Hokkien Mee Singapore

Hokkien mee is a genuinely Singapore-created dish, born post-WWII and credited to a Hokkien ex-seaman who first sold it at Rochor Road (hence the old name Rochor mee). A medley of thick yellow egg noodles and rice vermicelli is slow-fried in a rich prawn-head-and-pork-bone stock until the noodles drink up the broth, yielding a moist (not dry) plate with prawns, squid and pork belly. It has no direct ancestor in Fujian, and is emblematic of how Hokkien seafarers adapted their food to local street-hawking.

Moist, savoury noodles soaked in a deep prawn-pork broth, studded with crisp prawns and tender pork, a faint smokiness from the wok. Eaten with sambal and a squeeze of lime, it is rich, briny and the heart of the Singapore hawker canon.

The prawn-head-and-pork-bone stock is the heart: it is simmered long and reduced until intensely flavoured. The noodles and vermicelli are fried in the wok with the stock, which they absorb as they cook, so the finished plate is moist but not soupy. The prawns and squid go in late so they stay tender. The slow frying in the stock, rather than a quick stir-fry, is what makes it distinct.