Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Mee Mamak-Mee and My Malaysia


Over the past year or so, I have taken food blogging more seriously. This blog started with lots of whinging and de stressing moments. Then I decided to grow up and blog about more positive things- Food came to mind.

One of the first food blogging events that I participated in was MUHIBBAH-an annual event organized by Babe in KL. This event invites Malaysians from all over the world to celebrate Merdeka day. Now, I'm not Malaysian but I do have some family ties to Malaysia-and given that I'm getting married to one, my mother is married to one (i.e., my dad) and even my auntie is married to one (Irene!), I asked Babe for permission to participate in that event.

*Ok, by this time you are probably wondering what is it about Malaysian men and Singaporean women in my family. I have no answer to that!*

This year though, I asked AR to contribute by giving me a suggestion on what should I prepare for this event. So to push it-it's really his contribution but I cooked it. Teamwork! LOL

Looking at my past entry, it did struck me that I have gradually learned how to improve in my photography/lighting skills. Long way to go but I'm happy that I have progressed over time.

The theme this year is "Mee and My Malaysia". AR first response was "MEE MAMAK!" and my response was... "what's that?!" What a good start hey? So I goggled it up and even that hardly revealed any answers. AR patiently tried to explain it to me and said that the dish is usually eaten at Mamak stores (which I have grown to love!, pass me that plate of thosai please!). It features balachan and have ground nuts sprinkled on top of it.



So that got me intrigued. Is that not Mee Goreng? He said they are not quite the same. Firstly Mee Goreng does not have sambal belachan or ground nuts sprinkled on it. Secondly, Mee mamak also have a more tangy/sour taste to it. Thirdly, Mee Goreng is more tomatoey.

Since he has such an emotional response to the topic, I decided to go with Mee Mamak. His smile was worth the research... I think!

With that answer and some adaptation of versions that I found online, I came up with this recipe. I'm really not sure if this is the authentic version but AR claims that it is as close as it can get. He did say was that the mamak version doesnt have squid, the noodles was slightly too soft and the home cooked version is less oily.

I'm happy though that he reckons it is close to the real thing. Seriously, I have NO idea if this is or not because I was cooking blindly!

So Malaysians out there! Let me know! =)



Mee Mamak (Serves 4-5)

500 grams of yellow mee
A
7-8 baby squid


B
1 onion chopped finely
3-4 tablespoons of sambal belachan
4 pieces of dried chilli chopped
1/2 cup of dried shrimps chopped
1 red chilli chopped

C
2 chopped tomatoes
1 cup of bean sprouts
3 fried tofu sliced

D
4 tablespoon of light soya sauce
3-4 tablespoons of tomato sauce or tomato paste (diluted with some stock)

3 eggs lightly beaten
ground nuts
lime
shallots
green chilli

1) Score squid. Fry on high heat quickly till done. Set aside.

2) Heat wok with a little oil. Add in B and stir till the mixture gets fragrant. Add about 2 tablespoons of water to in. Simmer till done.

3) Add C and fry briefly till the tomatoes turn soft. Add the yellow mee in.

4) Mix D in a jug. Toss the mee with D. Taste and see if the taste is sufficient. Add more soya/tomato sauce if it isn't.

5) Make a well in the middle and add the eggs. Toss it through. Don't forget the squid!

6) Serve it with green chilli, deep fried shallots, ground nuts and lime juice.

I'm sharing this with my Malaysian friends at Mederka Day Open House 2008 hosted by Babe in KL.

14 comments:

Jin Hooi said...

wooww.. Mee Mamak!!! I love Mee Mamak and yeah, ur mee mamak looks really good !!

Kenny Mah said...

Sedap! I pronounce you an official Malaysian, my dear! :D

Dee said...

Oh yeah! There's the place near where I live where the 'tambah cili" mee mamak is to die for. Sometimes, I think quite literally - can you imagine the cholesterol!

Question for AR - is it the mee goreng or mee mamak that has that 'cucur' thingy?

Salt N Turmeric said...

Mee mamak is indeed yummylicious! i tried making it a few times but it didn turn out quite the mamak style tht i had in mine. lol.

CECIL said...

Oh!! I, too, love Mee Mamak. Look delicious!!

Babe_KL said...

Welcome to the family!!! Hahaha soon eh? Malaysian mens are irresistible, dun they?

Thanks for the entry, look fabulous leh. I've tried cooking this once but failed miserabily! Had resorted to leave it to the experts :p

Jude said...

Been getting more and more into food blogging myself. I know what you mean-- it's definitely a good form of stress relief.

daphne said...

jin hooi-oo. thank you!

Kenny-hehe. Woohoo

dee- can u believe it-AR doesnt know! hahaha. Anyone else can help??

salt n turmeric-yah! I dont even know how it is suppose to taste like.. haha.

cecil- =)

babe_kl- oh dear, I wonder if this is the right version! But u hv plenty of experts over there!

jude- hey there! it is!

Little Corner of Mine said...

What a yummy entry!

Unknown said...

actually this looks so close to what i've tried in penang! hehehe well done!

ps. i think you're considered an honorary malaysian already la?

tigerfish said...

This is like Pad Thai + Mee Goreng ? :P

test it comm said...

This is the first that I have heard of Mee Mamak or Mee Goreng. Your Mee Mamak looks really tasty!

Noob Cook said...

I've never tried this dish b4... and you certainly makes it look good ;)

Nate @ House of Annie said...

I think you have a fine blog. The pics are making me hungry. What kind of oil did you use to fry? Do you think the type oil makes a difference in flavor?

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