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Penang Hokkien Mee is a beloved prawn noodle soup hailing from Penang, Malaysia. Often sold by street vendors and hawkers, it's a favorite dish enjoyed throughout the day by locals and visitors alike. If you're searching for the best and most authentic recipe online, look no further!
Hokkien Prawn Noodle Soup
Crafting this divine bowl of Penang Hokkien Mee (福建虾面) was no small feat—it demanded months of unwavering dedication and patience. I emphasize months, not days, and certainly not mere hours.
To achieve the signature flavor of this Penang hawker delicacy, one must amass a generous heap of raw shrimp heads and shells. Yes, I’m referring to a sizable Ziploc bag of them!
While I’m no stranger to enjoying shrimp in various dishes, there’s a distinct commitment involved in meticulously saving up their heads and shells for this culinary endeavor.
The Best Penang Hokkien Mee Recipe
Finding good Prawn Mee here in the US is impossible. So, for the past few months, I’ve been purchasing only head-on shrimp. I’ve patiently 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 bought all the other ingredients: shrimp, pork ribs, bean sprouts, noodles, etc.
The end result was a pot full of real prawny stock that closely resembled what you get from hawkers and street vendors in Penang. It was incredibly satisfying slurping up the soup and having unlimited toppings of pork ribs that fell off the bones!
The Origin Of The Dish
While Hokkien Mee is a renowned Penang hawker dish, its origins trace back to the Fujian province in China, hence the name “Hokkien” (which means Fujian in its dialect) and “Mee” (meaning noodle).
During my visit to Xiamen in early 2006, I confirmed this fact firsthand. I encountered Fujian Xia Mian (福建虾面) food stalls in local coffee shops on the island of Xiamen.
Though the taste was similar, the Hokkien Prawn Mee in Malaysia surpassed it by far. Malaysia’s version boasts richer, spicier flavors, superior ingredients, and toppings.
Beyond Penang, Malaysia, this noodle dish goes by various names, such as Har Meen (Cantonese dialect for Prawn Mee) or Heh Mee (in Hokkien dialect). Additionally, there’s KL Hokkien Mee, noodles stir-fried with dark soy sauce, originating from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital city.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 405 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
For a complete Penang street hawker food experience, I recommend the following recipes.
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Penang Hokkien Mee
Ingredients
Stock:
- 1 bag shrimp heads and shells, Ziploc Easy Zipper Bag
- 15 cups water, reduced to about 12-13 cups of water after hours of boiling and simmering
- 2-3 pieces rock sugar, about the size of a small ping pong ball each, or to taste
- 1.5 lbs (750g) pork ribs, cut into pieces
- salt to taste
Chili Paste:
- 30 dried red chilies, seeded and soaked to soften
- 10 shallots, peeled
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tablespoons water
- 6 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 pound (500g) yellow noodles, scalded
- 1 pack rice vermicelli, scalded
- kangkong , or water convolvulus, scalded
- bean sprouts, scalded
Toppings:
- 1/2 pound (250g) lean pork meat, boiled and sliced thinly
- 1/2 pound (250g) shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 6 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and quartered
- fried shallot crisps, store-bought
Instructions
- Blend the chili paste ingredients in a mini food processor until finely ground and well blended. Heat a wok and add cooking oil. Stir-fry the chili paste for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- In the same unwashed wok, add a little oil and cook the shrimp topping. Then, add a small amount of chili paste, sugar, and salt. Pan-fry the shrimp until slightly browned. Remove from the heat, let them cool, and then slice them in half.
- Add 15 cups of water to a pot and bring it to a boil. Then, add all the shrimp heads and shells, and simmer on low heat for about 2 hours or longer, until the stock becomes cloudy and has an intensely prawn flavor.
- Strain the stock through a sieve and transfer it to another pot, discarding the shrimp heads and shells. Remove and discard any orange foam that forms on the surface of the stock.
- Bring the stock to a boil again and add half of the chili paste. You can add more chili paste if you prefer a spicier flavor.
- Add the pork ribs and continue to simmer over low heat for another 1 to 1.5 hours, or until the pork ribs are thoroughly cooked. Add rock sugar and salt to taste.
- To serve, place a portion of yellow noodles, rice vermicelli, water convolvulus, and bean sprouts in a bowl. Ladle hot stock over the noodles and vegetables. If desired, add a few pieces of pork ribs. Top with sliced pork, sliced shrimp, egg quarters, and sprinkle with shallot crisps. Serve immediately, and add more chili paste to taste if desired.
Notes
- Traditionally, the shrimp heads and shells are stir-fried with oil until aromatic before being added into the boiling water. You can opt for this extra step if you like.
- Hawkers in Penang also blend the shrimp heads and shells after briefly boiling them to extract all the flavors from the shells. I’ve tried this step before and found that it’s not necessary if you have plenty of shrimp heads and shells.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I change to chicken bones.. thanks
Yes you can!
May i ask this amount ingredients is meant for how many servings ?
I think 4 people.
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.
That’s awesome!
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!
On or off doesn’t matter, but I always check the stock.
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.
Just cook with hot boiling water until cooked.
Bee, forgot to ask. This recipes is for how many people please? Thank you
Hi Bee, every now and then my market sell those very small grey prawns which is very fresh and is inexpensive. I wonder I could use those for soup without taking off the shelf. It is so tiny that some people use it for sock, I heard. Do I then fry the whole lot before adding water too?
Yes you can use them.
The only prawn noodles I’ve had here (US) is at Little Malaysia in Southern California! Very comparable to the prawn noodles I’ve had in Singapore! Can’t wait to try out your recipe!
Hi,
May I know how many servings that the recipe cater for?
This serves 3-4 people
I live on a small country where there’s no Asian grocery stores and all the so called Chinese restaurants are catered for the locals so the food there taste terrible IMO. So I am one of those Malaysians who would move mountain to have good Malaysian food. Your website has been a source of my kitchen inspirations. Today I made this dish – but I did a little shortcut to your already shortcut version – because I was too hungry and couldn’t wait as I’ve waited for 3.5 years to eat this in my home: I first boiled the prawn shells & heads and pork bones soup separately, then combined them to boil for 2.5 hours (saving the time to boil them one after another). I’d say it didn’t affect the taste, though I wouldn’t know the taste of your version as I haven’t tried :D The result is superb, all the effort of saving prawn shells and heads were paid off ! The prawns were super soft, unlike at the stall where they’d give you tiny prawns, I can have as many prawns as I want, good thing about home made food! But it’s 3-5 hours of hard work, so definitely won’t be able to make it very often.