There is usually no substitute for a hearty bowl of bak chor mee. Found commonly in hawker centres around the country, it is traditionally made with thin noodles (the angel hair of Singapore), black vinegar, chilli, lard and pork. But with the help of Bjorn Shen, Loof has transformed its menu into all sorts of crazy, including this bak chor mee grilled cheese. Looks questionable, but the taste tells us otherwise. 

Loof’s Bak Chor Mee Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Bak Chor Mee Filling

makes 3-4 servings

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 shallots, chopped

150g minced pork

80g pork meatballs, diced

2 tsp olive oil

10g dried shiitake mushrooms

10g oyster sauce

5g fish sauce

15g ketchup

25g Chinese black vinegar

45g sambal chilli paste

White pepper, to taste

  1. Heat one teaspoon of olive oil in a medium sized pot.
  2. Add chopped garlic and shallots into the pot over medium heat. Constantly stir to ensure that it does not burn.
  3. Add the chopped minced pork and meatballs, and let it simmer.
  4. Add the remaining ingredients (olive oil, dried shiitake mushrooms, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, ketchup, chinese black vinegar, sambal chilli to taste)
  5. Leave it on medium heat and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add white pepper to taste.
  6. This can stay refrigerated for 1-2 weeks.

Sandwich ingredients

Makes 1 serving

100g mozzarella and cheddar cheese mix, shredded

2 slices of sourdough bread

Kewpie mayonnaise

How to assemble the sandwich

  1. Place a handful of cheese (50g) over a piece of sourdough bread.
  2. Add the bak chor mee filling (roughly about 80g, or more if you’d like.)
  3. Add the rest of the cheese over the filling.
  4. Cover the sandwich with the next slice of sourdough bread.
  5. Spread a thin coat of mayonnaise on the exterior sides of sourdough.
  6. Grill both sides in a toaster (or a pan) for approximately 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown. This sandwich is best eaten within the next 10-20 minutes while still hot. Enjoy.