Mayo's Penang Jawa Mee

Have any of you heard of 'Jawa Mee' before? It's origins seem to derive from Pulau Jawa (Java Island) of Indonesia but I'm not very sure myself but I will be doing the version from Penang! The sauce base is made from a mixture of small dried shrimps, sweet potatoes & tomatoes boiled over & left to simmer till it breaks down to becomes a soft textured sauce with a sweet & sour taste. I topped the dish off with some pieces of fresh crisp lettuce, deep fried beancurd skin (usually it's some form of crispy crackers), sliced tomatoes, cut hard boiled eggs, diced fried beancurd & a piece of lime. My resident food taster Mr K commented that the taste is similar to the Singapore Malay delicacy Mee Rebus but with a more complex taste.

Mayo's Penang Lor Mee

Here is a dish that I have been wanting to do for the longest time. I did the Penang version which is basically having a less thick & starchy sauce base. For those that are not familiar with this dish, it is a traditional recipe where by either yellow egg noodles or vermicelli is the main staple cooked together in a flavorful black sauce made from a mixture of pig bone broth, five spice powder, corn starch & some eggs (& that's just for the sauce!) served with an assortment of tasty toppings to your own preference.

Toppings (Clockwise from top): Chopped spring onions, fried shallots, tau kua (dried toufu), chopped red chillies, 'cai por' (chopped fermented vegetables) & 'wu xiang' (middle: five spice meat rolls)

After preparing the sauce overnight, heat up & prepare the additional toppings & noodle of choice. I added in half a braised egg & a table spoon of spicy sambal paste for extra taste & fire! Serve hot. :)

Now just mix everything into the sauce & dig in or you can slowly savor the toppings while scooping up a mouthful of noodles underneath. The sauce will have you craving for extra servings guaranteed. Yum. :p