“Kon Loh Mee” or dry stirred noodles, is a popular Malaysian hawker dish, typically served with a combination of BBQ pork (“char siu”) and wantan, although variations exist such as minced meat (like an Asian version of spaghetti bolognese), roasted/steamed chicken and vegetarian options.

The noodles are usually thin egg noodles and the sauce tends to be thick, dark, slightly sweet. As a child, my mum sometimes buy them from a hawker stall when she goes to the market in the early morning, so by the time we kids get up, we are treated a beautiful kon loh mee as a breakfast!

The best kon loh mee used to be served in a restaurant in Petaling Jaya near the Cold Storage supermarket. Sadly, I don’t believe the restaurant is still there but if anyone knows otherwise please let me know.

My recipe is a simple ones based on a combination of various recipes I have found on the Internet.

Recipe for Malaysian Kon Loh Mee

Equipment

• Pot
• Saucepan
• Stove

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce (can subsitute with vegetarian oyster sauce)
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (kechap manis)
• 1 teaspoon Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc mam)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Other:

• 125-150 g egg noodles (you can typically buy this fresh from Asian supermarkets, the one I tend to use is called “Ever Green” from a company called “Unigreen” which I buy from Miracle Supermarket)
• cooking oil (any type will do – I use sunflower oil)
• 1 stalk broccoli leaves (or similar, I use broccolini for an elevated presentation)
• 1 pot water (boiling)

Instructions

1. Mix soy, kechap manis, fish sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil in a bowl.
2. Remove outer skin of shallot and cut and slice finely into rings (around 1-2mm thickness).
3. Start heating shallots in a saucepan with a bit of oil (just enough to slightly coat the shallots).
4. Boil water in a pot and poach broccoli leaves or broccolini for a few minutes until soft (usually no more than 2 minutes – I prefer mine slightly al dente). Take out and drain. Cut into 10cm stalks or leave uncut if you want a more rustic look.
5. Put the noodles in the leftover boiling water and continue heating the water until it starts boiling again. Don’t overcook the noodles – generally no longer than 2-3 minutes or even shorter if you like it al dente like me.
6. As noodle boils, the shallots should be browning. Remove browned shallots and put aside in a small dish.
7. Once noodle is boiled, remove and drain and then rinse using cold water. This makes the noodles “springy.”
8. In the saucepan where the shallots have been browned, leave the oil residue on the pan and pour the sauce mix into the pan. The sauce will heat up really quickly and start sizzling.
9. When the sauce is sizzling, pour the rinsed noodles into the saucepan and start mixing until the noodles have warmed up again.
10. Take out the stirred noodles and serve with broccoli leave/broccolini in a place.
11. Add your favourite topping (char siu or BBQ pork, wantan, or whatever). I’ve even tried putting pork floss on top.
12. Put the browned fried shallots on top as a garnish.

Examples