Bak Chor Mee

Ingredients

Noodles

• 200 gmee pok (flat egg noodles) or mee kia (thin)
• handful of bean sprouts
• a few leaves of lettuce or choy sum

Pork

• 200 gminced pork
• 1 tbsplight soy sauce
• 1 tspcornflour
• 80 gpork liver, sliced thin
• 6small pork dumplings or meatballs

Sauce, per bowl

• 1½ tbsp black rice vinegar
• 1 tbsplight soy sauce
• 1 tbspchilli paste (sambal or chilli oil)
• 1 tspsesame oil
• 1 tbsplard or pork fat, melted
• 1 tbsppork stock

Toppings

• 2 tbspfried shallots
• 2 tbspcrisp fried pork lard cubes
• 2 tbspfried sole fish (ti po), crumbled
• spring onions, sliced
• pickled green chillies, to serve

Directions

1. Bring a wide pot of water to a rolling boil and keep a bowl of iced water beside it.
2. Mix the mince with the soy and cornflour. Poach it in the boiling water for 45 seconds, breaking it up, then scoop out. Poach the dumplings 3 minutes, then the liver for 20–30 seconds only — liver goes from silky to grainy in the space of a few seconds, and it is the single most commonly ruined element.
3. Mix the sauce ingredients in the bottom of each serving bowl. Build the sauce in the bowl, never in the pan: this is a dry-tossed noodle and the sauce coats rather than cooks.
4. Blanch the greens and sprouts briefly and set aside.
5. Cook the noodles 30–45 seconds in the same water, agitating with a strainer so they do not clump. Lift out, plunge into the iced water for 3 seconds, then straight back into the boiling water for 5 seconds and drain hard.
6. That hot–cold–hot shock is what gives mee pok its springy bite, and skipping it gives soft noodles.
7. Tip the drained noodles into the sauce bowl and toss immediately and thoroughly, until every strand is coated and glossy.
8. Top with the pork, liver, dumplings, greens, fried shallots, lard cubes and crumbled sole fish. Serve with pickled chillies and a small bowl of the pork stock on the side.

Technique

• The vinegar should be assertive. Bak chor mee is defined by sourness against pork fat, and a timid hand with the vinegar makes it ordinary.
• Crisp lard and fried sole are not garnishes but structural — they carry the savoury depth.
• Toss the moment the noodles hit the bowl. Left sitting they clump and the sauce pools at the bottom.

Substitutions

• Vegetable oil in place of lard, at real cost to the flavour.
• Leave out the liver if it is not for you; the dish still works.

Variations

• The soup version, with the same toppings in a clear pork broth.
• Mee kia, the thin round noodle, for those who find mee pok too soft.

History

Teochew hawker dish built on black vinegar and pork lard; Singapore’s stalls are ranked nationally by their vinegar-and-chilli balance.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bak Chor Mee?

Bak Chor Mee is a main from Singapore: egg noodles with minced pork, liver, dumplings, vinegar and chilli. Teochew hawker dish built on black vinegar and pork lard; Singapore’s stalls are ranked nationally by their vinegar-and-chilli balance.

How long does Bak Chor Mee take to make?

Bak Chor Mee takes 25 min of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 2 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Bak Chor Mee?

Yes, within limits. Vegetable oil in place of lard, at real cost to the flavour. Leave out the liver if it is not for you; the dish still works.

What is the most important thing to get right in Bak Chor Mee?

Mix the sauce ingredients in the bottom of each serving bowl. Build the sauce in the bowl, never in the pan: this is a dry-tossed noodle and the sauce coats rather than cooks.