STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
When I was growing up, there was an old man who lived at the back lane of my house. He used to prepared the Hae Mee Soup (Prawn Noodle Soup) very early in the morning, and his, in my opinion, was the best in the world! It was really 真材实料 (authentic good stuff without MSG!).
This man would carry 2 big heavy wooden boxes with a long wooden poles across his shoulders. The boxes contained charcoal stoves. One stove was for the hot prawn soup that he prepared and the other was for a pot of hot water for cooking the other ingredients on the spot.
On hind sight, I cannot imagine how tough it was for him to make a decent living. His business was invariably good. Before he started his daily peddling, there would already be a long queue forming in front of his house. My brother and I would bring our tiffin carriers to buy the prawn noodle soup for breakfast for our family almost every week. The taste was unforgettable!
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WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DISH
- It’s MSG free! I am allergic to MSG, and so I love that this home made dish is free from that.
- The broth is rich in flavour. The rich seafood taste of prawns can be savoured with every spoonful of the broth!
HOW TO MAKE PRAWN NOODLES?
Toast the belachan until aromatic, then blend into powder and set aside.
Wash the prawns and separate the prawn heads from the bodies. Set aside the prawns heads and bodies for later use.
Wash the pork ribs and set aside.
Wash and peel the turnip, then cut half of it into large chunks. If the turnip is small, you can use the whole turnip.
Remove the roots from the bean sprouts, then wash and drain.
Wash the kang kong and cut into 4 cm lengths.
Wash the pork fats and cut into small cubes.
Wash the chilli and cut into small slices for the dipping sauce
Cut the fish cakes into thin slices and set aside for later use.
COOKING THE SOUP BASE
Blanch the pork ribs in a pot of boiling water for about 7 mins. Drain off the water and wash the pork ribs thoroughly to get rid of all traces of blood clots. Then wash the pot clean.
In the same pot, add the pork fats and fry over medium heat until golden brown and crispy. Transfer to a bowl and let it cool down before putting into an air-tight container. Transfer the oil into a bowl.
In the same pot, add in 4 1/2 litres of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in all the prawn bodies and blanch for 3-4 mins. Remove and transfer to a plate for later use.
COOKING THE PRAWN NOODLES
Blanch the bean sprouts in boiling water for 3 mins. Remove with a strainer and set aside. Do the same with the kang kong and set aside.
Place a handful of noodle / kway teow / mixture of both (enough for 1 serving) into a wok of boiling water and blanch for a few mins. Then transfer the noodles into a serving bowl.
Top with bean sprouts, kang kong, pork ribs, prawns and sliced fish cake, and scoop the steaming hot prawn stock into the bowl. Repeat for the other 5 bowls, and serve hot with red cut chilli and soya sauce.
You can add pork lard, crispy shallots, pepper and chilli powder to the bowl of noodle, depending on your preference.
MARKETING TIPS
- Buy the smaller shallots, which are more fragrant than big shallots.
COOKING TIPS
- Blanch the bean sprouts in cold water and slowly bring to a boil for 2-3 mins to help retain the crunchiness of bean sprout so it won’t turn limp, if that is your preference.
- Taste the soup first before adding in more salt. Some brands of belachan are rather salty, so adding salt and belachan might make it too salty.
- Discard the lower half of the kang kong stalks cos it is usually very fibrous.
- Do not overcook the kang kong or it will turn black.
ADJUSTMENTS AND STORING
- Use Turnip to sweeten the soup. Turnip has a natural sweetness and I use it to sweeten the soup instead of using sugar. You can also use rock sugar or both if that is your preference.
- For a thicker soup base, save all the prawn heads and prawn shells each time you cook prawns and store them in the freezer. Once I have accumulated enough, I will use them to make a tasty prawn broth that can be used to make Prawn Noodle Soup, Fried Hokkien Mee or Prawn and Pork Macaroni Soup.
- You can also cook up to 3 bowls at a time instead of cooking the noodles bowl by bowl. Don’t try to cook all 6 bowls at one go, as the pot would be overcrowded and the noodles will not cook evenly.
HOW TO TELL IF A SHELLED PRAWN IS COOKED
- When you put the prawn in the boiling water for a few minutes, the prawn start to curl up.
- You can tell the level of doneness from the shape of the curl :- C’ shape is not quite cooked, ‘O’ shape – overcooked, ‘U’ shape – just right!
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS
- Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
- Fish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Gluten-Free: No modifications needed.
- Nut-Free: No modifications needed.
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Prawn Noodles (虾面/Hae Mee) With Pork Ribs
Ingredients
- 250 gm Bean Sprouts (Tow Gay)
- 300 gm Kang Kong (Water Spinach)
- 200 gm Pork Fats
- 6 Fresh Chilli
- 500 gm Yellow Noodles (Mee)
- 300 gm Kway Teow
- 2 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2-3 TBsp Crispy Shallots
- 1 TBsp Chilli Powder
- A Dash Ground Pepper Optional
- 1-2 pieces Fried Fish Cake
PRAWN SOUP
- 1 1/2 TBsp Belachan
- 12 Large Prawns
- Extra Prawn Heads + Shells Optional, for a richer stock (see top tips)
- 1.2 kg Pork Ribs
- 1/2 Turnip You can replace the turnip with more rock sugar, if preferred
- 6 TBsp Shallot Oil You can replace this with your usual cooking oil instead
- 3 tsp Chopped Garlic
- 10 gm Rock Sugar
- 4 1/2 litre Water
- 1 TBsp Light Soy Sauce
- 1/4 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
Instructions
PREPARATION METHOD
- Toast the belachan until aromatic, then blend into powder and set aside.
- Wash the prawns and separate the prawn heads from the bodies. Set aside the prawns heads and bodies for later use.
- Wash the pork ribs and set aside.
- Wash and peel the turnip, then cut half of it into large chunks. If the turnip is small, you can use the whole turnip.
- Remove the roots from the bean sprouts, then wash and drain.
- Wash the kang kong and cut into 4 cm lengths.
- Wash the pork fats and cut into small cubes.
- Wash the chilli and cut into small slices for the dipping sauce
- Cut the fish cakes into thin slices and set aside for later use.
COOKING METHOD FOR SOUP BASE
- Blanch the pork ribs in a pot of boiling water for about 7 mins. Drain off the water and wash the pork ribs thoroughly to get rid of all traces of blood clots. Then wash the pot clean.
- In a wok, add the pork fats and fry over medium heat until golden brown and crispy. Transfer to a bowl and let it cool down before putting into an air-tight container. Transfer the oil into a bowl.
- In the same wok, heat up 6 TBsp of shallot oil over medium high, then add in 3 tsp of chopped garlic and fry for a minute. Then add in the prawn heads and shells (if any) and fry using the spatula to press down on prawn heads to extract juices and essence. Continue to fry until dry and aromatic.
- Then add in 4 1/2 litres of boiling water into the prawn shell and continue to boil for about 10 mins. Pour the prawn stock over a strainer into a pot and discard the shell. Continue to boil the stock.
- Next add in all the prawns into the stock and blanch for 3-4 mins. Remove and drain dry and deshelled. Slice prawns into halves. Set aside.
- Add the belachan powder, turnip, pork ribs, salt, pepper, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce and rock sugar (optional) into the stock. Continue to boil for about 1 1/2 hour over medium heat or until the pork rib is soft but not disintegrated.
- Add in 2-3 TBsp crispy shallots to the soup during the last 15 mins.
- Taste the soup and add more salt, light soya sauce or dark soya sauce if you prefer it darker and more salty.
COOKING METHOD FOR PRAWN NOODLES
- In a wok, add bean sprouts to 500 ml of room temperature water. Bring to a boil for about for 2-3 mins, then immediately sieve out the bean sprout and set aside. Next, add kang kong to the wok and blanch for 1-2 mins. and set aside.
- In the same wok of boiling water, place a handful of noodle / kway teow / mixture of both (enough for 1 serving) and blanch for a few mins. Then transfer the noodle into a serving bowl.
- Top with bean sprouts, kang kong, pork ribs, prawns and sliced fish cake, and scoop the steaming hot prawn stock into the bowl. Repeat for the other 5 bowls, and serve hot with red cut chilli and soya sauce.
- You can add pork lard, crispy shallots, pepper and chilli powder to the bowl of noodle, depending on your preference.
Notes
MARKETING TIPS
- Buy the smaller shallots, which are more fragrant than big shallots.
COOKING TIPS
- Blanch the bean sprouts in cold water and slowly bring to a boil for 2-3 mins to help retain the crunchiness of bean sprout so it won't turn limp, if that is your preference.
- Taste the soup first before adding in more salt. Some brands of belachan are rather salty, so adding salt and belachan might make it too salty.
- Discard the lower half of the kang kong stalks cos it is usually very fibrous.
- Do not overcook the kang kong or it will turn black.
ADJUSTMENTS AND STORING
- Use Turnip to sweeten the soup. Turnip has a natural sweetness and I use it to sweeten the soup instead of using sugar. You can also use rock sugar or both if that is your preference.
- For a thicker soup base, save all the prawn heads and prawn shells each time you cook prawns and store them in the freezer. Once I have accumulated enough, I will use them to make a tasty prawn broth that can be used to make Prawn Noodle Soup, Fried Hokkien Mee or Prawn and Pork Macaroni Soup.
- You can also cook up to 3 bowls at a time instead of cooking the noodles bowl by bowl. Don't try to cook all 6 bowls at one go, as the pot would be overcrowded and the noodles will not cook evenly.
HOW TO TELL IF A SHELLED PRAWN IS COOKED
- When you put the prawn in the boiling water for a few minutes, the prawn start to curl up.
- You can tell the level of doneness from the shape of the curl :- C' shape is not quite cooked, 'O' shape - overcooked, 'U' shape - just right!
