One of my favourite dishes in my time in Malaysia was wantan mee. Usually all the ingredients are are in the one bowl in the soup. I preferred it dry, that this the wantans and soup on the side and the noodles and pork separate. Also often the char siu is quite thin, except in Kuala Lumpur where it was always quite chunky. So I made my version of a dry KL wantan mee.
For the soup I sweated off one bashed roughly chopped stalk of lemon grass and ginger. Added a star anise and some pre soaked wood ear mushrooms. I added 2 litres of chicken stock and through in an inch square piece of belly pork and some cabbage leaves .I simmered for 1 hour ( I took the star anise out after half an our as it was becoming over powering. I seasoned with fish sauce. I strained the soup. Before serving I reheated the soup adding shredded cabbage and frozen pork wantans. The result was tasty but too dark and heavily flavoured. For wantan mee something lighter and more delicate was needed. It tasted more like bak kut teh, I still have some in the freezer so it will come in handy for that,
The pork and noodles were more successful and tasted fairly close to those I’ve had. I diced some belly pork and fried until the fat had rendered and crisped up. I then coated in a mix of honey and dark soy sauced and put in the oven at 180c for 25 mins. I took care to keep the rendered pork fat and keep it warm. Once the pork was done I served it over cooked fresh wantan noodles ( 1-2 mins boiling) ,having dressed the noodles with the pork fat , oyster sauce and dark soy sauce. I also added ppickled green chillis.
