Mee rebus is a noodle dish that’s made of thick yellow noodles in a spicy sweet curry-like gravy and it’s very popular in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. It was a dish that I enjoyed since I was little and it only cost S$0.50 for a plate back in my primary school days in the 80s. For a long period of time, I had not been able to enjoy the dish as much as before because of a digestive problem that often left me feeling bloated whenever I ate yellow noodles or starchy food. These days, it seems like my stomach is getting (slightly) stronger so an indulgence of such food once in a while is no longer a problem.
Anyway, I decided to make my own mee rebus at home just so I could control the viscosity of the gravy as I didn’t (and still don’t) like overly starchy gravies or sauces. A bunch of different spices went into the gravy and it was just aromatic. If you can’t get hold of yellow noodles from where you are, try substituting them with rice noodles or even spaghetti. I’m sure either will work perfectly fine too 😉 Bon appetit!
Mee Rebus Recipe
Ingredients (serves 4)
420g yellow noodles
200g beansprouts, blanched in boiling water
4 hard-boiled eggs, halved
fried tofu puffs, cut into small pieces
chopped spring onions as garnish
sliced red & green chillies as garnish
4 limes, halved
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp tau cheo (fermented soy beans)
750ml water
1/4 tsp salt
corn starch solution (mix 2 tbsp corn flour with 2 tbsp water)
Spice paste:
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
3-inch knob galangal, peeled
2 stalks lemongrass
1 tsp ground turmeric
3 cloves garlic, peeled
5 shallots, peeled
Instructions
1. Combine all ingredients for the spice paste in a food processor and blend till fine like in above picture.
2. Heat oil in pan and stir-fry spice paste until fragrant. Add tau cheo and stir-fry for a minute.
3. Add water and bring to a boil. Season with salt and add corn starch solution gradually to thicken the gravy to your desired consistency.
4. Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch noodles for 30 seconds. Drain the noodles and run under tap water. Divide into serving bowls. Use a strainer before ladling the gravy over the noodles to remove any residue from the spice paste.
5. Top the noodles with eggs, tofu puffs, beansprouts, chillies and spring onions. Serve with limes on the side.