Spicy Boiled Noodles With Fried Beancurd, Eggs And Fresh Prawns (mee rebus)

Spicy Boiled Noodles With Fried Beancurd, Eggs And Fresh Prawns (mee rebus)

This is a spicy balanced meal. It is a local recipe for Singaporeans and Malaysians. This dish is a traditional hawker food and commonly known as Mee Rebus in Asean Countries. Translated into English the dish means simply "boiled noodles".This name is however misleading as the dish is more than boiled noodles. It has a rich spicy sauce and is served with an elaborate garnish.

A decade ago Mee Rebus was sold by hawkers who used to carry two baskets over a pole. At one of the pole in one basket will contain his traditional stove and a pot of boiling water. At the other end of the pole contained a basket with his ingredients for the Mee Rebus. After that they used pushed cart with a bicycle fixed to it when they have made enough money.

Lately, Mee Rebus is sold in local hawker centres.

Ingredients:

Gravy:

1/2 kg  noodles

1/2 kg beansprouts

3 tbsp dried anchovy (for stock)

3 tbsp dried shrimp

10 shallots

4 tbsp curry powder

1 sweet potato (boiled and mashed to thicken gravy)

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tbsp salt

3 lemon grass (serai)


Garnishing:

2 stalks Chinese celery (chopped coarsely)

4 pieces fried bean curd cake

6 shallots (sliced thinly and deep-fried till crispy)

6 fresh prawns (boil for a few minute)

2 green chillies (sliced thinly)

2 hard boiled eggs (sliced)

Method:

Preparing the gravy:

1. Grind and boil dried anchovy in a pot with 6 cups of water for the stock.

2. Grind dried shrimps with shallots and add this paste to the stock. Bring to a slow boil.

3. Add the crushed lemon grass into the gravy.

4. Add the curry powder and then sweet potato to thicken the gravy. Stir frequently to achieve a smooth consistency.

5. Add salt and sugar to taste

Preparing the noodles:

1. Blanch noodles and beansprouts in a pot of boiling water. Do not overcook the noodles and beansprouts or they will be soggy. Place on a dish.

2. Pour gravy over the noodles and beansprouts.

3. Garnish with fried bean curd, prawns, fried shallots, Chinese celery and sliced green chillies and also slices of hard-boiled eggs.

Tips

1. Eggs may be sliced using a piece of string, egg cutter or a sharp knife. This way the slices of eggs can be cut very thinly without breaking.

2.Prepare noodles only when the dish is about to be served.

Fried Yong Tau Foo

Fried Yong Tau Foo

Homemade Yong Tau Fu

Yong Tau Foo is a dish made up of fish paste which are usually stuffed with taufu, brinjals, bitter gourd, chillies, ladies finger and taukee skin. Home-made fish paste would taste better. Home-made fish paste can also be bought in the market.

'Tenggeri' fish is usually used to do the fish paste

Yong tau fu ingredients

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg ikan tenggiri flesh
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 100 ml water
• 2 brinjal (cut into a few pieces and make a slit)
• 2 white taufu (cut into 2 and make a slit in the centre)
• 1 piece taukee (cut into 6 pieces)
• 2 string taufu pok (make a slit in each taufu pok)
• 2 tbsp taucheong
• 1 tbsp Maggi osyter sauce
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cornflour mix with 1 tbsp water
• 1/2cup water
• 2 tsp chopped garlic
• 2 tbsp oil

Method:

1. Pound the fish flesh, add salt, cornflour and water till a spongy and shiny paste is form.

2. Put some fish paste into the slit taufoo. taufoo pok and brinjals. Spread some fish paste on the taukee pieces and flip over.

Here's how they should look like after stuffing

3. Heat up the oil. Fry all the stuffed ingredients till cook. Put on a plate.

4. Now, let's do the gravy. Fry garlic, taucheong and then add 1/2 cup water to it.

Yong Tau Fu Sauce ingredients

5. When the gravy starts to boil, add oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar and cornflour.

6. Boil till it thickens. Pour the gravy onto the fried ingredients.


serving: 6 person

cooking time: 1/2 hour

variation: This dish can also be cooked as a soup.To make soup, instead of using taucheong and other sauces, sugar and cornflour (sauce ingredients mentioned above), add a liter of water with any seasoning. I recommend to add 1 tbsp of Maggi anchovy granules stock.


Note: ready-made fish paste can be bought in the night market (pasar malam) or some morning market.