Have You Ever Ate Delicious Loh Mee?

Loh Mee is literally translated as “Stewed / Braised Noodles”. Whilst it is not stewed as long as say, a meat dish, nevertheless the cooking time is longer for this type of noodle compared to other types. Oh, by the way, Loh Mee is in the hokkien dialect. There are two known types of stewed noodles here in Malaysia, the other being Lam Mee. The gravy is slightly different.
Our family recipe for Loh Mee is southern-styled, meaning from Pontian, Johor. It is quite similar to the one from Ulu Yam. Lam Mee has a slightly different taste ot the gravy compared to Loh Mee. The highlight of this dish for me is the use of black vinegar which gives this noodle a slightly sour, but appetising taste. We used to have this often during Chinese New Year.

Thick yellow noodles are used for this recipe. It is not as thick as udon or even hokkien mee but definitely thicker than wan ton noodles or even mee goreng noodles. Because it is thicker and has a “tougher” texture, it requires a longer time to cook it. Hence, it is stewed in the gravy for at least 5 minutes, covered.
This is our family recipe for Loh Mee
Ingredients

• 500 grammes of thick yellow noodles
• 5 pieces of pre-soaked chinese dried mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
• 50 grammes of pork tenderloin (sliced thinly)
• 2 large eggs
• Choy sum / Sawi / Chinese Mustard Leaves (amount up to you, cut into 6cm lengths)
• 5 bulbs shallots (sliced thinly)
• 1 litre warm water or chicken stock or water previously used to soak mushrooms
• Potato / Corn starch (mix 1 tablespoon of potato / corn flour with 100 ml water)
• 5 tablespoons cooking oil (palm oil preferred)
• Marinade (for pork tenderloin)
• 2 teaspoons light soya sauce
• a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon corn flour

Seasoning

• 1 to 2 tablespoon dark soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon light soya sauce
• Salt and white pepper powder to taste

Method
Marinade pork tenderloin for at least 30 minutes.
Heat oil in wok and fry shallots till brown. Remove shallots and set aside. Remove oil and place in a suitable container leaving about 1 tablespoon of oil behind.
In a heated wok, add mushrooms and stir fry for 1 minute. Add pork slices and continue to stir fry till pork turns colour (add some of the oil previously used to fry shallots if wok is drying up). Add 500 ml warm water and bring to boil.
Once water starts boiling, add noodles and seasoning. Stir well and add more water to ensure that the water covers the upper layer of noodles. Cover with lid and stew for 5 minutes on medium to high heat whilst stirring once a while to ensure even cooking. Add more water if drying up.
I usually chew the noodles to see if it is cooked which should be slightly soft by then. Add choy sum and stir it well. Next, break eggs over the noodles and stir it into the noodles, allowing it to break.
The noodles are to be served slightly wet, but not soaking in gravy. If it is too wet, add a little potato / corn starch to thicken the gravy.
Dish out and sprinkle fried shallots over the noodles. When serving on individual bowls, add black vinegar (to taste) to the noodles.