''Mee pok'' is a

Chinese noodle Chinese noodles vary widely according to the region of production, ingredients, shape or width, and manner of preparation. Noodles were invented in China, and are an essential ingredient and Staple food, staple in Chinese cuisine. They are an im ...

characterized by its flat and yellow appearance, varying in thickness and width. The dish is of Teochew origin and is commonly served in the

Chaoshan Chaoshan or Teoswa (; peng'im: ''Dio5suan1'' i̯o˥˥꜖꜖.sũ̯ã˧˧ is a cultural-linguistic region in the east of Guangdong, China. It is the origin of the Min Nan Chaoshan dialect (). The region, also known as Chiushan in Cantonese, con ...

region of China and countries with a significant Teochew Chinese immigrant population such as

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. ''Mee pok'' is commonly served tossed in a sauce (often referred to as "dry", or ''tah'' in

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...

()), though sometimes served in a

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ing ...

(where it is referred to as "soup", or ''terng'').

Meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

and

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

s are added on top. ''Mee pok'' can be categorised into two variants,

fish ball Fish balls are rounded meat balls made from fish paste which are then boiled or deep fried. Similar in composition to fishcake, fish balls are often made from fish mince or surimi, salt, and a culinary binder such as tapioca flour, corn, or ...

''mee pok'' (''yu wan mee pok''), and mushroom minced meat ''mee pok'' (''bak chor mee''). ''Bak chor mee'' is usually prepared using thin noodles ("mee kia") (widely known as wanton style noodles or

youmian Youmian () are a variety of Chinese noodle widely used in Northern and southern China, Southern China, especially in the cuisines of Hong Kong and Guangdong. It has also been selectively used in the dishes of Shanghai cuisine, Shanghai, Malaysian ...

) or mee pok, while ''yu wan mee'' can also be prepared in both styles or other noodle varieties. ''Mee pok'' is a staple commonly offered in hawker centres and

coffee shops A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

(

Kopitiams A ''kopitiam'' or ''kopi tiam'' () is a type of coffee shop mostly found in parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand patronised for meals and beverages, and traditionally operated by the Chinese community of t ...

in parts of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

) in Singapore, together with other Chinese noodle dishes. “Mee pok” is commonly misused as a lazy term to cut short naming. Technically mee pok is actually a reference to the type of noodles not the dish. You will see that the dishes as mentioned are meant to be bak chor mee or fish ball noodles.

''Mee pok'' sauce

The

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French word t ...

in which the noodles are tossed in is a very important aspect of the dish, and is considered a representation of the cook's skill and experience. The importance of the sauce in ''mee pok'' can be thought of similarly as the sauces that accompany

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are som ...

. The sauce consists of 4 components: chili,

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...

and other condiments such as

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...

and

pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

. The chili is made from various ingredients and its preparation often includes frying and blending. Oil, traditionally lard, ensures a smooth texture in the noodles, although

vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fat ...

is sometimes used as a healthier though less tasty version. Vinegar is added for its sourness, and diners may specify how much vinegar is used. The chili sauce may be replaced with

tomato ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and tangy flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes used egg whites, mushroom ketchup, mushrooms, oysters, grapes, mussels, or wal ...

for children and others who are uncomfortable with the spiciness of the chili.

Soup

Soup is served in a bowl as a side dish accompanying the "dry" variant, or served together with the noodles for the "soup" version where the sauce is omitted. Traditionally, the soup is boiled and simmered overnight with old hen, pork bones, dried

sole fish Sole is a fish belonging to several families. Generally speaking, they are members of the family Soleidae, but, outside Europe, the name ''sole'' is also applied to various other similar flatfish, especially other members of the sole suborder ...

, and soybean. The resulting broth is rich in taste and cloudy in appearance.

''Mee pok'' noodles

Usually, the noodles are factory-made, and requires substantial preparation before cooking. Different hawkers prepare and cook their noodles differently, but the desired outcome is the same: springy

al dente In cooking, al dente () describes pasta or rice that is cooked to be firm to the bite. The etymology is Italian "to the tooth". In contemporary Italian cooking, the term identifies the ideal consistency for pasta and involves a brief cooking t ...

noodles. Hawkers often toss the noodles vigorously to remove excess flour and soda and to separate noodles which have stuck together. Other processes include stretching the noodles, cutting into a desired length, and separating into serving portions. The cooking process of the noodles consists of blanching in hot and cold water multiple times, though some hawkers omit the cold water. The noodles are drained and placed in either sauce or broth.

''Bak chor mee''

''Bak chor mee'' (), which translates to minced meat noodles, is a

Singaporean Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, India ...

noodle dish popularly sold as street food in hawker centers and food courts. The noodles are tossed in vinegar, minced meat, pork slices, pork liver, stewed sliced mushrooms, meat balls and bits of deep-fried lard. ''Bak chor mee'' can be categorised into two variants: a dry version and a soup version. Most dry versions come with slices of stewed mushroom, minced pork, slices of lean pork and sometimes fried

ikan bilis Anchovies are small, common saltwater forage fish in the family Engraulidae that are used as human food and fish bait. There are 144 species in 17 genera found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Anchovies are usually classified as oily ...

, atop noodles tossed in a punchy chilli-vinegar sauce, while soup versions are lauded for the depth of pork flavour in its broth. Singapore's ''bak chor mee'' was listed as the top world street food by World Street Food Congress.

Fish ball ''mee pok''

This version of is usually served with toppings of

s, sliced

fish cake A fishcake (sometimes written as fish cake) is a culinary dish consisting of filleted fish or other seafood minced or ground, mixed with a starchy ingredient, and fried until golden. Asian-style fishcakes usually contain fish with salt, water, ...

s, (a type of small dumpling made with fish meat paste wrapping a small bit of minced meat), minced meat, meat balls,

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, ...

or '' taugeh'' (beansprouts in

). It can be made with the addition or omission of any of the toppings, prepared in soup or "dry" style, and either with or without the chili sauce.

Other types of toppings

Newer varieties of toppings include deep fried

dumpling Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fi ...

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...

slices, imitation

crab stick Crab sticks, krab sticks, imitation crab (meat), or seafood sticks (originally known as ''kanikama'' in Japan) are a type of seafood made of starch and finely pulverized white fish ('' surimi'') that has been shaped and cured to resemble the l ...

, and other processed fish products.

In popular culture

* ''

Mee Pok Man ''Mee Pok Man'' is a 1995 Singaporean film directed by Eric Khoo. The film is Eric Khoo's debut feature, released under his film production company, Zhao Wei Films, after making award-winning short films for years. It was entered into the 19th Mo ...

'' is the title of a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

directed by

Eric Khoo use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , resting_place = , nationality = Singaporean , alma_mater = Uni ...

, a

an film director. * ''Bak chor mee'' featured prominently in an episode of The Mr Brown Show, which satirized the James Gomez saga during the 2006 Singapore general elections.

References

{{Chinese noodles Chinese noodle dishes Teochew cuisine Malaysian noodle dishes Singaporean noodle dishes