Well, hellooooooooo!! I'm ba-aaaack! I'd apologise for my absence, but I know you know I wouldn't disappear without good reason, and I have something for you that I hope will make up for my silence. I've actually been leaving a trail of links all over your blogs lovely friends, in your comments boxes,  but alas, most of you did not bite the bait, so, I'm just going to have to come out and say it - I have amongst other things, been working on my new bread blog, other things still simmering on the stove. Hopefully more on that soon! I'm having a blast messing around with yeast and dough and hope you'll come take a look at what I've done and cheer me on! Hopefully, I will be able to divide my time equally and will post here on Quickies every Thursday and at Bread Expectations every Monday.

Today's post is what I had for lunch a couple of days ago. It's super easy, lightning fast and after the surfeit of year end holiday goodies (that don't feel so great when you can't zip yourself up in your favourite jeans :P) is blessedly stingy with the calories.

Mee Hooh Kueh is a Hokkien  (a Chinese dialect group originating from southern Fujian in China) dish that is very popular here in Singapore, especially for breakfast, but I'd happily eat it in a heartbeat, for lunch or dinner even. The literal translation of "Mee Hoon Kueh" is flour cake soup. Traditionally , this is a home cooked dish where a wheat flour dough is torn into large shreds ( a little like spatzle) and cooked in a rich and tasty dried anchovy and pork bone based stock, along with mustard greens, minced pork, sometimes mushrooms and an egg. Garnishes include crisp fried anchovies, crispy shallots and chilli slices. Alternatively, instead of chilli slices, a piquant chilli dip is served alongside it.

This is of course, my own, slightly demented but no less delicious twist on the original because, on top of running a home, family, writing aspirations and two food blogs, I WISH I had time for a daily jaunt to the market. What we have here is an exotic hybrid that is part Chinese, part Japanese and part Korean. 

it's never really good till it's mussed up good...

I hope you're thinking "Yowza!" and not "Yikes!" right now, but, don't just dismiss this as a thoughtless hodge-podge. It is pure deliciousness, born out of a desperate need to put lunch on the table, in the midst of folding laundry, vacuuming, scrubbing bathrooms, dreaming up recipes and concepts, visiting bloggie buddies and babysitting three tubs of different bread doughs. Breathe......breathe......

not spongebob's jellyfishing net

Prep 10 mins      Cook 15 mins     Serves 2

4 cups water
1/2 cup dry sake
1 1/2 Tbsp granulated dashi stock
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 large fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
24 wonton wrappers (I used square ones)
A generous handful dried, split large anchovies, fried crisp and drained
Sliced spring onions (scallions) for garnishing
1 bird's eye chilli, thinly sliced, for garnishing
Crisp fried sliced shallots, for garnishing
Kimchi - to serve alongside, if you like

Combine water, sake, dashi stock, salt and sliced mushrooms in a pot and bring to the boil.

Put another small pot of water to boil, for blanching the wonton wrappers.

When mushroom broth boils, bring down to a simmer.

When blanching water boils, drop half the wonton wrappers in individually in quick succession and boil for 15 seconds. Fish out wrappers with a noodle blancing drainer and immediately drop into a large bowl of cold water to remove the starch and prevent sticking.

Fish out wrappers and put into serving bowl. Repeat with the other half of wrappers.

Ladle the boiling broth and mushrooms over each of the two bowls and garnish each with some anchovies, scallions, chilli and shallots. Serve immediately.