One of the greatest thing about living in Singapore is the wide varieties of food that we get to have. As compared to many other countries, because we are such a multi-racial society, we manage to house all the best food from every race and enjoy them to its fullest all on this little red dot that we called home. And you know what, when it comes to varieties of food, just from the beginning of the first meal of the day, our breakfast options are far more than varied. In stark contrast to bread and butter or fish and chips, we have options ranging from rice, porridge, noodles to vermicelli. And the thing I feel so glad about is that we are not staunched into one kind of food only, just like how we associate ramen to Japan, prad thai to Thailand, pasta to the Western countries or even la mian to China, in Singapore here, we have all sorts including all that was mentioned and of course some locally styled noodles, such as Mee Pok (thin flat noodles), Mee Gia (thin noodles), Ban Mian and my favourite of all the Mee Tai Bak (rice noodles shaped like a rat’s tail- that’s why it’s called the 老鼠粉 in mandarin) !
As a kid well before we learn how to use the chopsticks in handling noodles, our parents used to feed us with this Mee Tai Bak, because they can be easily eaten with a spoon on our own. Though I might not be extensively travelled, but so far the places I have been to, I have hardly seen these selling in other countries, other than our own. And if you were to ask me to name a local food which I grew up upon, I guess this might be one of it ~
Whilst it is not commonly a dish that adults would enjoy, other than people seeing it as something to fall back on if you fall sick, because it’s just too light and healthy, but whenever I have fishball or minced meat noodles, this will be my top option to go along amongst all the noodle choices.
And over the years, people re-enact it into stir fried version as well, and it’s so liking to yaki udon in my opinion but much different with a Singapore twist. Like how we came out with our Singapore styled Fried Vermicelli, this is my version of Stir Fried Mee Tai Bak enact out of a craving for the childhood food and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, both kids and adults alike !
Recipe as below ! And addressing today as Friday’s eve always made the day more bearable and so in anticipation for TGIF tomorrow !
Stir Fried Mee Tai Bak
Ingredients
For the noodles
- 250 g Mee Tai Bak rat noodles
- 70 g cabbage
- 50 g bean sprout
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp preserved radish
- 70 g minced meat
- 70 g prawns
- 4-5 pieces of imitation crab sticks cut into halves
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- some chopped spring onions
- some chili padis optional
For the seasoning
- 3/4 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp of pepper
- 120 ml broth
Instructions
- Heat up 3 tbsp of oil in a wok and stir fry garlic and preserved radish until fragrant.
- Add in the minced meat, prawns and crab sticks and stir fry until cooked. Move them to the side of the wok and add in the cabbage and mee tai bak noodles to the centre of the wok and stir fry lightly.
- Add in the seasoning slowly and stir it together with the meat, prawns, crab sticks, cabbage and mee tai bak together.
- Lastly, stir in the bean sprouts until cooked.
- Garnish with chopped spring onions and chili padis and serve hot.
Looks great!
Thanks Mabel !