Claypot Yee Mee

I made this simple braised yee mee for lunch today, something I haven't eaten in a long time. I had forgotten how good these noodles taste. I don't cook with my claypot much, so I figured I might as well put it to good use. You can find yee mee (these are crispy noodle "cakes") at Asian supermarkets and they are usually made in Malaysia. I suppose it's more a Malaysian dish than anything else. You don't really need a claypot for it although it would probably taste more authentic, apart from keeping the noodles hot. I've used chicken and mushrooms here, but you can omit the mushrooms and substitute the chicken with a mixture of seafood or pork.


Claypot Yee Mee

Ingredients

100g chicken breast fillet, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda + 1/3 cup water

Marinade:
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
Pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper

1 clove garlic, chopped
2 chinese dried black mushrooms, stems removed
1 cup water + 1 cup warm water
3/4 tsp chicken stock powder
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp mushroom soy sauce (optional)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Carrots
1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water
1 egg

1 piece yee mee (crispy egg noodles)
Choy sum, blanched

Vegetable oil for frying

Method

Combine chicken with bicarbonate of soda solution, mix well and let it stand for 10 minutes. Drain off the solution and rinse the chicken with tap water to remove any excess. Combine with marinade and set aside for 15 minutes.

Soak mushrooms in 1 cup warm water for 30 minutes or until softened. Squeeze out excess water from mushrooms, set aside and reserve soaking liquid.

Heat up some oil in a pan and fry the garlic, followed by chicken. Add mushrooms and fry. Add remaining 1 cup water plus the mushroom soaking liquid, chicken stock powder, oyster sauce, fish sauce, mushroom soy, soy sauce and sesame oil. Bring to a boil, add carrots, cover and let it simmer for 15 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste. In the meantime, heat up your claypot.

When sauce is ready, stir in the cornstarch solution and bring to a boil again. Place noodles in the heated claypot and top with choy sum. Pour the boiling sauce over the noodles, then crack an egg in the centre. Cover with lid and simmer until the egg is cooked. Serve immediately!