Hello friends ! You have no idea how excited I am to share this Vegan Chili Pan Mee recipe with you.. It’s the first I’ve ever developed. That should be one for the books, right?
Pan Mee is a famous Hakka-Malaysian noodle dish, traditionally served with minced pork, fried anchovies, leafy vegetables and sometimes chili paste ! You can find it everywhere throughout Malaysia for breakfast, lunch and even dinner. This is my attempt of to recreate a vegan alternative.
Pan Mee, to me, is my childhood. I think I was a bit of a picky eater then, because I didn’t like many other dishes, such as Wan Tan Mee, Chee Cheong Fun or Char Kway Teow (but I do now, thankfully haha). Every Sunday after church, my family would have lunch at a kopitiam and my go-to would be Pan Mee! I always ordered soup and thick noodles. Eating hot Soup Pan Mee in a kopitiam on a sweltering Malaysian afternoon?! Yeah, I still don’t understand why I loved it so much. I could never finish a whole bowl by myself no matter how hard I tried. It just seemed like a bottomless bowl of noodles !
Now that I’m older, I like the Dried Chili Pan Mee version a lot better. It’s a savoury, sweet and spicy perfection ! A lot easier to eat on a hot Malaysian afternoon too.
The Main Components are:
- vegetarian fish sauce instead of traditional shrimp paste.
- chickpeas slightly mashed ! You can use canned chickpeas or learn how to prep dried chickpeas here.
- any leafy vegetable of your choice. traditionally served with “pucuk manis” or “马尼菜” but you can totally customize it.
I also included a recipe for homemade noodles ! The key is to roll out the dough as thinnnn as possible, otherwise you’ll end up with sticky, thick noodles. Don’t be afraid to flour your surfaces generously to prevent sticking.
Although nowadays we usually order Pan Mee at coffee shops, it is actually an easy homemade noodle dish. Why not try making Pan Mee yourself at home?
Hungry for more? Check out my other Malaysian-inspired recipes !
If you recreate this Vegan Chili Pan Mee dish, let me know by leaving a comment and rating below, or tag me on Instagram @eatwkriss and #eatwkriss so that I can see your amazing recreations !
Vegan Chili Pan Mee 板面
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- Food Processor
Ingredients
Noodles
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ tsp salt
Chili Paste
- 2 red chilis deseeded, chopped
- 1 dried red chili deseeded, chopped
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 1 tbsp vegetarian fish sauce*
- salt & sugar to taste
Chickpea Mushroom Topping
- ¾ cup cooked chickpeas 125g, lightly mashed**
- 4 shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
Black Sauce
- 1½ tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp thick soy sauce
- 1½ tbsp vegetarian fish sauce*
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- pepper to taste
Soup
- 1 cup vegetable stock ***
- 2 cups water
- 3 tbsp vegan fish sauce
- 1 tbsp oil
- salt & pepper to taste
To Serve
- 1 piece black fungus soaked in water until soft, sliced
- 200 g leafy vegetable of choice
Instructions
Dough
- Mix flour and salt in a small mixing bowl until well combined, then add water and combine until a soft dough forms. Add a little flour if dough is too sticky, or a little water if dough is too dry.
- Place dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until soft. Place into a lightly oiled bowl covered with a clean cloth and let rest.
Chili Paste
- Add all the chili paste ingredients, except the oil, into a food processor and blend. Scrape down the sides every so often to ensure everything is blended evenly.
- Drizzle in oil while blending to form a slightly watery paste.
- Transfer to a pan and cook on medium heat until it reduces into a thicker paste, around 15-20 minutes. Prepare the rest of the ingredients while keeping an eye on the paste. Once the paste is reduced, set aside.
Chickpea Mushroom Topping
- Combine all the sauce ingredients together. Mash the chickpeas gently with a fork and set aside.
- In a pan, fry the garlic with some oil until slightly browned and fragrant. Then add chickpeas and shiitake mushrooms, and half of the sauce mixture. Cook for a few minutes then set aside.
- In the same pan, add oil and black fungus slices, stir until cooked then set aside.
Soup
- Meanwhile, add vegetable stock, water, vegan fish sauce, oil, salt and pepper to a small pot and bring to a boil.
- Add leafy vegetables and turn off the heat. They should cook pretty fast (depending on what kind of vegetable you use).
Noodles
- Roll out the dough into a rectangular-ish shape on a floured surface. Make sure to roll it as thin as possible without the dough tearing. Add more flour if the dough starts to stick to the surface.
- Cut the dough into noodle strips. I like mine a little thicker 🙂
- Cook noodles in pot of boiling water (or even in the soup if you like). Remove the noodles once they start to float, around 30 seconds.
- In a pan, add the cooked noodles and the remaining half of the sauce mixture. Stir until sauce evenly coats the noodles.
To Serve
- Toss all ingredients together and enjoy with a bowl of soup !
Notes
SAVE THIS PIN FOR LATER !
