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.