Home-made noodles (Ban Mian)

I've been craving my favourite noodles from Singapore but have never felt brave enough to attempt it, since the term "hand-made" automatically fell into the "difficult" category of my brain, even without any research on how to do it. However, upon seeing some photos of this noodles that a Facebook friend of mine made, I suddenly had the urge and courage to attempt it.

It's one of those dishes that I expected to fail for a first attempt, but was pleasantly surprised at how easy, fuss-free and delicious it tasted! There's room for improvement in the texture of the hand-made noodles, but the stock definitely tasted authentic! I could possibly get myself a noodle machine and that would save me the effort of rolling out the dough thinly and cutting it myself!

That me looking all glamorous in my apron (not) and slaving in my kitchen. Oh boy, my face looks a bit covered by flour on the left photo! As the Bible verse goes, "If you don't work, you don't eat". That's my exact predicament here! If I crave for something, I got to get my hands dirty to D.I.M- Do It Myself!

Home-made Noodles

- 2 cups flour

- 1 egg

- Some water

- Some additional flour

Pris' version of Ban Mian

- A packet of Ikan Bilis (Anchovies, medium-sized about 200grams)

- Chinese Vegetables (I used Chinese broccoli)

- Handful of Chinese Mushrooms (pre-soaked till soft and sliced, retain water)

- 2 Shallots / Onions, chopped

- 2 Eggs

- 500 grams of minced meat

Wa.lah! My authentic home-made Ban Mian! What a lovely taste of home! And you know what the best part is? The hubby lurved it!!! I had never dreamt in a million years that hubby would like something so "local". I really had cooked it for both of us with the mentality of, "If he doesn't like it, then there's more for me!!!" But he finished up his portion happily and claimed that the noodles tasted like his grandma's home-made noodles. How cool is that?

1) Season the minced meat in a bag with light soya sauce, pepper, sesame oil and some oyster sauce for a few hours in the fridge.

2) Do the noodles. Its very try-and-error. Add the flour, egg and water. Knead until you get a smooth dough. My dough became a bit watery, so I added more flour. Some recipes, didn't call for an egg, so I figured if you want to save on eggs, you don't need them either.

3)Let the dough stand for 15mins before rolling it out and cutting it into small pieces

4) Fry the Ikan Bilis in hot oil until crispy and put aside. Leave a little bit uncooked.

5) Fry the shallots and mushrooms in some hot oil and set aside.

6) Boil some water and mushroom stock in a pot. Once boiling, add the Ikan Bilis (both fried and uncooked), shallots and mushrooms into the stock. Save some fried Ikan Bilis for garnish.

7) Roll the minced meat into balls and throw them into the stock. Add prawns if you like.

8) Let the stock simmer on low heat for a few minutes. Taste it and add some light soya sauce / pepper if necessary.

9) Increase the heat so that stock boils again.

10) Add the hand-made noodles. Stir. Add the Chinese vegetables and an egg to complete the dish.

11) Garnish with Fried Ikan Bilis. Serve with Thai Chilli and light soya sauce in a separate saucer to complete this wholesome meal.