Malaysian Loh Mee.

The authentic Loh Mee is cooked with a thicker version of egg noodles, pretty similar to udon and generously soaked in egg gravy. My version of egg gravy is too little to sufficiently immerse the noodles in it. Surprisingly it tasted pretty good without having the noodles too soft. Crunchy bean curds are definitely a good company to this dish especially when they are soaked in the egg gravy. This time I made the egg gravy with Aunt Bessie's gravy granules for chicken, which is meant for Yorkshire puddings. I strongly recommend using this because it gives a strong chicken taste to this dish which greatly flavoured the egg noodles.

Ingredients (serve 1)

130g egg noodles (I got this thinner version of egg noodles from Marks & Spencer)

Prawns, cleaned (several)

Mussels, cleaned (several)

Dried squids, cleaned and soaked (several) (optional)

1 teaspoon of chopped garlic

1 small onion, chopped

2 Shiitake mushrooms, soaked, stem removed, sliced (keep the stock for egg gravy and noodles)

1 cup of chopped Chinese lettuce

2 broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces

Bean curds

Egg gravy:

1 tablespoon of Aunt Bessie's gravy granules for chicken

1 tablespoon of abalone sauce

1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce

3 tablespoons of soaked mushroom stock

1 egg

Boiled water

Pepper

Method

The noodles

1. Heat up 1 tablespoon of oil on a frying pan. Briefly fry the bean curds and set them aside.

2. Fry the chopped garlic and onions until fragrant. Add in the sliced Shiitake mushrooms and continue to fry for another minute.

3. Add in the egg noodles. Lightly flavour the noodles with 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce and pepper. Continue to fry the noodles and mushrooms for another 5 minutes and add in some mushroom stocks if the noodles are too dry. Set the fried noodles aside.

The egg gravy

1. Dissolve the gravy granules in 1/2 cup of boiled water. Stir in the abalone sauce, soy sauce, mushroom stock and pepper. Set this mixture aside.

2. Heat up a pan and stir fry the prawns, mussels and dried squids for 2 minutes. Add in the cut Chinese lettuce and broccoli.

3. Pour the gravy mixture over the seafood and the vegetables. Cover the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add in the fried bean curds and simmer for another minute. Break the egg and quickly stir the gravy mixture immediately after the fire is turned off.

5. Finally, pour the egg gravy over the fried noodles and serve hot.

* Adjust the thickness of the gravy to your preference with cornflour (for a thicker one) or the mushroom stock (for a light gravy).

* If you prefer a softer version of bean curds, you may add them in step 4 without frying them in the beginning.

Have fun slurping. =)

Food facts. Did you know?

Shiitake mushroom is an excellent source of selenium, iron, protein, dietary fiber and vitamin C. It helps to shore up the immune system and offers a good source of anti-oxidant to be protective against certain cancer types. Shiitake mushroom is very low in fat. It contains 1g of fat in every 100g of mushrooms. This means that it is roughly 99% fat-free.

Shiitake mushrooms has been found to lower blood pressure for people with hypertension. The rich nutrition value of Shiitake mushroom is also known to lower serum cholesterol levels.

It should be noted that shiitake mushroom contains purines which could cause accumulation of uric acid in the body and excessive intake should be avoided in gout patients.

When selecting shiitake mushrooms, look for those that are firm, plump and clean with no dark spots.