Shrimp and Char siu egg noodle soup (Mi tom, xa xiu)

 

I know it's probably way too hot right now in the middle of summer for anything hot and soupy, but I just can resist making this egg noodle soup. Simply because I have a box of egg noodles sitting in my fridge for a few weeks now. I have to find some ways to turn it into some edible dish before the trash can consumes it. 

I guess I could make something less sweaty like stir-fried noodles, but since I already posted it my recipe for stir-fried noodle a while back, I thought maybe I should make something else different to share with everyone. The thought of making this egg noodle soup came to me when I saw my new ramen bowls got stacked away in the corner of my cupboard. It's perfect time to put my ramen bowl in its first good use. A couple hours later, a yummy looking bowl of noodle is staring at me, enticing! Enough talking, it's time to dig in now!

Ingredients:

For the soup:

 

1. 2 lbs of pork neck bones

2. 1/2 lbs of shrimp (peeled, deveined)

3. 1 box of egg noodle (Wonton brand)

4. 1 bag of bean sprout, 1 bunch of Chinese chives

5. 10 shallots (to make crispy fried shallots)

6. 1 piece of rock sugar (size of a small lime), 5 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of mushroom seasoning.

7. 1 medium white or yellow onion (peeled), 1 small daikon radish (peeled, cut into 2 pieces)

8. Water (enough for 8 bowls)

9. Green onions, cilantro, Chinese red vinegar, red chili pepper, black pepper

Rinse the bones and clean it well (you can soak it in water with a few tsp of vinegar to get rid of the smell). Place the bones in a large stock pot, fill enough water to cover the bones, turn the stove to high heat until the water comes to boil about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and drain the dirty water, clean the bones, remove all the scums and dirty foams of the bones. Wash the stock pot and fill enough water to make the broth. Bring the water to boil on high heat, then place the bones into the pot along with the whole onion and daikon radish. Season the broth with salt, mushroom seasoning and rock sugar. Turn to medium heat and let the broth simmer for a couple hours.

While the broth is simmering, prepare the crispy fried shallots by peeling them and use a mandoline slicer to slice them into thin slices. In a small saucepan on medium heat, add about 1 inch of cooking oil. Once the oil is heated for a couple minutes, add in the sliced shallots. Stir them occasionally to prevent uneven browning. When the shallots caramelize to a near golden brown color, remove immediately and fish them out of the hot oil to prevent them from burning. Scoop a couple teaspoons of crispy shallots with its oil and place in the broth to give it extra flavor.

Bring a small pot of water to boil, place the noodles in a wire mesh colander with a long handle, dunk the noodle into the hot boiling water for 1 minutes. Remove and rinse the noodles under cold, running water to stop the cooking process (divide the noodles into 4 portions to cook). Immediately drizzle the noodles with the crispy shallots and some of its oil to prevent the noodles from sticking together.

Wash the bean sprout, Chinese chives and cut the chives into 2 inch long. Wash the green onions and cilantro, chop them roughly into small pieces and set aside

For the Char siu (Xa xiu):

1. 1/5 lbs of pork belly or pork shoulder (cut into long trip about 1 inch thick)

2. 1/2 pack of Noh brand Chinese BBQ seasoning 

3. 2 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of sweet soy sauce

4. 3 cloves of minced garlic, 2 tbs of sugar, garlic powder, 1 pinch of five spice powder, 1 tsp of mushroom seasoning, ground lack pepper, 1/4 cup of water. 

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and marinate the meat for 1 hour. Place the meat with it marinate in a medium pot on medium heat and braise the Char siu for about 30 minutes. Cook just until most of liquid has evaporated and the meat is tender (but not fork tender). Remove from heat, let cool down then slice into thin slices.

To assemble the noodle:

In a medium bowl, place egg noodles on the bottom, next is a few slices of char siu, a couple shrimps. Then ladle in the hot broth on top. Toss in some Chinese chive, bean sprouts, green onion and cilantro on top. Sprinkle with black pepper, crispy shallots and some slices of red chili pepper. Drizzle a tsp of red vinegar if desired. Bon appetit!