Mee hokkien
Photo: LN9267 · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Mee hokkien arrived with the Hokkien Chinese who came to work Phuket's tin mines in the 19th century and stayed to shape its Peranakan culture. Bae Kong, a cook on the ships between Phuket, Penang and Singapore, is said to have opened the first Hokkien noodle restaurant in Phuket Town in 1946, and his grandchildren still run noodle shops there. In 1952 Khun Yai Chian began cooking her version with the morning's shellfish and squid at Sapam pier, the looser, seafood-heavy style now sold as mee Sapam.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Shellfish, Soy

Make it at home

Yield Serves 2Hands-on 20 minTotal 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 300g fresh thick yellow Hokkien egg noodles
  • 100g pork loin, thinly sliced
  • 6 prawns, peeled
  • 1 small squid, cut into rings
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 100g choy sum or kale, cut into lengths
  • 250ml pork or chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp water
  • White pepper, 2 tbsp oil

Method

  1. Loosen the noodles and rinse briefly in warm water to remove excess oil.
  2. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat and fry the garlic for 20 seconds until pale gold.
  3. Add the pork and cook 1 minute, then the prawns and squid for 1 minute more.
  4. Add the noodles, both soy sauces and the oyster sauce, tossing until the noodles take on colour.
  5. Pour in the stock and the greens and simmer 2 minutes until the noodles are soft and the liquid has reduced by half.
  6. Push the noodles aside, crack in the egg, scramble it lightly, then fold it through.
  7. Stir in the cornflour slurry to thicken the gravy, season with white pepper and serve at once.

Tip from the editors. Do not rinse the noodles for long or they turn mushy; the gravy should cling, not pool, when you plate.

Where to eat mee hokkien

Mee hokkien in Phuket

Go La ★ 4.0

฿ Street foodPhuket Town

Why locals goGo La is a third-generation family noodle shop on Kra Road in Phuket Town, frying Hokkien-style noodles over charcoal, a local lunch stop outside the Old Town's main streets.

TipGo for lunch and order the yellow Hokkien noodles with an extra egg for a creamier texture.

Directions

Meesapam Khun Yai Chian ★ 4.5

฿ Street foodPhuket Town

Why locals goMeesapam Khun Yai Chian, opened by Grandma Chian in 1952, sits on Thep Krasattri Road in Ko Kaeo, north of Phuket Town, where her descendants still cook her recipes.

TipOrder the stir-fried oysters with crispy egg roll alongside the signature mee sapam noodles.

Directions

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