Today, we have another awesome noodle soup recipe for you guys: Malaysian Curry Mee. And I’m pretty excited about it.
Inspired by a Favorite Malaysian Spot
As you can probably tell, The Woks of Life has been in a noodly mood lately. We recently published my mom’s wild mushroom noodle recipe, as well as her AMAZING beef noodle soup (my sister and I just took some leftovers out of the freezer and reheated it, and it was even better than we remembered).
But this Curry Mee (curry noodle soup) recipe in particular brings me back to fond memories of getting Malaysian food at a restaurant called Penang in East Hanover, NJ. For all you New Jersey readers out there, it’s in the same strip mall where one of our favorite Chinese grocery stores, Kam Man Food, is also located.
We’ve been shopping in that strip mall for as long as I can remember. Through all the change that I’ve experienced in my 26 years, from elementary to high school, moving from one town to the next, going to college, moving to Beijing, and then coming back to the US, I still somehow always find myself going back there.
Heading into Kam Man Food for groceries—whether it was on a shopping trip with my mom as a kid or stocking up on my favorite brands of instant noodles as a college student. Walking past the Godfather Pizzeria (their ziti slice was our holy grail as kids), the Studio D’Karant Salon where my mom used to get her nails done after finishing the weekend errands, and the Home Depot, where my dad would inevitably stop in for one thing or another.
Who would’ve thought that this nondescript strip mall off of Route 10 would be one of the few places in the world where I could say I had memories from almost every stage of life? Weird.
I also remember when the Penang Restaurant first opened in that strip mall. It took the place by storm. I remember going in as a kid with my family, and us ordering dishes like water spinach in belacan sauce, Penang shrimp, beef rendang (beef rendang recipe here!), roti canai, and this thick, flavorful curry noodle soup with chicken, shrimp, and other seafood.
It was a glimpse into a different world of food and cooking. The term “Malaysian Chinese” entered my consciousness, and I began to regularly crave bowls of “curry mee,” the yellow curry noodle soup that inspired this post.
Make This Recipe Your Own
If you, like many Woks of Life readers, tried and enjoyed this 15-Minute Coconut Curry Noodle Soup recipe, you will love this Curry Mee. It’s really best made with fresh egg noodles. I prefer the wide wonton noodles you see in the picture below.
I decided to forego the seafood in this version to make it a bit easier to prepare, but you can feel free to add whatever elements you like—shrimp, squid, fried tofu, or other vegetables. Make it your own!
And who knows, if you ever find yourself in that East Hanover strip mall, you might see a family who looks strangely like “those Internet people with the food blog,” pondering what to order at Kam Man’s hot bar or stopping into Penang for a bowl of curry noodle soup.
Curry Mee: Recipe Instructions
Heat the oil in a pot over medium high heat and add the onion, garlic, ginger, and lemongrass.
Cook for about 6 minutes, until softened and fragrant.
Stir in the red curry paste. Turn the heat up to high and add the chicken. Stir-fry until the chicken turns opaque.
Add the curry powder, turmeric, coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce, and sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the egg noodles according to package directions.
Divide the noodles between 2 soup bowls and set aside.
Taste the curry mee soup and season with salt to taste.
Divide the curry mee soup among your 2 bowls of noodles, and garnish with raw bean sprouts, cilantro leaves, and a squeeze of lime.
