Chili Pan Mee

Chilli pan mee has to be the ultimate noodles dish to test your tolerance of spiciness. Originating from the Hakka kitchen, chilli pan mee is one of the popular noodle dishes in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia.

4.67 stars

Preparation 15 mins
Cooking 45 mins

Main

Ultimate Spicy Noodles, 板麺

Malaysian, Singaporean, Bruneian

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Nutrition per Serving

2023 kcal
294 g
61 g
83 g


‘Chilli Pan Mee’ should be in your list of must-try food in Kuala Lumpur for it is loved by the locals as well as tourists. ‘Pan Mee’ (板麺) literally translates to flat noodles. There are many variations of 'Pan Mee' in Malaysia. If you love some spice, then chilli pan mee would be your choice as you will experience the spiciness contributed by the special chilli mix topped onto the noodles. This special chilli topping is usually placed separately for customers to add to their noodles according to their hearts' content.

How to lessen the spiciness of chilli pan mee?

Homemade 'Chilli Pan Mee' allows you to control the level of spiciness. When preparing the special chilli topping, remove the seeds and membranes of the chillies to reduce the spiciness.

Substitute for dried prawns

If you don't like prawns, you may blend the dried shrimps finely which is the more common practice instead of chewing into chunks of them. You may also reduce the amount of the recommended dried prawns to half. More dried chillies may be added instead. Do sauté the chlili topping until it turns brown as this would reduce the strong taste of the dried shrimps.

However, if you are preparing for guests who are allergic to prawns or dried shrimps, simply omit them from your recipe. Add a few dashes of fish sauce to get some umami.

Can I buy wheat noodles?

Of course, dry or frozen wheat noodles (without eggs) are sold at Asian grocers. I used homemade wheat noodles but this is not compulsory. Replace it with store bought thick wheat noodles or egg noodles, if that is your preference. That would work well too.

Once the noodles are cooked, add a few drops of vegetable oil or shallot oil to prevent them from sticking together.

Vegetarian chilli pan mee

As I had mentioned, I made a vegetarian version the very next day after recording this video. All I did was to replace the meat with minced shiitake mushrooms which were first marinated and then sautéed. The result was just as fantastic.

Mix the noodles thoroughly and enjoy it together with a bowl of soup with some spinach or sweet potato leaves, if they are available. They add some sweetness to the lightly salty soup.


Ingredients

Servings:  
150 g
minced chicken
1 tbsp
light soy sauce
1 tsp
dark soy sauce
1⁄2 tbsp
oyster sauce
1⁄4 tsp
pepper
1⁄2 tsp
sugar
500 ml
water
20 g
dried anchovies
5 tbsp
oil
1
shallot(s)
1
garlic clove(s)
1
fresh chilli (red)
15
chilli peppers (dried)
15 g
shrimps (dried)
2
egg(s)
2
wheat noodles
chinese flowering cabbage/choy sum

Steps to Prepare

Chili Pan Mee Step 1

Step 1 of 7

Marinate minced meat with soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, pepper and sugar. Set aside.

Chili Pan Mee Step 2

Step 2 of 7

    • 500 ml water
    • 10 g dried anchovies

Boil water, add dried anchovies into the pot and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Chili Pan Mee Step 3

Step 3 of 7

    • 10 g dried anchovies
    • 2 tbsp oil

In a pan, heat oil at medium heat to fry the rest of the dried anchovies until golden brown. Leave aside for garnishing.

Chili Pan Mee Step 4

Step 4 of 7

    • 1 shallot(s)
    • 1 garlic clove(s)

Using the same pan, sauté sliced shallots and minced garlic in oil until fragrant. Then, add marinated minced meat and sauté until cooked. Set aside.

Chili Pan Mee Step 5

Step 5 of 7

To prepare chilli topping, pound fresh chilli and dried chillies. Separately pound dried shrimps roughly. Heat oil in a pan. Sauté dried shrimps until fragrant, then add pounded chillies. Continue to sauté chilli topping until the colour changes to a darker shade. Set aside.

Chili Pan Mee Step 6

Step 6 of 7

    • 2 egg(s)

Prepare poached eggs by stirring boiling water in one direction. Then, drop an egg into the pot. Allow the egg to cook for 3 minutes, then remove from boiling water.

Chili Pan Mee Step 7

Step 7 of 7

    • 2 wheat noodles
    • chinese flowering cabbage/choy sum

Boil wheat noodles until cooked. To assemble chilli pan mee, place wheat noodles in a bowl with some fried anchovies, minced meat, chilli topping, 'choy sum' (vegetables) and poached egg. Garnish with spring onions and fried shallots (optional).

Published: May 5, 2017


4 Discussions

Mia
a year ago

Mia

Thanx a lot!!!! Finally i had chili pan mee in Japan.

Helena Cheah
3 years ago

Helena Cheah

Best. My gal love the chilli a lot 😍😍. Keep asking me to make for her. ❤️❤️

Grace
3 years ago

Grace

Not too spicy for her?? ;)

Helena Cheah
2 years ago

Helena Cheah

Spicy but we love it ❤️ except for the small one. 😘🥰😍 I’m going to make some soon. ❤️😘

Robin
4 years ago

Robin

Gracias por la receta "Nyonya Cooking".

Sashi Pillay
4 years ago

Sashi Pillay

Sorry. A little confused. The ingredient list says 20 g anchovies. But the method shows 30 g - 20 g boiled and 10 g fried. Also, where do we use the boiled anchovies?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Sorry for the confusion. The summary of ingredients are incorrect here. We will rectify the summary of ingredients soon. 10g of anchovies are boil to make the soup. 10g of anchovies are fried as the topping. :)

Sashi Pillay
4 years ago

Sashi Pillay

Yup. Realized that after I watched the video. Thanks anyway.

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