Mee and My Malaysia: Nyonya Birthday Noodles (Lam Mee)

I never knew that it's this tough to pick my choice of dish for this year's Merdeka Open House. It's just noodles for pete's sake and looking back at my posts, I've dozens of them but what's so difficult? Sighhhh...

Being a Virgoan, something simple might not be as simple as one thinks. Virgoans are perfectionists and I have THREE of them at home, four if my mom is included. Things can get ugly and complicated with two Virgoans around but imagine having more than that? Enough said hehehe... this Virgoan must come out with something apt to suit the occasion. So what is better than serving up a Birthday noodles!

In my family, my mom used to cook for us mee suah soup with two hard boiled eggs on our birthdays. I was thinking along that line but seriously mee suah soup is just too plain and simple to celebrate someone's 51st birthday. It has to be something elaborate, something more fanciful, something grand which got me digging out my dusty local cookbooks for ideas.

I found this birthday noodles... the Nyonya's version in Nyonya Flavours and I read on. I chucked the book aside after seeing the long list of ingredients (yeah I have that kinda phobia *chuckles*) and continue looking thru other books. Somehow, I got back to Nyonya Flavours and reread the ingredients and methods. Hmmm doesn't seems that complicated... and that was how I got on and made this noodle dish. Best part was I made this on my boiboi's lunar calendar birthday, thank goodness he liked it. I hope you'll too...

Nyonya Birthday Noodles (Nyonya Lam Mee)

300g medium-sized prawns
1 tbsp cooking oil

1.5 litres water
1 chicken carcass
250g belly pork
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tbsp cornflour

1 tbsp cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/8 tsp pepper

Shallot oil & crisps:
150 ml cooking oil
150g shallots, sliced lengthwise

50g chives, cut into 3 cm lengths
200g bean sprouts, tailed
600g yellow noodles

Garnishing:
2 eggs
1-2 drops pink colouring
2 red chillies, halved, seeded and cut diagonally
50g spring onion, sliced finely
50g coriander

Sambal Sauce:
6 tbsp sambal belacan
3 limau kasturi, halved

Method:
1. Shell and devein prawns, keeping the tails. Set the prawns aside for later use.

2. In a saucepan, saute the prawn shells in 1 tbsp oil until aromatic, about 5 mins. Transfer this to a stock pot with the water. Bring to boil and add chicken carcass and belly pork. Allow to boil 2-3 mins.

3. Dish out the semi-cooked belly pork, cool and slice into thin strips, set aside.

4. Lower heat and simmer stock for half and hour. Strain the stock and return to pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix cornflour with a little water before adding to the stock to thicken it slightly. Turn off heat and set aside.

5. Add 1 tbsp oil in the wok and saute the garlic until aromatic. Add in prawns and sliced pork. Stir-fry for 1 min and season lightly with soy sauce and pepper. Remove and set aside.

6. Heat up oil in the wok and fry the shallots until crispy and golden. Remove and set aside.

7. Boil water and blanch chives, bean sprouts and yellow noodle separately. Set aside.

8. Break eggs into separate bowls. Colour one portion pink. Make very thin omelettes with the eggs. Roll uo omelette and slice thinly for garnishing.

9. To serve: Arrange some chives in a deep dish. Place bean sprouts over chives and add in a poriton of yellow noodles. Top with pork strips and prawns. Pour hot stock over and garnish with shallot crisps, sliced omelette in two colours, red chilli slices, chopped spring onion and coriander leaves.

10. Serve noodles with a tablespoon of sambal belacan mixed with lime juice. (This is a must have!!!)

Ref: Nyonya Flavours, The State Chinese (Penang) Association & The Star, Page 150

Wishing all fellow Malaysians a very happy Merdeka Day and may the country be blessed with peace and prosperity.


Technorati Tags: Merdeka Open House 2008