EVERY time I chomp on a plate of smoky and well fried Hokkien prawn mee, an irritating question blares out from the back of my cranium: 'So which came first, the Nonya mee, cha hae mee (fried prawn noodles) or the Hylam (Hainan) noodles?'

SHIOK! The Peranakans take a simple noodle dish and lend it class by insisting on technique and presentation. Egg is used as a topping and not fried with the noodles. PICTURE: MAKANSUTRA

They are, after all, very similar in concept and taste.

These three types of mee use good prawn stock to fry with yellow noodles.

Occasionally, you may be confused and think that a good Nonya mee is a strange cha hae mee and that the Hylam noodle hawker is actually attempting a lazy Nonya mee.

If you've fried a platter of cha hae mee - with prawn head stock, where you first fry the egg, wok sear the noodles before braising them with some stock for texture before you add the other ingredients - you can then appreciate just how different the 'similar' Nonya mee is.

For starters, egg is used as a topping and not fried with the noodles.

And trust the Peranakans to take a simple noodle dish and lend it class by insisting on technique and presentation.

Singapore Food Festival

This year's Singapore Food Festival is just around the corner.

I hope you can go out there and devour the Nonya mee.

Confuse yourself with the cha hae mee and Hylam noodles, which can be found at a few remaining Hainanese eateries on Purvis Street and featured as menu specials.

I'll leave you with a Nonya mee recipe and highlight the fussiness behind this simply adorable dish.

I made it just last week, under the supervision of a fussy Nonya cook.

Ingredients:

500g yellow Hokkien noodles

300g fresh prawns

200g belly pork (sliced into thin strips)

200g squid (ringed)

200g each of chye sim and bean sprouts

Half teaspoon salt, and sugar to taste

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons taucheo (bean paste)

1.5cm knob of belacan

Shell and fry the prawn heads with some oil (must be fragrant) and then boil them in 700ml of water (so you get the red colour, if not...fail).

Fry garlic, taucheo and wet mashed belacan (watch the colour and smell, must be strong), then fry the prawns, squid and pork (absorb all the flavour first), till almost cooked, then pour the prawn stock in (slowly).

Now introduce the chye sim and bean sprouts.

Right after, push all ingredients to the sides of the wok.

Then create a 'hole' of stock in the middle and put in the noodles (very important, so you can boil the noodles in the soup and not overcook the other ingredients).

Add salt and sugar to taste and let it simmer for 20seconds or so (don't cover the wok with a lid) and stir them up.

Make sure you don't overcook the noodles or they'll become too soft and soggy (fail, again). This one is not cha hae mee, so there's no need for braising.

Before you serve the dish, fry a thin omelette, then cut it into thin 4cm-long shreds. Then cut one cucumber (without the core, and avoid using a shredder as the cucumber will lose its crunch), into similar 4cm thin shreds, soak in cold water and set aside.

Do the same for two deseeded, long red chillies and turnips (bangkwang), to the measure of about a full rice bowl.

Lay them all on top of the Nonya noodles (row by row and colour coordinated) and voila...shiok!

Makansutra, founded by KF Seetoh, is a company that celebrates Asian food culture and lifestyle. It publishes food guides in and around the region, produces a food television series, develops interactive mobile content and services, operates food courts and eateries, organises food tours and events, and consults on culinary concepts  Back to Columnists