Originally posted on April 2, 2007. Updated with new photos.
This divine bowl of Penang Hokkien Mee (Prawn Noodle) took me months of hard work and patience. I mean months, not days, and certainly not hours.
To concoct a pot of pure shrimpy stock that is signature to this Penang hawker food dish, one has to have heaps of shrimp heads. Yes, I am talking about a ziploc bag (a BIG one!) full of shrimp heads. While I eat shrimp all the time, it’s a completely different matter when it comes to saving up their heads.
It’s impossible to get good Hokkien Mee here in the US, so for the past few months, I bought only head-on shrimps. Patiently and religiously I saved up their heads so I could make this at home…
This past weekend, the ziploc bag was finally so full that I could no longer zip it up. I quickly rushed out to the nearest Asian supermarket and got myself all the other ingredients–pork ribs, bean sprouts, noodles, etc.–and started cooking this famous hawker delicacy. The end result was a pot full of real prawny stock that was as close as what you get in Penang. It was really satisfying slurping up the soup and had unlimited topping of pork ribs that fell off the bones! Mmmm…
While Hokkien Mee is made famous by Penang hawkers, it originated from the Fujian province in China, and hence the name “Hokkien” (which means Fujian in its dialect) and “Mee” (meaning noodle). When I was in Xiamen in early 2006, I did validate this fact. I found Hokkien Mee (福建虾面) in coffee shops there. While the taste is almost the same, the one I had in Xiamen paled in comparison. The Malaysian version is considerably enhanced with better flavors, ingredients, and toppings.
Penang Hokkien Mee, the only hawker food dish that I seriously can’t do without. Do you want to have a bowl? ;)
PS: Elsewhere in Malaysia, Penang Hokkien Mee is called Har Meen (Cantonese dialect for Prawn Mee), Heh Mee (Hokkien dialect) or Mee Yoke. In KL, Hokkien Mee is a stir-fried noodle dish steeped in dark soy sauce with pork and serve with chili lime paste. Click here for Eating Asia‘s KL Hokkien Mee.
(Click Page 2 for the Penang Hokkien Mee Recipe)
Rate the Recipe:
Based on 21 Review(s)
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Dennis Lee
I have a question.
Under your ‘Toppings:’ heading, you have
1/2 pound of lean pork meat (boiled and sliced thinly)
But nowhere else do you tell us how this is boiled. I have seen hawkers fish it out of the boiling stock to slice up, so I suppose it can be boiled together with the pork ribs? (Number 4 under the ‘Method:’ heading).
Thanks.
Rasa Malaysia
Just cook with hot boiling water until cooked.
Su Jane
Hey! Thank you for the recipe! It really makes living away from Malaysia the best! I see you’re from OC too! I’m from OC too!
I have a question: Do you keep the lid on the entire time when you’re cooking the prawn stock? I’m afraid it’ll be too evaporated if I cook without the lid off, but the broth not being thick enough if the lid is on. Help!
Rasa Malaysia
On or off doesn’t matter, but I always check the stock.
P Mandal (FavCounter)
This is really YUMMY. But it needs little effort to make. Still I think it is okay because the outcome of such effort is great.
Rasa Malaysia
That’s awesome!
LKW
May i ask this amount ingredients is meant for how many servings ?
Rasa Malaysia
I think 4 people.