bamboo shoot that my mum dug up from our Pekan Gurney backyard

Sitiawan Fuzhou Loo Mein
Ingredients

• one handful of dry wood ear fungus-soaked in water till soft
  
• one handful of golden needle-soaked in water till soft
• one can of bamboo shoot/ 250gm fresh bamboo shoot-julienned
• 3 dry cuttlefish-soaked in water till soft and sliced into thin strip
  
• 30 gm of pork belly (fats part)-diced
• 100 gm cabbage - sliced thinly
  
• 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1-2 tbsp dark soya sauce
• salt to taste/light soya sauce
• 2-3 tbsp sugar or to taste
• 2 tbsp of tapioca starch diluted with 4 tbsp of water
• 2 eggs beaten
  

Stock

• one handful of dry anchovies-clean
• 1/2 kgs pork bone (you can use chicken bone as well)
• 1.5 - 2 litres of water
• 3 cloves of garlic-minced
• 1/2 tbsp of vegetable oil
  
  

Noodle

• 8 bunches of fresh egg noodles (one bunch serve one)

1. Heat a deep pot, pour in the oil and sweat the garlic. Add in the anchovies, fry for a minute or two. Then add in the bones and water. Let the stock boil on high heat, once boiled, turn over to low heat and simmer for an hour or so.
2. Once stock is ready, sieve the stock and set aside.
3. In another pot, heat the oil, then add in the pork belly fats and fry till crispy. Dished out and set aside. Then add wood ear fungus, golden needle and cuttlefish, fry till fragance. Pour in the stock and let it boil.
   
4. Add in the salt, sugar, dark soya sauce and cabbage and let it boil for 10minutes for the cabbage to cook.
5. Then pour the beaten egg slowly and keep stirring so that it's well mixed and create egg thread. Slowly add in the tapioca starch solution to thicken the gravy. Keep stirring. Once it's done, let it simmer on low heat.
6. Now, it's time to cook the fresh egg noodle. Boil a pot of water, once boiling add the desired noodle and let it cook. Once cook, it will float onto the surface. Drained and served onto a bowl. Scoop the gravy onto the noodle and garnish wih some fried pork belly fat. Served hot and enjoy.
   

Ah Choon Loo Mein