This dish is redolent of hawker food and simple and comforting. It consists of two components: charred noodles and egg curry. The noodles are fried in a perfect soy glaze, which adds a lovely umami saltiness to the dish. The egg curry is rich and silky, contrasting with the noodles but so perfect together. I used prawns and bok choy, but other toppings can include fish cakes, shredded chicken or cabbage.
Mandy Yin is a London-based lawyer who started her foray into the world of food with the Sambal Shiok restaurant. Sambal Shiok translates to "shockingly good sambal", and this book follows these steps with excellent recipes. The recipes swing from traditional to contemporary while maintaining wonderful flavours. This is a lovely cookbook for those who want to venture into the complex world of Malay cooking.
For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.
Ingredients:
6 oz. thick rice noodles
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 oz. shrimp
3 large bok choy leaves, stems diced and leaves shredded 2 cups water or chicken stock
Pickled or fresh Thai chillies
Salt, to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
1 egg, whisked with a pinch of salt lightly
Cook the noodles according to the package instructions minus one minute for al dente. Rinse the noodles in cold water to cool them completely. Set aside.
Heat a wok with the oil. Add the soy sauce and allow it to sizzle. Add the noodles and toss well to coat in the oil-soy mix. Allow the noodles to fry and burn on the edge. Remove from the wok and set aside,
Heat the remaining oil in the same wok. Add the garlic and fry on low heat until golden in colour. Add the boy choy stems and shrimp and cook until the shrimp are white and cooked through. Add the stock, Thai chillies, salt, sugar, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and pepper and stir into the sauce well. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 3 minutes.
Mix the cornstarch in the water. Add the bok choy leaves to the sauce and stir in. Add the cornstarch slurry in a thin stream, stirring the sauce continually. The sauce will bubble and turn slightly thicker in one minute.
Add the egg in a thin stream, stirring continually. The egg will flower in the sauce. Turn off the heat.
Add the noodles to a platter. Ladle the sauce over the noodles and serve immediately.
NOTE: I added the noodles to the sauce, and although the dish tasted good, it was not presentable.