Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Instant Gratification


A word of warning - what I'm about to rave about is not highly regarded, widely accepted or deeply craved for by most. Heck - its not even that pretty to photograph... but there aren't many things that can reduce me to a blabbering, grovelling idiot stuffing my face silly than a plate of these instant noodles topped with a crispy sunny side up fried egg.

But first a bit of history. For as long as I can remember, my family have made these noodles as a simple breakfast, a quick weekend lunch, a hearty family dinner or a late night supper on arriving back home after a long flight from a family holiday. Nobody knows who first created this simple variation on the plain instant noodles - tossed in shallot oil, chopped spring onions, deep fried shallots and the (now) not so secret ingredient - Bovril. Both my grandmothers become strangely vague when pressed about the originator of what what we affectionately refer to as "black mee"... like a part of the past they either are reluctant to talk about or have embarrassingly forgotten.

But black mee holds a special place in my heart (and of course stomach). Its what I practically lived on as a cheapskate student trying to satisfy my hunger pangs with as little as possible... and now when money has become less of a consideration when feeding my considerable appetite, its still a meal I come back to whenever I need to calm a deep (and frequent) craving for this nostalgic nosh. Call me a cheap thrill seeker - but this dish for me is not only instant, its instantly gratifying.

Recipe
Ingredients

2 packets of dried instant noodles
1 1/2 tablespoons Bovril
1 tablespoon shallot oil
1 finely minced spring onio
1 tablespoon crispy fried shallots
1 free range egg

Method
1. Prepare the dressing by combining oil Bovril, spring onions and fried shallots in a bowl.
2. Fry egg sunny side up in hot pan till crispy.
3. Boil the instant noodles till al dente in rapidly boiling water and toss in dressing with two spoonfuls of cooking water.
4. Top with fried egg, extra spring onions and fried shallots.

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