"Kiok Zhang Pei" in Cantonese
... which is directly translated as "heel's skin" doesn't sound appealing and appetising at all, but this was the code name of a hand peeled noodle (pasta) that my grandmothers taught my mom, each work their own version, to feed a huge family of theirs with their different styles.
In the commercial side, the official name is called "pan mee" in Cantonese or "mi hoon Kueh" in Hokkien, and these are actually relatively tummy, with anchovy (seafood) soup, vegetables and some minced meat; however, each family interestingly has their own version, depending on the financial status of the family, where it can create a different varieties, from the simplest poor man's staple to fancy.
Today, I attempted to recreate my paternal grandmother's post WW2 staple, where she usually cooks a huge pot for everyone, especially the kids in the family (including relatives') before she heads off to work as a house caretaker job.
Of course, the portion will be significantly smaller because I am testing, with the things I have at home, and I do not know how well it will turn out yet.
My grandma's recipe was simple, flour, egg, water, and some salt for the dough.
I actually checked on some YouTube "aunty" channels to refresh some memory because my mom couldn't remember the exact ratio, but it still turned out okay as I modified a little, where usually the dough has no eggs in it.
My grandma at the time, a widow in her early 20s after she lost my grandpa, had very little earnings but needed to feed a large family, because even as little wage she had, she still earned more than others after WW2.
The formula was simple, 1/3 of liquid over a cup of flour.
I used egg as the "liquid" base and added the water little by little till I formed a "messy dough"
From there, if the dough is too dry, add a little water and make sure the dough feels "half dry" before attempting to start kneading it for 20 times.
Then, after that, let it rest for 10 minutes before "throwing into the bowl" (like American football touch down) another 20 times.
If the dough while kneading, becomes too wet, just sprinkle some some flour and keep kneading until it no longer sticks to the fingers/hand
And them let it rest again for at least 15 minutes , at most 30 minutes for the dough to "rest" properly in a well covered bowl.
After taking it out and splitting into smaller portions, I followed the method to "fold in" the dough until it feels smooth and stretchy. That's when the glutes are forming.
Then I placed the smoothed smaller and folded inwards dough to rest in the bowl and see start boiling a pot of water (min 1 litre) and add some salt if needed.
(Can add the pinch of salt into the flour first as dry ingredients)
Once the water is boiling, turn to medium heat and start "pulling" the dough into a thin "slice of skin flake".
There's another method which is using a rolling pin, but it will not be as flaky thin like a "cracked heel skin".
My grandma used to do the pulling. And surprisingly I remembered even though I was 2 to 3 years old at the time.
These were the last memory I had of her before seeing her lying on the coffin close to autumn time, when I was 3.
Remaking this dish helped me to remember that I had a grandmother who I barely knew but loved me.
Moreover, it brought fond memories for my dad, where this was his staple growing up.
When the water is boiling, turn down the heat to medium heat, and once the dough starts to float, it is cooked.
mom showed how it is done
Once they are cooked and floating, immediately transfer it into a "cold bath" in order to maintain its "QQ" (bouncy) texture and doesn't dissolve into a mush too soon in the soup.
We made a vegetable pumpkin clear soup base with mushroom seasoning while the dough was resting earlier.
But dad wanted a little more umami, so we added tiny bit of dried scallops for that extra "colours of taste.
Coming back to the "heel skin" look, it should have this consistency look when the cooked "pasta" is done.
And once all are cooked and have gone through a "cold bath", these are drained and poured into the soup, reheating it and it is ready to eat.
So this pot will stay throughout the day, and whenever my dad felt hungry, he can just heat it up and grab a bowl of nostalgia.
What about you?
Do you gave a staple family recipe where you will always have memories flooding back while having it?
Until Then
Stay healthy, stay curious and learn new things, and stay happy!
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