Hokkien Prawn Noodle Soup

This is dear sis's signature dish that is our family's favorite, we never get tire of eating it. The soup taste really yummy especially consume the next day.

Recipe adapted from Feast To The World 

Ingredients :(Serves 4)

For the broth:

250g pork spareribs

250g fatty pork chop

16 large raw tiger prawns

2 tbsp lard or sunflower oil

2 tbsp crushed rock sugar (from any good Chinese supermarket, alternatively use granulated sugar)

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 tsp whole black peppercorns

3 litres water

30g dried anchovies/ikan bilis (optional but will yield a tastier broth)

2 tsp light soy sauce

2 tsp dark soy sauce

sea salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper

For the garnish:

Fried shallots

1 spring onions, green parts only, cut into rings

To serve:

400g fresh egg noodles

200g kangkong (water spinach)

100g bean sprouts

2 large red chilled, cut into rings

2 tbsp light soy sauce

Method

Cut the pork spareribs apart into manageable size pieces. Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the ribs and blanch for 2-3 minutes before draining and rinsing with plenty of cold water to get rib of any visible blood. These will give you a clearer stock. Set aside.

Prepare the prawns. Remove and reserve the heads and shells. Cut a slit along the back and remove the thin black thread intestines, Wash thoroughly and pat dry. Set aside in the fridge.

(Note: If like me, you have plenty of frozen prawn heads and shells laying about in the freezer, you can use them instead and leave these prawns whole and skip this step. )

Heat the lard or oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Once smoking, add the prawn heads and shells to the wok and fry for 1 minute before adding the rock sugar, garlic and peppercorns and continue to fry for another 3-4 minutes, until the prawn heads and shells have turned a deep red colour and coated with glossy lightly caramelised sugar.

Pour in the water, add the blanched ribs, trimmed pork chop and anchovies and bring to the boil.  Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 2 hours. Skim off any floating foam occasionally.

Remove the pork chop from the simmering stock after 30 minutes, which should now be cooked and tender and set aside to cool. Once cooled, thinly sliced the pork and set aside.

After this time, remove the ribs from stock and discard as they will have no more flavour. Strain the stock through a fine sieve lined with a muslin cloth into a clean pan, pressing on the heads and shells to extract as muck stock as possible. Season with light and dark soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Bring the stock to the boil, add the shelled prawns and blanch for 2-3 minutes, until they turned pink and just cooked through. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Keep the stock on a simmer.

Bring a pan of water to the boil. Blanch the noodles until just heated through, then drain using a slotted spoon and divide into separate serving bowl.

Using the same pan of boiling water quickly blanch the kangkong and bean sprouts for a few seconds, until just cooked through. Divide the vegetable, cooked prawns and sliced pork and arrange neatly onto the noodle among the serving bowls. Pour enough hot stock over these to cover the noodles and top with the garnishes.

Place some light soy sauce in a small sauce dish with some sliced red chillies on the side.