Malay-style boiled noodles are served in sweet potato-based curry gravy along with other savory toppings are popular hawker food in Singapore and Malaysia. The Recipe can be made on the stove or Instant Pot pressure cooker.
Mee rebus or we write it as Mie Rebus in Indonesia is one of my favorite comfort foods. In my hometown, mie rebus is prepared with shrimp-based gravy and it’s non-curry based. I remember eating mie rebus as a late-night supper when we were kids, the rich umami gravy is just super good.
This Malay style mee rebus is more commonly seen in some parts of Malaysia and Singapore. There are many different varieties of mee rebus out there and the gravy bases are slightly different in different regions. This version used beef stock and thickened with mashed sweet potatoes. The savory and slightly sweet taste profile (thanks to the sweet potatoes) is really good.
HOW TO MAKE MALAY MEE REBUS
1. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into small cubes. Steam until fork-tender, about 5 minutes
2. Place all ingredients for gravy in a food processor and process into a paste
3. Preheat a large heavy-bottom pot. Add cooking oil. Saute the gravy paste until aromatic, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Add tau cheo, meat curry powder, and water. Scrape bottom of the pot to loosen any bits that stuck to the bottom of the pot.
5. Add lemongrass and beef piece. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer and let it cook, partially covered with a lid until beef pieces are tender, this may take about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the beef you cut
6. When beef pieces are tender, stir in the mashed sweet potatoes to thicken the sauce. Add sugar and salt to your taste
7. Portion out cooked noodles on the plate.
8. Portion out beef and ladle the hot gravy over the noodles
9. Garnish with some slices of green chilies, tau pok pieces, hard-boiled egg slices, fresh cilantro leaves, beansprouts, fried shallots, and some lime juice. Serve immediately
SUBSTITUTION
1. Gravy base: Instead of mashed sweet potatoes, you can use regular mashed potatoes
2. Broth: You can skip the beef and use chicken broth to replace the water instead
3. Chili: Instead of using fresh red chilies, I sometimes use chili boh that I have kept frozen in small batches
4. Noodles: You can also use spaghetti pasta instead of egg noodles
MAKE THE GRAVY PASTE AHEAD OF TIME
You can double or triple the recipe for the paste and then freeze them in an individual portion in a freezer bag. They can be kept for up to 6 months in the freezer and you can have mee rebus whenever you like. Simply thaw them overnight in the fridge the day before you plan to prepare
HOW TO KEEP LEFTOVER GRAVY
Leftover gravy can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days. For longer storage, you can freeze them in portion serving size and simply thaw them overnight in the fridge and reheat it on the stove
DID YOU MAKE THIS MALAY HAWKER-STYLE MEE REBUS RECIPE?
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Malay Hawker-style Mee Rebus (Noodles in Sweet Potato Curry Gravy)
Ingredients
- 800 gr egg noodles or 400 gr dried egg noodles
- 500 gr beef I used beef for stew
- 3 Tbsp fermented bean paste (tau cheo)
- 4 cups water
- 3 Tbsp cooking oil
For gravy:
- 800 gr mashed sweet potatoes
- 8 red chilies
- 1 small onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 inch galangal roots or use 1 Tbsp galangal powder
- 1 inch turmeric roots or use 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 50 gr dried shrimp soak in warm water until soft
- 70 gr dry-roasted peanuts
Spices:
- 3 Tbsp meat curry powder
- 1 stalk lemongrass bruise to release flavor
Seasoning:
- 1 Tbsp sugar or more to taste
- Salt to taste
Serve with:
- 2 Hard-boiled eggs cut into slices
- Calamansi limes I use regular limes
- Green chilies I use jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced
- fried taupok
- Bean sprouts
- Fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to the instruction on the package. Drain off cooking water and refresh the noodles with water to stop the cooking process. Set aside
- Blanch the beansprouts in hot water for 30 seconds or so and then refresh with cold water and set aside
- Peel and cut sweet potatoes into small cubes. Steam until fork-tender, about 5 minutes
- Place all ingredients for gravy, except for the mashed potato, in a food processor and process into a paste
Cooking on the stove:
- Preheat a large heavy-bottom pot. Add cooking oil. Saute the gravy paste until aromatic, about 3-5 minutes. Add tau cheo, meat curry powder, and water. Scrape bottom of the pot to loosen any bits that stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add lemongrass and beef piece. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer and let it cook, partially covered with a lid until beef are tender, this may take about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the beef you cut
- When beef pieces are tender, stir in the mashed sweet potatoes to thicken the sauce. Add sugar and salt to your taste
Cooking with Instant Pot pressure cooker:
- Press saute on Instant Pot. When it's hot, add cooking oil. Saute the gravy paste until aromatic, about 3-5 minutes. Add tau cheo, meat curry powder, and water. Scrape bottom of the pot to loosen any bits that stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add lemongrass and beef piece. Turn off saute mode. Close the lid and turn the steam release valve to "sealing". Press "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on high pressure. Set timer to 20 minutes. When it's done. Do natural release
- Unlock the lid and stir in mashed sweet potatoes to thicken the gravy. Add seasonings and adjust to your taste
To serve:
- Portion out cooked noodles on the plate. Portion out beef and ladle the hot gravy over the noodles. Garnish with some slices of green chilies, tau pok pieces, hard-boiled egg slices, fresh cilantro leaves, beansprouts, fried shallots, and some lime juice. Serve immediately
4 comments
Sweet potatoes were listed under the grave ingredients so mine got processed and cooked with the gravy paste. Now I see they go in after… well, we will see…
Hi Whitney, Sorry for the confusion. Rightfully, you will stir in the mashed potato later, but with the way you do it, it shouldn’t make much difference, your gravy probably comes out smoother and creamier.
Marv,
Is the quantity of the roasted peanut in gram not in cup?
Mimi
Hi Mimi, oh my goodness,it should be 70 grams not 70 cups (*gasp*)! Thank you for catching that !!!