My Sunday Best: Heritage Noodles

I call this dish Heritage Noodles. It's not really something new but I've taken this inspiration from my grandma. It's one of my family's oldest recipes. I distinctly remembered that this was created because as a family that lived and thrived in a South East Asian country, we adapted to the taste. We learned to like and grow up with a lot of different and interesting flavours, such that now that I don't live there anymore, I still crave for it. You'll find out soon which Asian country this is from the main flavouring of the dish. This particular paste gives this noodle dish it's very distinct smell and taste, plus, a little goes a long way.

The idea behind the dish is very simple. The closest dish that I can associate this with is a Taiwanese noodle dish called tan-tan noodles. It is made with minced pork and a whole lot of sauces and heat. I added my own twist to this because my grandma usually serve this up with steaming hot rice and she adds brown sugar to sweeten the dish.


Here's the list of ingredients.



1/2 brown onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
400g pasta mince (combination of beef and pork)
5 pieces of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 tsp of fermented shrimp paste, to taste
1/4 cup warm water

I used ramen noodles here but you can use ordinary ramen (even instant noodles), pasta or rice.

I also added fresh basil on top of the dish, you can use parsley or coriander leaves for this as well.

The method is simple. Sautee the pasta mince until dry. Add the onions, garlic and cherry tomatoes until all ingredients are wilted and nicely bronzed. The tomatoes will be wilted until just the skin remains. Add the water bit by bit to prevent the pan from drying out. Lastly, add the fermented shrimp paste.

Cook the noodles and drain. Place some of the minced pork on top of the noodles. Mix, top with fresh basil leaves and enjoy.

The major flavouring here is a shrimp paste called Bagoong. It has a strong fishy taste that is pleasant compared to the other South East Asian shrimp pastes. The smell is also pungent but sweet most times. Remember to taste as you add more, otherwise, the taste will be too strong. For first timers, I encourage you to try a little bit of this with some raw carrot sticks just to understand the flavour.

What I like about this dish: Definitely the taste.
What I would do for next time: A suggestion from my aunt is to add coconut milk for a richer dish. I might also add chopped veggies like carrots, zucchini or bell pepper. It will make a nice salad too.