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A paean to bak chor mee – the uniquely Singaporean minced pork noodle dish

It’s close to being a national dish, right up there with chicken rice and chilli crab, but then I’m a diehard BCM fan.

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The dish of minced pork noodle looks deceptively easy but is notoriously hard to do.

The dish of minced pork noodle looks deceptively easy, but is notoriously hard to make.

PHOTO: ST FILE

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Call me tam chiak (Hokkien for greedy), but if there is one thing I miss about Singapore since I left the city-state three months ago, it is Singapore food. Not just any food – here in Perth, I live a short drive away from multiple Singaporean/Malaysian restaurants offering daily access to char kway teow, chicken rice, hor fun, satay, even kway chap. It is another dish that is hard to come by – bak chor mee (lovingly shortened to BCM for those in the know). 

This dish of minced pork noodles – of noodles cooked al dente, usually served with minced pork and slivers of liver, tossed in a sauce of chilli, vinegar and lard, with a flavourful soup to go with it – looks deceptively easy but is notoriously hard to make. It is also, as far as I can tell, a uniquely Singaporean dish.

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