Penang Hokkien Mee (Prawn Noodles)
Penang Hokkien Mee is a popular prawn broth noodle dish from Penang, Malaysia. Get the recipe here for the umami-rich soup and the special sambal that goes with it.
- Prep time
- 1 hr
- Cook time
- 1 hr 40 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 red onion(s)
- 4 garlic clove(s)
- 2800 ml water
- 250 g pork bones
- 0.5 cup oil
- 6 shallot(s)
- 10 g shrimp paste (dried)
- 0.5 cup chilli paste (cili boh)
- 2.5 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 200 g prawn shells
- 100 g bean sprouts
- 100 g Chinese water spinach
- 200 g yellow noodles
- 100 g rice vermicelli noodles
- 20 prawns
- 2 fish cake
- 4 egg(s)
Instructions
- 1
Blend onions and garlic into a fine paste. Set aside.
- 2
In a pot, add water and pork bones directly. Cook for 5-6 minutes over high heat to remove impurities. Once the scum appears on the surface, remove the pork from the pot. Discard water.
- 3
In a separate pot, add oil to fry the sliced shallots for 5 minutes on low heat or till golden brown. Remove fried shallots and set aside. Do not discard oil.
- 4
In the same pot, add the shrimp paste and fry it for one minute over low heat.
- 5
Carefully sauté the blended onion and garlic paste for 30 seconds. Then, add chili paste to cook for 5 minutes over medium to low heat. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
- 6
Stir in the sugar and salt. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes over medium to low heat. Ensure that the sugar, salt and shrimp paste are fully incorporated.
- 7
Once done, the oil will float on the top and separates from the chili paste. Scoop the sambal into a clean bowl. Leave the excess oil in the pot.
- 8
In the same pot, cook the prawn heads and shells for 5 minutes over medium to high heat or until water evaporates for more intense flavours.
- 9
Turn off the heat. Add water into the pot. Blend prawn heads and shells coarsely.
- 10
Then, add more water into the pot. Add the boiled pork bones. Allow the broth to boil with the lid on for 60 minutes on medium to low heat. Stir occasionally to avoid burning.
- 11
Remove pork bones from the broth and set them aside. Strain the broth with a fine mesh colander. Discard the prawn shells.
- 12
Pour the strained broth back into the pot. Add 0.5 cups of sambal. Add salt and sugar to season. Stir and simmer for another 15 minutes
- 13
Prepare toppings by boiling a pot of water over medium heat. Once the water boils, blanch water spinach and bean sprouts for a few seconds. Then, add fish cakes and prawns to blanch for 3-4 minutes or until cooked. Boil eggs for at least 6 minutes. Remove the shell and halve the eggs. Lastly, cook noodles according to the packaging. For fresh or hydrated noodles, blanch them for 2-3 minutes. Assemble the dish by preparing a portion of noodles, adding soup onto it and completing it with some toppings.