Lo Meen

I grew up eating this simple boiled noodle tossed in a sauce composed of easily available ingredients.  The noodles can be fresh or the dried kind which comes in a folded bun found in Asian supermarkets.  Two pieces are sufficient for one person, but bigger eaters may need a third.  It is important that the boiled noodles remained delicately al dente, but if you like the noodles softer, leave them in the boiling water a little longer.  It is important that the sauce be ready as the noodles leaves the boiling water.  It is not necessary to absolutely drain the noodles – most of the moisture and the sauce will be quickly absorbed by the noodles once tossed.  My father liked to eat it after letting it sit for 10-15 minutes allowing all the sauce to be absorbed by the noodles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ingredients:

2-3 buns of dried noodles
freshly ground pepper

Sauce:
1 tbsp vegetable oil (fresh from the bottle or used cooked oil from deep-frying, which is more flavorful)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp medium sweet dark soy sauce
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 stalk green onions, chopped
1 serrano chili or 2 thai chili, chopped (optional)

In a bowl or plate, assemble the sauce before starting to boil the noodles.  You want to have the sauce ready once the noodles are done and placed onto the sauce straight from the pot dripping wet.  The hot liquid facilitates the mixing of the noodles in the sauce.

In a medium pot, bring water to a fast boil.  Place the dry noodles into the boiling water and gently use a chopstick or tongs to separate the strands as they soften.  Boil for about 3-5 minutes and testing for doneness, whether you like it soft or slightly al dente.  When noodles are done, remove from the heat and transfer the noodles dripping wet directly from the pot onto the sauce. The best way is to use a pair of tongs and toss the noodles immediately allowing the sauce to coat the noodles evenly.  You can also choose to pour the noodles into a colander and quickly transfer them onto the plate with the sauce – that way, you lose some of the moisture which helps facilitate easier tossing of the noodles.

Top with a few twists of freshly ground pepper and slurp it up!