Mee Rebus

(yellow noodles and soybean cakes in a spicy sweet potato gravy)

Ingredients:

500 g (1 lb) fresh yellow noodles

500 g (1 lb) bean sprouts

200 g (7 oz) shin beef

200 g (7 oz) shrimps

Spice paste:

10 dried chilies, softened in hot water

1 cup shallots, peeled

1 teaspoon belachan (dried shrimp paste)

10 slices lengkuas (galangal)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

Gravy:

200 g (7 oz) sweet potato, boiled, peeled and mashed

1 heaped tablespoon taucheow (brown soya bean paste)

1 tablespoon salt or to taste

2 tablespoons sugar or to taste

Garnishes:

5 hardboiled eggs, shelled and sliced

4 taukwa (firm soya bean cake), deep-fried and diced into 8 pieces

Fried shallots

10 calamansi, halved

4 green chilies, remove seeds and sliced

dark soy sauce, optional

toasted grago (shrimp fry), optional

1 stalk lettuce, cut into long strips

Method:

Make a stock by boiling beef in 6 cups of water until tender. Remove and slice beef. Cook shrimps in the stock and peel, de-veined and set aside. Reserve stock.
Process spice paste ingredients in a chopper until fine. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok and fry spice paste until oil rises to the surface.
Add taucheow and fry until fragrant. Add the stock, mashed sweet potato, salt and sugar and cook over a low fire until all is amalgamated. Taste to adjust seasoning if needed.
Cook one serving of noodles and bean sprouts in a wire ladle in boiling water. Remove, drain and place on a plate. Top with beef slices and shrimps.
Pour hot gravy over and garnish with egg wedges, taukwa, fried shallot, chili, lettuce and a halved calamansi.
Drizzle some dark soy sauce if desired and sprinkle some grago, browned earlier in a slow oven until crisp.