Hokkien mee
Hokkien mee, literally "Fujian noodles", is a group of related Southeast Asian dishes that have their origins in the cuisine of China's Fujian province.
Types
Hokkien mee can refer to five distinct dishes, with each being ubiquitous in specific localities in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The dishes are all indigenous to the region and not known in Fujian itself, although they are all thought to have descended from lor mee, a staple of Fujianese cooking.Singapore ''Hokkien mee''
In Singapore, Hokkien mee refers to a dish of egg noodles and rice noodles stir-fried with egg, slices of pork, prawns and squid. The key to the dish is copious quantities of an aromatic broth made from prawns and pork bones, slowly simmered for many hours. Sambal chilli and calamansi limes are served on the side for the diner to blend in, giving it an extra zing and tanginess. Traditionally, small cubes of fried lard are added, and some stalls also serve the dish on an opeh leaf, which enhances the fragrance of the dish. Some also use garlic chive as an ingredient.The Singaporean version of Hokkien mee was created after World War II by Chinese sailors from Fujian province in southern China. After working in the factories, they would congregate along Rochor Road and fry excess noodles from the noodle factories over a charcoal stove. The dish is considered a classic of Singaporean cuisine and several hawker stalls selling it have been recognized by the Michelin Guide.
The dish is also known as "fried Hokkien noodles", "Hokkien fried prawn noodles", and particularly in Malaysia, "sotong mee" to differentiate it from other types of Hokkien mee.
Penang ''hokkien mee'' (noodle soup)
The Penang variant can be easily distinguished from the other variants by its characteristic spicy prawn broth. It primarily consists of rice vermicelli and thicker yellow egg noodles, while the broth is made with prawn heads and shells, and pork ribs. Sliced prawns or shrimps are also added into the dish, along with pork slices, hard boiled eggs, and kangkung. Some of the Hokkien Mee are served with bean sprouts, fried shallots, lard and sambal too. In Penang, pig skin, an ingredient rarely served in Kuala Lumpur, is a common topping as well.Egg noodles are served in richly flavoured dark soup stock with prawns, pork slices, fish cake slices and bean sprouts, topped with fried shallots and scallion. The stock is made using dried shrimp, plucked heads of prawns, white pepper, garlic and other spices. Traditionally, lard is added to the soup, but this is now less common due to health concerns. A "dry" version is also available; this version usually involves flavouring the noodles and toppings with vinegar, soy sauce, oil and chili, if desired. The dish is also usually served with freshly cut red chili slices in light soy sauce and lime juice.
The name "Hokkien Mee" is controversial and often discussed in local forums. Majority of the Penangites and hawkers are Hokkien who spoke in the Hokkien-dialect. Thus, the Hokkien prawn-soup noodle was called "Hokkien Mee" in Penang as there are varieties of noodles with prawn as main ingredients such as "lam mee" while local Hokkien Mee was served with sliced small shrimp. Nevertheless, not all Malaysians speak hokkien. Therefore, Penang Hokkien Mee is also known as "Penang Har Mee" especially in other northern region which Cantonese was their most-spoken dialects, as "Har" means prawn in Cantonese.