Springy flat egg noodles tossed in a tangy vinegar-and-chilli sauce, heaped with minced pork, sliced pork liver and meatballs, served with a small bowl of pork-bone soup. Widely cited as Singapore's most uniquely local noodle dish, a Teochew invention.
Bak chor mee is widely cited as Singapore's most uniquely local noodle dish, a Teochew invention. The name means minced-meat noodles in Teochew. Springy flat egg noodles (mee pok) are tossed in a tangy vinegar-and-chilli sauce and heaped with minced pork, sliced pork, pork liver and meatballs, served with a small bowl of pork-bone soup. The signature vinegar-based sauce is its defining Singapore-Malaya trait, and the dish is anchored by Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, one of the first two hawker stalls in the world to earn a Michelin star.
Tight, springy noodles in a glossy, tangy, faintly sweet sauce with a chilli kick, every bite layered with tender pork, silky liver and bouncy meatballs, the side soup clean and porky. Eaten fast and hot, it is savoury, sour and the pure taste of a Singapore hawker.
The defining element is the vinegar-chilli sauce: black vinegar, chilli paste, lard, soy and tomato paste are mixed into a tangy, faintly sweet dressing that coats the blanched noodles. The pork toppings are each cooked separately (minced, sliced liver, meatballs) so each keeps its texture, and the assembly is done fast so the noodles stay springy. The small bowl of pork-bone soup is served on the side so it does not soften the noodles.
Variations
A dry version is most common; a soupy version also exists. Mee kia (thin noodles) can replace mee pok.
On the Palate
Where Bak Chor Mee sits in the Singaporean flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
6 steps · 30 min
- 13 min
Blanch 400g mee pok noodles in boiling water 30 seconds; drain well.
Watch outBlanch the mee pok just 30 seconds and drain well — pull it while springy, it keeps softening in the sauce; overcooked it goes limp.
- 24 min
In a bowl, mix 2 tbsp black vinegar, 1 tbsp chilli paste, 1 tbsp lard, 1 tsp each of light soy and tomato paste.
- 33 min
Toss the hot noodles in the sauce; divide into 4 bowls.
- 410 min
Marinate 150g minced pork, 100g pork liver slices and 8 small pork meatballs separately; blanch each quickly in pork stock until just cooked.
Watch outCook the minced pork, liver and meatballs each separately and only to just-done — the liver especially turns chalky the moment it overcooks.
- 55 min
Pile the toppings on the noodles; add sliced mushroom and fish cake.
- 63 min
Serve at once with a small bowl of pork-bone soup and chopped spring onion.
