Recipe - How To Cook Malaysian Mee Hailam (Hailam Noodles)

How To Cook Malaysian Mee Hailam (Hailam Noodles)

Mee Hailam is one of many noodles dishes found in Malaysia - from restaurants to hawkers' centers. It is a dish of yellow Chinese noodles with vegetables, seafood and/or meat in soy-oyster base gravy. Yummy!!!

This is one of my favorite noodles dishes which bring back beautiful memory of my late father. He loves to eat. So did my mom. I guess I got that gene from them!! My father did not mind spending money if the food is good. Growing up we would eat out 3 times a week but he still needed his rice late at night. So my mom would cook BEFORE we went out to dinner knowing that my father would want his comfort food later.

I want to do this! What's This?

 

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 packets of Chinese yellow noodles (almost like spaghetti)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 shallots or 1 medium onion - sliced
• 5 cloves of garlic - roughly mashed
• 1 tsp sambal olek (optional) - chili mixture in a clear plastic bottle. Add more if you like it spicy
• 2 boneless chicken thighs or 1 whole chicken breast - cut into bite size pieces
• 1 cup medium to jumbo shrimps - leave whole or cut up into bite size pieces
• 2 cups vegetables - bok choy or chinese cabbage or Chinese mustard green
• 2 cups bean sprouts Sauce ingredients:
• 3 tbsp dark thick soy sauce or ABC Kicap manis (Indonesian sweet sauce)
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 - 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 1/2 tbsp cornflour
• 1 cup of water
• A pinch of salt - optional as the sauces above are already salty

1. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
   
   
2. Boil yellow noodles just for a couple of minutes to soften. Set aside.
   
   
3. Heat olive oil in a wok or pot on medium heat. Add in shallots. Fry till light brown. Add garlic and fry for a minute or two. Don't let the garlic browned.
   
   
4. Add in chicken pieces and sambal olek. Stir fry till cooked.
   
   
5. Then add the shrimps and stir fry for a minute or two. The shrimp cooked fast so don't let them cooked too long. Otherwise they'll get tough.
   
   
6. Pour the sauce ingredients that you put aside and let it simmer for 2 mins.
   
   
7. Add in the vegetables. Stir for a minute to cook.
   
   
8. Toss in the yellow noodles. Mix everything well. Adjust taste. Add in oyster sauce or salt if the dish is not salty enough for you.
   
   
9. Finally add in the bean sprouts and turn of the heat. Mix well. You want the bean sprouts to be somewhat still crunchy when you eat the noodles.