A while back, I had the chance to cook with a friend from Converts Central, Kaven Siddique who converted to Islam at the young age of 20. Siddique and I wanted to surprise his mother and grandmother by cooking a ‘halal-ified’ version of a Chinese dish that he enjoys eating. The first thought that came to his mind was Lor Mee, a food he hasn't eaten for years since he converted due to the dish traditionally being made using pork belly.
His fond memories of eating this classic Hokkien dish involved enjoying the ones from highly-rated Ma Bo Lor Mee, after his swimming sessions in his teenage days.
After looking at the limited options for Halal-friendly Lor Mee around Singapore, I realised how they somehow lacked in terms of flavour and the variety of toppings that are otherwise offered in many non-halal Chinese hawker stalls. With determination and a some culinary research, I crafted a halal version which, according to our Chinese editor Sze Tying, comes really close to the real thing, if not better!
In this, I used duck as a replacement for pork which forms a meaty and umami base for the sauce. Note that this recipe also reflects a SUPER loaded version of Lor Mee where I piled on a variety of toppings - fried fish, fishcake, ngoh hiang, tofu, egg, wanton. However, Lor Mee is essentially a noodle dish where you can load up as many or as little toppings as you want - so feel free to omit or add them to your liking.
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get the ingredients for this recipe here:
dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, cooking caramel, white peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, chicken stock cube, halal Chinese black vinegar, tapioca starch, minced chicken, wanton skin, snakehead fillet (ikan toman), sesame oil, Hokkien flat noodles, tau kwa (firm tofu), ngoh hiang rolls, fried fishcake, sambal tumis
if you are looking for more halal recipes, check out the following:
Prawn Mee... but HALAL!
I’ve been eating at Deanna’s Kitchen since their first physical stall opened in Toa Payoh in 2017. I enjoyed my bowl of prawn mee every single time, particularly the umami prawn soup which bursts with a profound natural sweetness of seafood.
