Mee Rebus means Boiled Noodles in Malay.
Hi all who have chanced upon this page, welcome to my humble Blog that seeks to spread a little love through our connection to Food. At the same time, I hope you could find useful information and pass it on to another person.
Today, I've decided to document my lunches in Singapore and share with you the food that made me me. Beginning with my favourite Malay food, this is the ethnic food that I craved the most when I was living in Europe. There maybe a couple of restaurants serving up such dishes in London but nothing beats eating spicy Malay food in Singapore's sweltering heat and paired with Teh Peng (Iced milk tea). Blogging about these foods has also enriched my knowledge and deepen my appreciation for the cuisine.
First up, the Mee Rebus. When I googled dish, I was not expecting Boiled Noodles. I have often watched how the Makcik at the stall will blanched a handful of yellow noodles (as it is known in Singapore) and beansprouts before depositing the contents onto the plate. On top of that she will spoon the thick gooey gravy and add a hard-boiled egg next to the noodles. She will then garnish the dish with Chopped Green Chillies, a calamansi lime and fried shallots. This plate now costs $3.50 and no longer the $1.80 dish that I grew up with. However, the contents never varied much if you purchase it from a neighbourhoood coffeeshop.
For those, who do not know what this dish is, I will describe it to you. To eat the dish, you would have to squeeze the lime juice over the dish. Then blend the garnish into the noodles and savour the noodles. The thick gravy evenly coats every strand of noodles. It is the least spicy dish of all Malay food. As each Malay dish will come with its own version of sambal chilli. This dish is only served with chopped green chillies. Sometimes, kicap manis (sweet dark sauce) is drizzled over the dish to enhance the sweetness. Overall, this is a gravy is rather thick and not soupy. It has been thickened with a type of starch (usually cornstarch) but some recipes used sweet potatoes. Yes you heard me! The gravy is traditionally sweet due to sweet potatoes! The list of ingredients that goes into the gravy includes fermented Soya Bean paste (Tau cheong), onions, garlic, galangal, ginger, dried shrimps, sweet potatoes, lemongrass, palm sugar, curry powder. Such a simple dish with over ten ingredients!
So next time you order your bowl of Mee Rebus, appreciate the amount of work that goes into cooking it. Savour every bite and see if you could pick out the individual flavours that go into making this dish. I'll be back with another dish soon.
Love the little things in life,
SheR.
