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Sunday, November 20, 2011

XO Sauce Stir Fried Loh Shu Fun / Mee Tai Mak

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Mee Tai Mak/ Bee Tai Mak is one of the many forms of rice noodles that we eat in Asia. Very much like a shorter and more wriggly cousin of the Japanese Udon, the cantonese name of this noodle (Loh Shu Fun) literally translates to mean Rat's Noodle. Not too difficult to understand for the tapering shape of the noodle does somewhat reminds one of the wriggly tip of a rat's tail...

Interestingly though, I had always referred to the noodle as Mee Tai Mak/ Bee Tai Mak when I was growing up. It was only until when I was much older , a widely reported outbreak of food poisoning in Malaysia exposed me to the more colourful ratty term. The food poisoning was traced back to a batch of contaminated Mee Tai Mak. The papers were rife with reports and stories of how people would fall sick after they ate Lou Shu Fun..( the pronounciation of the term can also be interpreted as  rat's powder / rat's poison). I was dumbfounded when I read the reports and started to ask my friends why on earth would those people in Malaysia want to eat Rat Poison??  Only then, did I learn that the Rat Poison was actually Mee Tai Mak...

I was invited to join a bloggers' gathering last weekend. Initiated by ZY of Baking Library, it was a small gathering among some of the Singapore food bloggers whom I have come to know over the last 2 years. I knew I had to bring a savoury dish for the event (I brought Mee Rebus for our first gathering last year) as most of the others I knew would be bringing sweet treats.

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Fried with XO sauce and prawns, this is a relatively easy dish to prepare. However, dishes like these (as is true for most Chinese dishes) would taste best when cooked over strong heat. The Mee Tai Mak especially needs to be tossed very quickly over high heat to prevent it from turning soggy and mushy over prolong stir frying. Hence what I did was, I first poached the noodles in boiling water for 5 seconds before frying them quickly in small batches over very high heat in my wok. As a result, I had to divide and fry my potluck portion into 3 lots.
If you are only cooking for a small family at home, this is definitely more manageable - just make sure the wok is very hot.

Overall, I think my efforts were met with reasonable success... good enough to open shop? Maybe but I am still not consistent from batch to batch and I wouldn't want to stand in front of a blasting hot wok the whole day... :)

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Recipe :

Mee Tai Mak               200g  (enough for 2)

Prawns                        6 -8 medium to large size prawns, shelled and deveined.
Spring Onion              4 stalks, chopped
Chili Padi                    Chopped finely. (you can also replace with sambal chili paste)
Bean Sprouts              50g (poached for 10 seconds in boiling water. For this post, I ran out of bean
                                   sprouts, so I omitted them)

Eggs                           2, beaten
Oil                              1 tbsp

Seasoning
XO Sauce                   1 tbsp
Oyster Sauce              1 tbsp
Sugar                          1/2 tbsp
Light Soya Sauce       1 tbsp
Dark Soya Sauce        1/2 tsp
Sesame Oil                  1/2 tsp
White Pepper               Dash
(For those who prefer a stronger taste, the seasoning portion can be increased in proportion)

Method :

1. Poach Mee Tai Mak in boiling water for 5 seconds, remove from water with a slotted spoon and set aside. (do not over cook Mee Tai Mak)

2. Heat up the wok until smoking. Add 1 tbsp oil and add beaten eggs. When eggs just begin to set, scramble with frying ladle and add Mee Tai Mak, Prawns, Spring Onion, Bean sprouts and seasoning.

3. Fry until prawns are cooked. (turns pink)

4. Dish out the noodles and garnish with more chopped spring onions and sesame seed (optional). Serve immediately while hot.

29 comments:

NEL, the batter baker said...

Definitely good enough to open shop!
My hubby loved it so much, he asked me to invite you for future gatherings so he can have your Loh Shu Fun again :)

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

:) Eelie, thanks but tell him next time I fry may not taste the same :D! ... This batch I fry today is lighter, less soya sauce, I think... :)

DG said...

Same like Eileen, my hubby loved it too (the one that I tapao home). He commented it was great taste & delicious. If you decide to open a shop, we will be the first patrons .... so .. remember to offer us a VIP card hehehee...

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Thanks, Doris...

quizzine said...

Like you, I (still) confused why it's called lao shu fen.

Jihyeon said...

This is what we call as 老鼠粉。
As far as i know it's because of its shape a little bit like a rat's tail.

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

@Jihyeon/ Quizzine- Yes, I learnt much later why is is called lao shu fen... definitely not to be confused with rat poison :) !

busygran said...

I would have eaten more if not for my full belly! The taste is just right for me!

Jeannie said...

Oh I missed eating this loh shu fun:D I love the claypot version too, where at the very last they cracked a raw egg on the top before serving....yum!

La Table De Nana said...

Shirley..I love your photos.

Anonymous said...

damn i missed the gathering and your lou shu fun... definitely a next time, i hope? :)

Cooking Gallery said...

I LOVE Mee Tai Mak..! I had it for the first time in a hotel in Singapore a few months back. I wish I could buy the noodles over here, but I doubt that :( What could be a good alternative do you think?

zenchef said...

I could eat Loh Shu Fun in the morning, Loh Shu Fun in the afternoon. Loh Shu Fun all the time!

Now I'm gonna say Loh Shu Fun all day long. You should feel sorry for the people around me. haha. It looks delicious, Shirley.

Felicia said...

Gorgeous photos and a great-sounding recipe! I haven't had XO sauce in ages -- I forgot how much I like the stuff. Looking forward to trying this!

mycookinghut said...

Yummy! Wish I could dive in!

Shu Han said...

ohh this is so nostalgic! It's hard to find mee tai mak nowadays!

daphne said...

3 batches! Man, that must be a good work out for your arms. Still, I'm looking forward to having a gas stove so that I can do the WOK hei dishes! Just like this one- Look at the prawns! Lucky bloggers.

Passionate About Baking said...

I love this, Shirley! I think I was greedy to have given half a container back. :p Hope the rest of the bloggers had their share. :p I always love the way you captured your food, it's really very professional and pretty! Thanks for sharing this recipe.

WendyinKK said...

Tell u something,
The source of the poisoning happened less about 1km from my house in my hometown. My hometown Kampar is famous is making this noodle and supplying to towns far far away. Hence comes the need for borax. I heard they didn't dissolve the borax before putting in and if you happen to comsume that piece of noodle with lots of borax, that's when you ate trouble.
My friend's dad who happen to have another noodle factory opposite the one that was the culprit was badly hit too.

A very memorable period during my teens when all of us could only eat rice vermicelli or dried curly noodles when we eat out for breakfast. All noodle factories in Kampar were ordered to stop work and aid in investigations.

Yummy Bakes said...

Shirley - this is very nice except personally I think I would prefer it a bit more salty ...

Edith said...

Will be the first to support you if you open shop.

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

if i will going to cook this, i'm sure it will look more darker than yours, because Hokkein people like me like black noodles, hehehe..

Anonymous said...

I loooove this type of noodles..... just chewy to the very last bit!

Jo said...

I am just presuming that the non-Asian readers are likely to be put off by the "rat tail" title at FG. But heh, I love this noodle, - be it soup or stir fried. Malaysia has a version that is in a wok with thick gravy and bits of crispy salted fish in it. Eat it with black vinegar and it is absolutely yummy!

Von said...

I love these noodles! I think I've only had them a couple of times, but I never knew they were called Rat's Noodle! but then again, I don't know the names of most of my noodles....there's just too many of them!

I love almost anything fried in XO sauce so this sounds very tasty!! And it's so photogenic too! :D

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

@Chris - Yes, I also have a palate for stronger taste. Next time, I will add more soya sauce...

@ Wendy - Wow, that must have been quite an experience. It was so long ago, I only know I saw the word Loh Shu Fun everyday in the Chinese papers...

@Sonia -Yes, I agree, this batch looks too white. The lot I brought for the gathering was darker.... not consistent..:)

tigerfish said...

I like Mee Tai Mak! Your XO sauce and prawns version looks too good! I crave for some now ...

pickyin @ LifeIsGreat said...

Did I miss a Singapore food blogger gathering? ;)

I grew up with this loh shu fun 老鼠粉, actually to be accurate, the name in Cantonese is to reflect the rat's droppings and not tail (I remember asking my mother, unless she's pulling my leg!). Only in adulthood I came to know the claypot version. It's still one of my favorite 'kan lau mien' option even in bak chor mee.

Noob Cook said...

I really love stir-fried mee tai mak, it looks so luxurious with the XO sauce.

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