Recipe: Stir Fried Two Noodles (Hokkien Mee)

STIR FRIED TWO NOODLES (HOKKIEN MEE)
Source: Southeast Asian Cooking from the California Culinary Academy Series by Jay Harlow, published by the Chevron Chemical Company, 1987.
Yield: 4 Servings

This is a favorite street snack among the Chinese in many Southeast Asian cities. Hokkien is the local pronunciation of Fujian (Fukien) province in southeast China, the origin of many Chinese emigrants over the years. In a typical noodle-vendor's stand, the pork and shellfish are cooked in a stock that simmers for hours, picking up more flavor all the time. In this home version, the extra flavor comes from reducing the stock after cooking the meats.

FOR THE STOCK:
1 cup water
1 cup basic chicken stock
1 tbsp light or dark soy sauce
1/2 lb pork shoulder, in one piece
1/4 lb squid, cleaned and cut up
1/4 lb raw shrimp in the shell
FOR THE NOODLES:
2 tbsp oil or lard
3 unpeeled cloves garlic, crushed
6 oz thin egg noodles, boiled, drained, and tossed in 1 tbsp oil
4 oz thick rice sticks*, soaked and drained
2 cups bean sprouts
1/4 cup Chinese chives or garlic chives, cut into 1-inch lengths

TO PREPARE THE STOCK:
In a small saucepan combine water, stock, soy sauce, and pork. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until meat is tender. Remove meat and set aside. Return stock to a boil.

Add squid and cook 30 seconds. Remove and set aside.

Cook shrimp 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and set aside, reserving stock. Peel shrimp and devein if necessary. (For additional flavor, add shrimp shells to stock and simmer 10 minutes longer.)

Bring stock to a boil and reduce by half. Strain stock. (The recipe may be prepared to this point several hours ahead.)

TO PREPARE THE NOODLES:
Slice pork into bite-sized pieces.

In a wok or large skillet, heat oil or lard and garlic to near smoking. Remove and discard garlic cloves when they brown.

Add noodles and rice sticks and stir-fry until they are lightly browned in places.

Add stock, cover, and cook 2 minutes.

Remove cover, add pork, squid, shrimp, and bean sprouts, and continue stirring and cooking until noodles have absorbed' most of the liquid, about two minutes.

TO SERVE:
Transfer to serving platter and garnish with Chinese chives.

*Note: The authentic rice noodle for this dish is a thicker rice stick called laifen in China and pancit luglug in the Philippines, but ordinary thin rice sticks may be used.