Ban Mian... BUT HALAL!!!
this is seriously comfort food worth making at home!
we recently caught up with @thepantryboy to learn to make Ban Mian from scratch and the results were amazing! the handmade noodles were a huge plus and lended an edge of rusticity to the dish. however, if rushed for time, storebought fresh ban mian/ u-mian noodles work perfectly well.
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Ban Mian
(serves 4-6)
soup stock:
1 kg chicken bones
2 medium white onion, halved
1/2 cup soy beans
1/2 cup dried anchovies (ikan bilis)
2 tbsp white peppercorns
salt, to taste
handmade noodles:
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 egg
1/2 cup water (adjust if necessary)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil
chicken condiment:
400g minced chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 shallots, minced
15g ginger, minced
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
other accompaniments:
5 pcs chye sim (you can also use bok choy or kailan)
4 eggs
100 g fried ikan bilis
1/2 cup fried shallots
dipping sauce:
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 red bird’s eye chilli (chilli padi)
2 sprigs spring onion, chopped
2 sprigs coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp fried shallots (in oil)
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp kecap manis, or 2 tsp sugar
juice from 3-5 calamansi
directions:
making noods
in a bowl, place the flour and make a well in the centre. crack in the egg and add the salt, water and oil in the middle. with a fork gently whisk the liquids and subsequently incorporate the flour bit by bit until it comes together to become messy dough. transfer to a floured surface and knead the the dough to incorporate everything together. this may take about 5-7 minutes.
once the dough is tight and bouncy, cover with cling film and to rest for 30 minutes.
after rested, portion the dough to 4-6 equal pieces. on a floured surface, take each piece and roll out into a thin oval sheet, about 1/4 inch in thickness. sprinkle some more flour onto the surface of the sheet and tightly roll it up. use a knife or bench scraper to cut the roll into strips of about 1/4 inch width. unfurl and set aside the noodles until ready to cook.
preparing the soup
to make the stock, combine chicken bones with water in a pot and let it boil for 5 minutes. discard the water and rinse the bones. then, return the bones to the pot with 3 litres water. bring it to a simmer, cover and cook for 3 hours to extract the chicken flavour.
then, add in the anchovies, onion, peppercorns and soybeans and leave it to simmer for another hour. strain out the solids from the stock and season to taste with salt.
preparing the accompaniments
in a bowl combine minced chicken with the seasonings and mix well until the starch is fully incorporated.
combine all the ingredients for the dipping sauce together and mix well. adjust seasoning according to preference.
putting everything together
pour about 600ml of stock into a saucepan and bring to a boil. scoop the minced chicken with a tablespoon and drop a few spoons of it into the stock. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
add in a portion of handmade noodle and simmer until almost fully cooked. add a piece of chye sim and boil for another 30 seconds, stirring constantly. crack in an egg and cook for 10 seconds before transferring it onto a bowl.
garnish with fried anchovies and fried shallots and serve alongside the dipping sauce.