Mee Rebus Johor Mak Long

Whenever my aunty Mak Long visits, she often disappears into our kitchen & emerges with all sorts of local kuihs & wonderful traditional dishes which amazes me. What makes Mak Long so special is her generosity in sharing her recipes with me, her soft spoken & gentle demure. I feel so blessed to have had her in my life. This Mee Rebus Johor is one of the many recipes she shared with me....

Ingredients to blend:~

• 2 large red onions
• 15 bulbs of shallots
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 2 inch of ginger
• 3/4 cup curry powder

Other ingredients:~

• 250gm beef, cut into small pieces & boiled till tender. Keep the stock
• 1 handful prawns, trim the legs
• 2 tbsp tauchu(fermented soya beans)
• 3 inch galangal, bruised
• 5 stalks of lemongrass, bruised
• 3 medium sized sweet potatoes
• 2 large potatoes, boiled & coarsely mashed
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 2 tsp salt

~Method~

1. Heat oil in a large deep pot. Sautee’ the blended ingredients till the oil separates.
2. Put in the beef as well as the stock.
3. As it boils, throw in the galangal, lemongrass and salt.
4. Finally, pour in the coconut milk, tauchu, sweet potato & potato.
5. As the gravy thickens, drop in the prawns.
6. Season with salt. Don’t forget to taste!
7. This mee must be eaten with the accompaniment especially the penderam. Without it, it won’t be the authentic Mee Rebus!

Accompaniment Ingredients:

• 10 Penderam, snapped into edible sizes
• 3 hard tofu, cubed and deep fried
• 2 handful beansprouts, tail plucked ,cleaned & dipped in hot water
• 2 handful Chinese celery & spring onions, sliced thinly
• 3 green chilies, sliced thinly, slanted & deseeded
• 6 calamansi lime, halved & deseeded
• 2 tbsp crispy fried shallots

Prawn Penderam

Penderam Ingredients:~

• 1 ¼ cup rice flour
• 1 cup thick coconut milk
• 2 cups fresh small prawns
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 3 cups coconut oil
• 2 screwpine leaves, washed & tied into a knot

Blended & Ground Ingredients:~

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp fennel
• 8 shallots
• 3 garlic
• 1 inch ginger
• ½ tsp tumeric, ground

~Method for Penderam~

1. Heat oil in a wok on medium fire.
2. Apart from the screwpine leaves, mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl.
3. When the oil is hot, put in the screwpine leaves for a few seconds, just to flavor the oil. Then remove it.
4. Scoop the batter (making sure you get some prawns) and slide a very thin layer of the batter from the top of the wok downwards into the oil.
5. Allow the batter to turn golden brown before you drown it totally in the hot oil.
6. If it gets stuck on top of the wok where there is no oil, just keep on scooping the hot oil from the wok and gently pour it on the stuck batter.
   
7. Keep doing this and the batter will eventually dismantle itself.
8. When the batter turns brown & is crispy, remove and drain.
9. When cool, place in an airtight container. Use when needed.