Penang Hokkien Mee

4.72 from 35 votes

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. This is the best and most authentic recipe online!

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Total Time1

Course: Malaysian Recipes

Cuisine: Noodles

Keyword: Penang Hokkien Mee

Servings: people

Calories: 405kcal

Author: Bee Yinn Low

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 with a mini food processor until finely ground and well blended. Heat up a wok and add cooking oil. Stir-fry the chili paste for 5 minutes. Dish it up and set it 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 they are slightly browned. Remove from the heat, let them cool, and then slice them in half.
Add 15 cups of water into 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 tastes intensely prawny.
Strain the stock through a sieve and transfer it into another pot, discarding the shrimp heads and shells. Remove and discard any orange "foam" that forms at the top of the stock.
Bring the stock to a boil again and add in half of the chili paste. You can add more chili paste if you prefer it spicier.
Add the pork ribs and continue to boil 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 them. If desired, add a few pieces of pork ribs. Top with sliced pork meat, sliced shrimp, egg quarters, and sprinkle with shallot crisps. Serve immediately, and if desired, add more chili paste according to taste.

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.

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