The best noodle you (maybe) have never heard of
Yee Mein! One of our favorite noodles out there - this Cantonese noodle's simple fantastic at absorbing flavor.
0:00 - Why is Yee Mein the best Mein?
1:53 - Yee Mein with Shiitake and Pork
7:01 - Steph's Opinion on Lobster Cheesy Yee Mein
8:27 - Cheesy Yee Mein with Shrimp
16:36 - Birthday Yee Mein!
Yee Mein sourcing notes:
While Yee Mein appears to be a common sight at most Chinese supermarkets in the States at least (which tend to have a good selection of Cantonese ingredients), unfortunately at the time of writing it’s a bit dicey to find online. Amazon carries it, together with an absurd Amazon-sized markup - $25 for one recipe’s worth, which is WAY too expensive to recommend. That said, they have the same brand as the one that appeared at 99 Ranch, so here it is if you’re curious to at least get a visual on it:
SHIITAKE AND PORK YEE MEIN
On using Jiuhuang Yellow Chives if you can find them:
Grab about 7-8 Jiuhuang, cut off the white fibrous bits at the bottom and toss those (ditto with the slightly wilted ends if yours are a bit older). Chop into two into sections, then toast in a dry wok (or pan, or whatever) over medium flame for 1-2 minutes until fragrant and softened. Add the toasted Jiuhuang to the final Yee Mein at the same time we added the Choy Sum in the video, 6:43.
On subbing Choy Sum if you have to:
I was under the impression that Choy Sum (a.k.a. Yu Choy) was available at most Chinese and Asian Supermarkets in the west – i.e. my assumption was that if you could find Yee Mein, you’d have access to Choy Sum at least. Apparently this is sort of a regional thing. If you can’t find Choy Sum either, perhaps bean sprouts might be a nice idea. Let’s go with 40-50 grams worth – pick both sides of the bean sprouts as we showed in our Chow Mein video for a better texture. Toast the sprouts in a dry wok for a quick 30 seconds over medium flame until slightly fragrant, and add them in at the very end ala the Choy Sum.
Or just skip it, either way.
* Yee Mein, 1 package, 230-250g
* Dried Shiitake (冬菇), 4, ~20g. Soaked in ~1.25 cups of water for at least four hours and up to overnight, cut into slivers
* Fresh shiitake (香菇), 60g, cut into slivers
* Pork loin (瘦肉), 100g. Cut into slivers
* Marinade for the pork: salt, ¼ tsp; sugar ¼ tsp; white pepper powder, ~1/16 tsp; soy sauce (生抽), ½ tsp; liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), ½ tsp; cornstarch, ½ tsp; oil to coat, ~1/2 tsp
* Choy sum a.k.a. Yu Choy (菜心), 60g. Cut into halves or even quarters (if a bit larger)
For making the Yee Mein:
* Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), ~1 tbsp (for frying the mushrooms)
* Mushroom soaking liquid from before, 1 cup
* Seasoning for the liquid: salt, ½ tsp; sugar, ¼ tsp; soy sauce (生抽), 2 tsp, dark soy sauce (老抽), ½ tsp; oyster sauce (蚝油), 1 tsp
* Seasoning the Yee Mein: white pepper powder, 1/8 tsp; MSG (味精), 1/8 tsp
* Toasted sesame oil (麻油), 1 tsp
CHEESY SHRIMP YEE MEIN
* Yee Mein, one package, ~230-250g
For the shrimp:
* Shell on shrimp, 375g
* Marinade for the shrimp: salt, 1/4 tsp; sugar, 1/4 tsp, white pepper powder, 1/8 tsp; liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1/4 tsp; ~1 tsp of oil to coat
* Oil for frying the shrimp: ~1/3 cup, preferably peanut, reserve 1 tsp of the frying oil to finish the shrimp
For the shrimp stock:
* Aromatics for the stock: garlic, ~4 cloves, smashed; onion, 1/4, cut into chunks; celery, 2 ribs, cut into sections (optional)
* Brandy (白兰地) OR liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒) ~1 tbsp
For the cheese sauce:
* Butter, 2 tbsp
* Garlic, 1 large clove, finely minced
* Dried bay leaf (香叶), 1
* Brandy (白兰地), preferably, OR white wine OR liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1 tbsp
* Shrimp stock from above, 3/4 cup
* Milk powder (奶粉), 1/2 tsp
* Milk, 3/4 cup
* Cheeses: Parmesan, 2-3 tbsp shredded; Furu fermented tofu (腐乳), 1/4 cube, American cheese (芝士片), 2 sheets, ~30g
* Slurry of tapioca starch (木薯淀粉) OR potato starch (土豆淀粉), 1 tbsp mixed with 1 tbsp milk
* Seasoning: salt, 1/4 tsp; sugar, 1/4 tsp; MSG (味精), 1/4 tsp; white pepper, 1/4 tsp; fish sauce (鱼露), 1/4 tsp
To finish the Yee Mein:
* Shrimp stock from above, ¾ cup
* To season the stock: chicken bouillon powder (鸡粉), ½ tsp; salt, ½ tsp; sugar, ¼ tsp; white pepper powder, 1/8 tsp
* Optional: Jiuhuang (韭黄), ~7-8, fibrous bottom removed, chopped into ~2 inch sections and toasted for 1-2 minutes. Half mixed in with the Yee Mein and half for garnish
* Optional: dried shrimp roe (虾籽)
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Video on how to make Yee Mein:
Visual of the Lobster Yee Mein at 8:38:
Video on how to make Cheesy Lobster Yee Mein the classic way:
And check out our Patreon if you'd like to support the project!
Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ
Found via My Analog Journal (great channel):