In another lifetime, before my laptop did a backflip off the couch and slipped into a coma, I drafted a number of blog posts for this then non-existent blog (I know right?). After said backflip my hard drive gave up the goat (ghost but saying goat baits mother fox so).
Rather than try and re-craft the original magic I've decided to bring you something else altogether: Mee Fan.
Although it may require some background and apologies for the crappiness of the photo (resulting from being a. new to food photography and using a point and shoot digicam and b. mr.fox and mr. wolf were ravenous so perfecting the image was a secondary concern to feasting).
I'm anglo. In fact I'm gwei lo, which is to communicate that I'm white with an asian boyfriend**, aka mr wolf, (I prefer partner but lets do away with ambiguity for now). According to his mum, aka 'ma wolf', he is a banana. Anyway back in the fledgling days ma wolf used to make this dish for mr wolf and myself.
It should probably have some other name but in the wolf household Mee Fan (meaning fried rice noodle... I think) is how we roll. Whatever. It is complete comfort food and perfect for any mealtime. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Know this now: I. Love. Noodles.
Last Saturday I decided to revisit this old chestnut. At the time the only staples for this dish I had were the rice vermicelli and the sauces. Fortunately, I had just read on Grab Your Fork about Eveleigh Farmers Market which is a convenient jaunt from the fox-wolf abode (den?). I have no photographs of the joyous hour I spent there. Although good friend the lovely miss E got a very excited call from me.
I do have this lovely photo of a bunch of Easter Daisies I purchased along with the Choy Sum and Bok Choy.
Onwards.
Mee Fan, inspired by ma wolf - Serves 2-3 depending on greed levels
150-200g Dried Rice Vermicelli (par cooked)
3-4 tbs Peanut/Sunflower oil
1 Eschalot, finely sliced white portion, roughly sliced green tip
1 clove garlic, sliced
150-200g chicken (breast or thigh) chopped into bite sized pieces
1-2 Bok Choy (quartered or eighths depending on size)
1 handful Choy Sum
1 Egg
Oyster Sauce
Light Soy
Chinese Rice Wine
Sesame Oil
Salt
Pepper ground not cracked
Don't be intimidated by the ingredient list, but I can't stress enough how important it is to prep everything before you start cooking.
And here's where I cheat. To be honest I don't have great wok skills. I would like to have an outdoor set up as seen on Poh's Kitchen* but I don't - no extraction fan and sensitive smoke alarm = too much hassle. So, I steam the bok choy and choy sum rather than stir fry.
With your wok over a medium high heat add 2-3 tbs of your oil and a pinch or two of salt. Test the temperature of oil with a snippet of noodle, if it starts bubbling immediately then add the rest of the vermicelli and let it sit. Seriously don't stir it, agitate it, nothing. I really suck at this bit.
The aim is for a 'crust' to form on the bottom with patches of salty golden crunch. I'm not sure if this can even be achieved in anything other than a non-stick pan (which I lack) but it never seemed to take ma wolf any longer than 5 minutes. Mine always results in the crust being stuck to the wok and then incorporated into the sauce.
Remove vermicelli, place on serving dish and cover. Reduce heat slightly add a dash more oil and a few drops of sesame oil crack in the egg and agitate with a pair of chopsticks or shake the wok a la Julie Child making an omelette. Slip on top of the vermicelli when coagulated and cover again.
Add another tablespoon of oil, a dash of sesame oil and the garlic and eschalot (reserve the green tips). Add the chicken and a pinch of ground pepper (probably around 1/2 tsp) and when cooked add the green tips of the eschalots. As they start to wilt add the oyster sauce, soy sauce and rice wine. I generally work along the lines of 2 parts OS: 1 part SS: 1 part RW.
You could also add around a 1/4 c of chicken stock (preferably not powdered stock as that will whack out the salt balance). Using stock may require the addition of the ubiquitous cornflour to thicken it.
Reduce heat and toss through the steamed bok choy and choy sum coating with sauce.
I use an implement to transfer the stir fry onto the noodles, so I can control the amount of sauce transferred. You don't want to saturate the vermicelli and lose the crunch of the crust. This is what the dish is all about - finding that mouthful of perfectly balanced noodle, chicken, egg, greens, sauce and salty crunch.
mr wolf and I usually eat this lady and the tramp style with gnashing chopsticks.
Wow what a long post sorry about that I'll try to make follow up ones shorter.
** So I know how to translate white devil/round eyes from cantonese. Also fat porker but that's a different story
* I have such a girl crush on Poh and yes I do think she was robbed but also I think she is better off for it she's way too great for woman's day & bin bag ads
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