Wantan mee is a popular noodle dish all over Asia, but the best is made in Malaysia.
It is served either dry or with soup at thousands of hawker stalls and restaurants all over the country.
In this version, the wantan noodles are tossed with a dark sauce and topped with boiled or fried wantan, char siew and some green, leafy choy sum with pickled green chillies on the side.
Ingredients
• 400 g fresh wantan noodles
• 1/2 bunch choy sum, washed and cut into 5cm lengths
• Vegetable oil
• 300 g char siew, thinly sliced
• Ground white pepper
• Pickled green chillies
Wantan
• 1 packet square wonton wrappers, about 40 sheets
• 150 g ground pork
• 150 g prawns, peeled and veins removed
• 1 tablespoon egg white
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
Garlic oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Mushroom sauce
• 6 Chinese dried black mushrooms, stems removed
• 250 ml warm water
• 2 cloves garlic, lightly pounded with the back of a knife
• 350 ml water
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon mushroom-flavoured soy sauce, optional
• Salt and ground white pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
Seasoning sauce for each serving of noodles
• 1 tablespoon thick dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons garlic oil
Method
• Prepare the pickled chillies one day in advance. The recipe is below.
• Prepare the wantan: Combine all the wantan ingredients (except wrappers) and stir to mix well.
• Place a teaspoon of the pork mixture in the middle of each wrapper.
• Moisten the edges of the wrapper with water and seal to form a triangle.
• Bring the two corners down and pinch to form a Chinese ingot or just leave them in a triangle shape.
• Repeat until you use up all the pork mixture. Set aside on a plate until ready to cook.
• Prepare the garlic oil: Heat the oil in a pan and fry the garlic over low to medium heat until it starts to turn lightly golden in colour and crisp.
• Transfer immediately to a heat proof bowl and set aside.
• Prepare the mushroom sauce: Soak the mushrooms in 250 ml warm water until softened.
• Squeeze the excess water from the mushrooms, set aside and reserve the mushroom water. Slice the mushrooms.
• Heat 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil in a small saucepan. Stir-fry the garlic and mushrooms for one minute. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the cornstarch mixture, and bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and let the sauce thicken a bit. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
• Turn off the heat, cover the saucepan and set aside.
• Prepare the vegetables: Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and a pinch of salt and sugar.
• Blanch the choy sum stems first, followed by the leaves. Remove, drain and set aside. Keep the water.
6. Cook the wantan. Boil some water in a pot and cook the wontons in batches for one to two minutes until cooked.
• Stir occasionally to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot. Drain and set aside.
• Alternatively, add them to some prepared chicken broth and garnish with spring onions. The wantan can also be deep-fried.
• Prepare the noodles: In a shallow serving bowl, place one serving of the seasoning sauce.
• Bring the water used to blanch the vegetables to a rolling boil and cook one bundle (100 g) of noodles for about 30 seconds or until done to your liking.
• Use a large sieve to drain the noodles and run them under cold running tap water for five seconds, then dip the noodles in the boiling water again just to warm them up.
• Transfer the noodles into the serving bowl and toss them in the seasoning sauce.
• Add six tablespoons of the mushroom sauce and toss again. Add a dash of white pepper.
• Garnish the noodles with choy sum, wantan and sliced char siew.
• Serve immediately with pickled green chillies and a bowl of wantan soup.
• If you like it spicy, mix the noodles with some Sriracha chilli sauce.
Pickled chillies
Ingredients
• 5 or 6 green chillies, discard the seeds and slice thinly (for more heat retain the seeds)
• 250 ml Chinese rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup water, boiled
Method
• Prepare the green chillies and transfer into a small bowl. Bring the water to boil, and pour it over the chillies and let it sit for about 10 seconds. Drain and discard the hot water.
• In the same bowl, add the rice vinegar, salt and sugar. Stir to blend well. Transfer everything into a small glass container or jar and leave it overnight in the fridge.
Tips
• Use good quality fresh egg noodles that are springy and have a good bite after cooking.
• For the best results, make your own char siew. Refer to char siu or Chinese bbq pork on Rasa Malaysia. You can do this while you are making the green chilli condiment.
This recipe first appeared in Rasa Malaysia
Low Bee Yinn is a food blogger and cookbook author.