Mee Rebus is a hugely popular noodle dish in Malay food outlets and stalls throughout Malaysia. Although there are some variations of the dish from different regions, typically, it consists of noodles served in a savory gravy seasoned with spices and thickened with sweet potato gravy.

In this article, I will prepare Mee Rebus with my interpretation. Besides sweet potatoes, the gravy added dried shrimp and fermented bean paste (taucu), reflecting my unique cooking style and strong Chinese culinary influence. 

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A. What is mee rebus?

Mee Rebus is a popular noodle dish from Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. This flavorful Malay street food is served with yellow egg noodles and a savory gravy thickened naturally with sweet potatoes. The noodles are topped with crispy bean sprouts, savory tofu, and hard-boiled eggs. The flavorful gravy is made with local spices, stocks, and boiled sweet potatoes. Besides, adding crispy fried shallots and flavorful dried shrimp enhances the dish’s savory flavors. It is also closely related to Mee Jawa from Indonesia.

B. How to prepare Mee Rebus?

Making mee rebus involves several steps. Firstly, prepare the flavorful stock. Then, steam and mash the sweet potatoes and blend the spices. Next, prepare the toppings and assemble everything into a flavorful noodle bowl.

Here is a detailed explanation of each step.

1. Prepare the stock

Mee rebus is traditionally made with beef stock. To make the stock, beef bones are simmered in boiling water, then removed and filtered before being used as the soup base. The meat from the bones is used as part of the topping for the dish. 

In my recipe, I use chicken stock instead of beef stock. I had some chicken stock stored in the freezer from the previous week. As a result, my version of mee rebus may differ slightly from the one you would normally find from the street vendors. Alternatively, consider using store-bought beef broth or chicken stock to simplify making mee rebus.

2. Steam and mash the sweet potatoes

I use sweet potatoes with yellow flesh for this purpose. 

1. First, peel the skin and then cut the sweet potatoes into pieces of one to two inches. 
2. Then, place them in a steamer for about 20 minutes or until tender.
3. Checking if the sweet potatoes are soft enough. Simply use a chopstick to poke into the sweet potato pieces. If the chopstick goes through easily, the sweet potato pieces are ready.
4. Once they are ready, mash them just like you would make mashed potatoes. Blending it in an electric blender with water is easy until it becomes a smooth paste.

C. Blend the spices for making Mee Rebus gravy

The taste of mee rebus largely depends on the spices used to prepare the gravy. Mee rebus from different Malaysian states has distinct flavors due to unique spice blends used in the gravy.

I have included the most common spices for mee rebus to create a universal flavor. You can add or remove certain spices to suit your taste preferences.

Below is a brief explanation of the spices:

1. Chilies. When preparing Malay cuisine, red chilies are the primary ingredient used. Although the number of chilies used depends on your preference, I recommend removing the seeds to reduce the heat level. This allows you to add more chilies for a richer flavor without causing it to be too spicy. I suggest cutting the chilies into small pieces to facilitate blending. If chili paste is available, it can replace fresh chili to save time. In Malaysia, this paste is known as Chili Boh.
2. Onion. It does not matter whether you use yellow or red onions. Cut the onion into small chunks for easy blending.
3. Garlic. Garlic is another essential ingredient that helps elevate the taste of Mee Rebus. You can either cut or bash the garlic before blending.
4. Candlenuts. Although candlenuts are optional, they are typically used to thicken the gravy. Another way is to use crushed grounuts. I do not use them because the gravy is thick enough with sweet potatoes alone.
5. Lemongrass. You only use the center part of the lemongrass stalks. This means discarding the green part and the part near the stem. Once the outer layer of the bulb is removed, slice the pale yellow bulb section into thin pieces for easy blending. (Please refer to the video in this post for the details.)
6. Turmeric. Fresh turmeric or freshly ground turmeric powder helps give a bright yellow color to the gravy, besides enhancing the taste. Please wear gloves when handling turmeric, as it stains your skin easily.
7. Galangal. Galangal is a unique ingredient with a distinct flavor widely used in Malay cuisine. Although it resembles ginger, it is not a substitute for it. However, it is not a critical ingredient, and some styles of mee rebus do not include it in the recipe. Cut the galangal into small pieces or thin slices to ease blending.
8. Dried shrimp. Dried shrimp helps create a flavorful spice mix that enhances the taste of the Mee Rebus gravy. Before blending, rinse them with water and soak them for fifteen minutes to soften them.

To prepare the spice blend, add all the above ingredients into the electric blender or food processor to blend them into a smooth chili paste. You need a small amount of water to facilitate blending.

D. Make the mee rebus gravy

Let’s prepare the Mee Rebus gravy with the blended spices and sweet potato paste.

1. Heat some oil in a pan and add the spice mix. Cook until the liquid evaporates, which will take about ten minutes. After that, the spice will start to saute in the oil, and you will notice the aroma fills the air. 
2. Mix in the mashed sweet potatoes and stir well with the spice paste. 
3. Pour chicken or beef broth and season with curry powder, fermented soybean paste (taucu), palm sugar, and salt. (Use regular sugar if palm sugar is unavailable.) 
4. Add crushed ground peanuts or candlenuts to the spice mix and mix well to form a thick gravy. (optional) 
5. Taste to check if you need to add more salt or sugar. 

The Mee Rebus gravy is now ready.

E. Prepare the toppings

Mee rebus is served with certain ingredients as the topping. Below is a list of the items that are usually used. You can use all or only part of those that you like.

1. Fried shallots. Fried shallots are an essential ingredient easily made at home or purchased from Asian grocery stores. You can make it easily by following my homemade fried crispy shallots recipe.
2. Firm tofu. To prepare the firm tofu (tau kwa), slice it into thin pieces and deep-fry in hot oil over medium heat until both sides turn golden brown. It’s advisable to remove excess moisture from the tofu pieces before frying to prevent oil splatters. After deep frying, cut the tofu into cubes.
3. Hard-boiled egg. Hard-boiled egg is a common ingredient used in Mee Rebus. I wrote an article explaining how to make the perfect hard-boiled egg. Please refer to that article for details.
4. Cucur udang. An optional ingredient is Cucur Udang, which is Malaysian-style prawn fritters. Street food vendors will use them while crispy and as a topping for the noodles. However, it is optional, and I didn’t make it today. If you are interested, please read my articles on how to prepare these flavorful prawn fritters.
5. Beef pieces. If you make beef broth from scratch, you can separate the meat attached to the bones as a topping for Mee Rebus.
6. Bean sprouts. To prepare the bean sprouts, wash them first and then blanch them in boiling water for 15 to 30 seconds, depending on how crispy you want. Bean sprouts can also be eaten raw, so a brief blanch helps retain their texture.
7. Yellow mee. To complete the recipe, you will need yellow mee. This type of yellow noodle is called Mee Kuning in Malaysia and Singapore. If you can’t get the yellow mee where you live, you can use other noodles as a substitute, although it is less authentic.  Unlike spaghetti, this type of noodle is pre-cooked, so it only needs a quick blanch in a large pot of boiling water for twenty seconds to remove the excess oil and keep it warm.

F. To assemble the bowl of noodles

Now assemble all the ingredients in a noodle bowl to serve.

1. Draining the noodles and bean sprouts from boiling water and put them into the bowl. 
2. Then, pour a generous amount of the mee rebus gravy over the noodles.
3. Add the toppings on top. 
4. Lastly, garnish with coriander leaves, sliced green chilies, and lime wedges. Add a squeeze of lime juice before serving.

G. Other related Malaysian noodle dishes that you will like

I recommend some noodle dishes from this food blog that you would enjoy. 

• Firstly, Ipoh shredded chicken noodles (怡保河粉), which are prepared with a flavorful broth made from chicken bones and shrimp shells. This dish is incredibly delicious, especially when served with shredded chicken meat.
• Another savory option is Soto Ayam, a Malay noodle soup with a clear broth instead of a thick gravy like Mee Rebus. The soup is made with chicken broth and various local herbs and spices.
• Lastly, there’s Wat Tan Hor (滑旦河), a flavorful Malaysian street food dish consisting of flat rice noodles covered in a rich egg gravy and served with a combination of meat, seafood, and veggies.