Luncheon meat and egg noodles

Ingredientsserves 1

Method

1. Slice the luncheon meat about half a centimetre thick: thinner has no bite, thicker does not crisp.
2. Fry the slices in a little oil over medium heat until both faces are golden and the edges catch; lift out.
3. In the same pan fry the egg sunny side up: white set with a crisp edge, yolk still soft; fry longer for a firm yolk, or flip it (反蛋).
4. Boil the noodles in plain water for two and a half to three minutes; make up the soup sachet in the bowl with about 300 ml of hot water.
5. Lift the noodles into the soup (rinse them in cold water first if you like them springy), lay the lettuce, luncheon meat and egg on top, scatter the spring onion and eat. If the yolk is runny, break it so it runs into the soup, which the LIHKG forum voted the definitive way to eat instant noodles.
6. The older way: cook the noodles in the soup itself, so their starch thickens it, which is what most cafés do at speed; boil in water and pour the soup over for a clearer bowl.

Take care

• Contains egg, wheat and soy (noodles and sachet) and pork. Luncheon meat is a cured product and high in salt, so a slice or two, not half a tin. If the yolk is runny, cook it through for young children, the elderly and in pregnancy. Refrigerate an opened tin and use it within two days.

The story

餐蛋麵 is the Hong Kong breakfast reduced to its three cheapest, most reliable parts, a tin, an egg and a packet, and it is the bowl Hong Kong people cook for themselves at midnight. Luncheon meat came into the city with the American and British armies after the war and never left. In Australia every part of it is at the corner Coles, which makes it the first café dish a new arrival cooks.

Same counter

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Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.