Mee Rebus is a fantastic dish that can be found across Malaysia. It is made with egg noodles covered in gravy that is thickened with potatoes, and is sweet, spicy and slight sourness.
The dish can be garnished with your preferred choices, such as limes, chilis, bean sprouts and hardboiled egg.
The exact origins are unclear, however most people believe it was probably created in the northern states of Malaysia and then travelled south with the Indian traders.
Because of this there are many variations of Mee Rebus in Malaysia and other countries in the South East Asia region.
It historically was sold by Hawkers, the street vendors, who sold the Mee Rebus from two pots that they carried with them. These vendors would make the Mee Rebus to order.
Over time, and due to popularity, Mee Rebus is found in all food outlets, from the Hawker Stalls and Food Markets to Top Hotels and Fancy Restaurants!
Hawker Style Mee Rebus
Mee Rebus is a hugely popular noodle dish in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Made with fresh yellow egg noodles and a thick and tangy sweet potato gravy. Delicious and surprisingly simple to make at home!
Ingredients
Main Dish
- 1.5 kg Fresh Yellow Egg Noodles, Blanched
- 200 grams Fresh Bean Sprouts, Blanched
- 4 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 600 grams Sliced Beef, Optional or Replace with prawn
- 400 grams Fresh Prawn, Shelled and Deveined
- 500 grams Sweet Potato, Boil until soft then puree
- 1/2 Cup Peanuts, Roasted then crushed fine
- 2 Tbsp Meat Curry Powder, I prefer Baba
- 1 Stalk Lemon Grass, Bruised
- 2 Liters Water
- 1 Tbsp Palm Sugar, Add 1 Tbsp more if Sweet Potato is not very sweet
Mee Rebus Paste
- 5 Red Shallots
- 1 Large White Onion
- 1 inch Fresh Root Ginger
- 1 inch Fresh Galangal
- 6 cloves Fresh Garlic
- 2 Tbsp Dried Baby Shrimp
- 2 Tbsp Fermented Soy Bean Paste
Garnish
- 250 grams Tofu - Extra Firm, 1 cm cubes and fried
- 8 Hard Boiled Eggs, Halved
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Spring Onions, Chopped
- 1/2 Cup Crisp Fried Shallots
- 8 Calamansi Limes, Halved
- 4 Long Green Chili, Finely Sliced
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Coriander, Optional
Instructions
Prep Before
- Boil sweet potato until soft. Let cool and then puree or pass through potato ricer. You are aiming for a very fine paste with no large lumps.
- Blanch Yellow Noodles, then Bean Sprouts and set aside.
- Roast the peanuts. Let cool and then crush in a pestle and mortar (or in a spice grinder)
- Cube the Tofu and fry in oil til golden brown, drain and set aside
- Hard boil the eggs, cool, shell and halve.
Cooking Instructions
- Place all Mee Rebus Paste ingredients and 1/2 cup of water to a blender. Blend until you have a fine paste.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan or wok. Once the oil is hot add the Mee Rebus Paste and the bruised Lemongrass. Fry the ingredients for 3-4 minutes, until thoroughly cooked and fragrant.
- Add the curry powder and cook for 5-10 minutes more.
- Add the sliced beef and remaining water. Season with salt and white pepper. Cook gently until the beef is tender.
- Add the fresh prawn and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the prawn is just cooked through (not too long or the prawn will become tough)
- Over a slow heat add the sweet potato puree and stir gently until it is thoroughly combined into a sauce like gravy
- Add crushed peanuts and palm sugar. Add more water if the sauce is too thick. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
Assemble
- Place blanched noodles and bean sprouts in a bowl.
- Pour some gravy over the noodles and sprouts
- Garnish with green chili, fried tofu cubes, fried crispy shallots, sliced fresh spring onion (and Coriander if desired).
- Top with boiled egg halves and calamansi lime halves.
- Eat while hot! Enjoy
Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 8 PeopleAmount Per ServingCalories 1204Total Fat 57gSaturated Fat 16gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 31gCholesterol 466mgSodium 1709mgCarbohydrates 103gFiber 11gSugar 17gProtein 74g