Penang Har Mee (福建虾面)
*~drool…~*
I feel like having another bowl of Penang Har Mee (福建虾面) just by looking at this image again! The intense prawn flavoured spicy soup, the crunchy kangkung (chinese watercress) and bean sprouts, the tender juicy prawn and pork slices, and the fiery hot chilli paste for the final climax, it is seriously a bowl of orgasmic sensations that will send you swooning with joy! It is better than sex if I must say!
Har Mee aka Prawn Noodle Soup, Har Meen or Mee Yoke, is a local Malaysian dish, is one of the local Malaysian hawker food that Penang is famous for. Even though it is originated from the Fujian (Hokkien) province in China, Har Mee actually becomes more popular in Malaysia with their own enhanced version which is more flavorsome and spicy, and with more ingredients and toppings.
Clockwise L to R: Prawn heads swimming in the fiery hot soup stock; the key ingredients - pork and prawn heads; Tean's Penang Prawn Noodle soup paste packet
What makes a good bowl of Penang Har Mee it all comes down to the soup stock, and the key ingredient for the soup – “prawn heads“. The traditional way or the “cook from scratch” way is by saving up a whole bag full of prawn heads and boil them over long period of time to intensify the flavour of the soup. There is an old Chinese saying, “Boil ten bowls of water into two bowls” – it is a common cooking method, that’s how you get a perfect flavorsome soup.
If you don’t have plan to buy so much prawns just to make a soup stock like me, then there’s always an alternative way which is easy and just as good! All you need is just a handful of prawns, some pork meat which both will be used as toppings later on, and lastly, Master Tean’s prawn noodle soup paste packet. I’ve been told Tean’s range of sauces and soup stock paste are the real deal and taste very close to those you can find at the Malaysia hawker stalls. And they are absolutely not wrong! One packet of the soup paste gives me a pot of fiery red hot soup with a layer of chilli oil glistening on the surface.
Clockwise L to R: stir fry chilli paste; ingredients - dried chillies, garlic, shallots
If you really want to enjoy a nice bowl of authentic Penang Har Mee, then you will really have to put a little extra effort to make the essential condiment to go with the noodle, a fiery hot dried chilli paste. It is not for the faint hearted, but it is so good and you simply can’t stop and ask for more once you’ve tasted it. The chilli paste can be kept for a long time, so make sure you make a big batch of it and use it on something else like marinating a fish/chicken for bbq, add to the sizzling steak, or toss in the thai asian salad.
If you never have Penang Har Mee or would like to try it before making your own version, then I would suggest you to pop over to Malay Chinese on Hunter Street, or To’s in North Sydney to give it a try. Be prepare to come out with full body of sweat, burning lips, and having an urge of a ciggie after reaching an ultimate climax.
Penang Har Mee
Ingredients
200gr Prawn peeled, deveined and butterflied in half, KEEP THE HEADS!
2 slices pork loin fillets
1 packet of Mr Tean’s Penang prawn noodle soup paste
1 packet egg noodle (scalded)
1 packet of rice vermicelli (mee hoon) – (scalded)
1 hard boiled egg
Some KangKung (Chinese watercress)
Some of bean sprouts
Method
1. add 15 cups of water into a saucepan or pot and bring it to boil. Add in all shrimp heads and pork fillets and simmer on medium heat for 30mins.
2. fetch the pork fillets out, set aside and let it cool then cut into slices. Add the full packet of soup paste into the pot and stir well.
3. turn to low heat and let it simmer for at least 2 hrs or until it reduced to only 1/3 of the soup stock left in the pot.
4. discard the prawn heads, and the soup stock is ready. You can strain the stock through the sieve and tranfer to another pot, but I prefer to keep all the tiny bits of goodness in the soup.
5. In another pot/saucepan, add 3/4 full of water and bring to boil. Grab a handful of egg noodle and rice vermicelli each and put in a sieve, then scald the noodle in the hot water for only 30secs.
6. To serve, put the noodle into the bowl, ladle hot soup stock all over. Add bean sprouts, Chinese watercress, pork slices, prawn slices, egg slices (or cut in quarter), then sprinkle with fried shallots.
7. Serve immediately with chilli paste in a soup spoon on the side.
Dried Chilli Paste
Ingredients
a handful of dried chillies (about 30 to 50 chillies) – soaked to soften
10 shallots – peeled
5 cloves of garlic – peeled
2 tbsp of water
10 tbsp of cooking oil
Method
1. Add all ingredients including water and the oil into a food processor and blend all together until fine paste.
2. Heat up a wok with cooking oil, make sure the room is well ventilated.
3. Add the paste into the wok and stir fry the chilli paste until becomes dark brown in colour.
4. If the paste is too dry, add more oil and make sure the paste is always being “stir fry” the whole time.
A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
Ooh yum yum. I think you’d give Malay Chinese a run for their money.
Love the prep photos. I never have the inclination to take photos whilst I’m prepping so I admire your patience and persistence. And how’d you get the prawn heads to sit so prettily on top of the stock like that?
Helen’s last blog post..Roast Pork, Banoffee Pie and Black Sesame Cupcake Cones: Dinner Party at Mine
Thanks Billy. I’ll have my bowl the next time I see you lol! Although to my weak Western palate, I can’t have it so spicy like you. In fact when I go back to Malaysia I get grumpy because it’s so hard to find a mild Har Mee that won’t make me sweat!
Karen’s last blog post..La Brasserie…a little bit of Paris in Sydney
Friday is Har Mee day in our office (we get takeaway brought in from Malay Chinese every day – how lucky are we?!), but yours looks sooooo good – a cut above!
It looks awesome! nom nom nom
Yas’s last blog post..Dinner @ Blancharu
Delicious! I’ve tried similar soups in Singapore and yes the chili was intense. I had to laugh at your comment about wanting a ciggie after a bowl!…LOL! Beautiful pics as always Billy.
Peter G’s last blog post..What’s in a word? And some new toys.
wow, so much droolage here! if i’m ever in the area, you should know what to cook for me
Jen (jenius.com.au)’s last blog post..Tia To Vietnamese Restaurant, Melbourne
now i missed home…
just stumbled across your blog through tastespotting–beautiful photos!!!
looking forward to reading more.
-Leigh
!!!!!
That looks so delicious. I just want to go back to Malaysia now. Thanks.
I need to make that chilli sauce, right away!
lili – pikeletandpie’s last blog post..Summer Tomato Pasta
oh Billy! this looks so good (and I can taste the prawny goodness right now!)
i gotta watch out for when i eat this though, can’t talk to anyone for ages afterwards! doesn’t matter, everybody loves a Malaysian noodle… hehe
shez’s last blog post..lowenbrau keller
I like the phrase in caps and bold : KEEP THE HEADS!
Lovely blog you have
tigerfish’s last blog post..Salmon Cake Pattie with Mango Salsa
Just found your site and it is Awesome. Your mee looks so yum. Would love a bowl right now!!!
I’m gonna go get myself some Mr Tean!
xiaohan’s last blog post..Auckland girls – Pitt St
@Helen: Yeah the Mr Tean’s stuff is really good! I was surprised! I actually don’t photograph the prep very often, only once a while and when I cook during daytime. I also find it difficult and tedious. And there is a ladle behind the prawn heads! Cant you see?
@Karen: Hehehe, ok I’ll bring Mr Tean’s along LOL
@Kt: Aren’t you the lucky one to have someone do the Har mee run every friday!
@Yas: It sure is!!!
@Peter G: Thanks Peter, is sure better than sex!
@Jen (jenius.com.au): You are always welcome here. Just bring a bottle of Char to go with it
@hush: It gets a bit like that, thats why I have to make it my own.
@leigh: Thanks Leigh!
@lili – pikeletandpie: Hehehe I am not surprise, we all Malaysian love to eat…
@shez: I think next time we meet up should be at Malay Chinese!
@tigerfish: Well no heads = no soup! It is very important! Thanks for dropping by
@Vin: Thanks, I wish I can have one right now myself too! XD
@xiaohan: Yes yes, I still have a packat of Mr Tean’s Curry Laksa, that will be my next challenge.
Yes, DROOL! This looks incredible. My kinda meal. What a gorgeous collection of tempting photos, too.
That looks really tasty!
good to find a fellow malaysian blogger here living in Australia…hhhmm..i miss penang hokkien mee (it’s not called har mee!!!! that’s the common mistake ppl make, its called ‘hokkien mee’ in penang, only kl/other malaysians call it har mee which is inaccurate)…i definitely have to try the hokkien mee at malay-chinese on hunter st to see whether its good:-)
chinesechic’s last blog post – Taipei Holiday ’09 (10 Memorable n Worthwhile Experiences You Must Try Whilst in Taipei Post!)…台北假期‘09年之10个诗意难忘的台北体验……台北の帰り旅’０９(三）
I love har mee… nothing is better than having this for breakfast!
.-= mycookinghut´s last blog ..Steamed Food =-.