We Penangites take our food very seriously (as do our fellow Chinese in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore!) So, did you know that the Penang Chinese, especially the Babas and Nyonyas (or Straits Chinese men and women), have not been seeing eye to eye with their southern cousins over two very delicious street temptations for generations?
The first of these is the right to have their version of Hokkien Mee recognised as the one and only official version and all the others declared heretical misinterpretations of a much loved original. What could possibly be so different about Hokkien Mee when it's cooked and named after the descendants of those who came from the same province of Fuchien (pronounced "Hokkien" by the natives) in China more than two hundred years ago? Take a look.
This is what you get in Penang when you order Hokkien Mee. It's basically parboiled vermicelli and wheat noodles in a rich soup stock made from prawns and either pork or chicken (the halal version.) Big, lovely, juicy prawns if you can get them! Penangites are nice people and sometimes call this Prawn Mee for their southern relatives' convenience.
But never when speaking to other Penangites!
And this is what they call Hokkien Mee in Kuala Lumpur. It's fat wheat noodles stirfried in dark, sweet soy sauce. It comes with pork or chicken and prawns, too.
The main ingredient (and the secret of its rich, savoury taste) is the thicker and much sweeter soy sauce. Penangites call this Hokkien Char (or Fried Hokkien Mee) and have their own lighter version of it (fried with oyster sauce, too) but don't seem to worry about the difference for some reason.
Further south in Singapore, Hokkien Mee takes on another look. It's much lighter than either the Penang or KL versions, lighter in colour and less rich in taste, too, but equally good, especially with a bit of calamansi lime juice and savoury sambal chili paste stirred into it. The Singapore version also comes with slices of squid, something occasionally seen in the KL version but never in the soupy Penang dish.
And then, there's laksa. Which is actually a Malay dish! It comprises rice noodles served in a spicy fish broth with lots of chunks of deboned fish.
The Penang version of laksa comes closest to the original Malay dish but that's probably because the first Chinese to cook it for themselves were the spice and spicy-loving Straits Chinese (the Babas and Nyonyas) who are the offspring of long ago Malay-Chinese intermarriage.
South of Penang, this sweet, sour and spicy dish of white rice noodles in a rich fish broth is called Nyonya laksa. When Singaporeans and KLites refer to "laksa" this is what they mean. The soup is made richer with a bit of coconut milk and the main seafood ingredient is blood clams and fish cake, though a more deluxe version of it comes with poached prawns, too.
In Penang, KL and SIngapore laksa is called Curry Mee. And if you told the Penang curry mee lady to cut down the chili in her laksa, she would probably give you the same look that Queen Victoria gave to Prince Bertie when he told her about Lillie Langtry!
Food history is interesting, isn't it? More so if you can find a whiff of scandal to spice up the story, I've been told!
And I'll go talk to some really old ladies to dig up stories like that so the next time you come to Penang and order a bowl or a plate of the local street delight, you'll have a little bit more to enjoy with it.
But never when speaking to other Penangites!
And this is what they call Hokkien Mee in Kuala Lumpur. It's fat wheat noodles stirfried in dark, sweet soy sauce. It comes with pork or chicken and prawns, too.The main ingredient (and the secret of its rich, savoury taste) is the thicker and much sweeter soy sauce. Penangites call this Hokkien Char (or Fried Hokkien Mee) and have their own lighter version of it (fried with oyster sauce, too) but don't seem to worry about the difference for some reason.
Further south in Singapore, Hokkien Mee takes on another look. It's much lighter than either the Penang or KL versions, lighter in colour and less rich in taste, too, but equally good, especially with a bit of calamansi lime juice and savoury sambal chili paste stirred into it. The Singapore version also comes with slices of squid, something occasionally seen in the KL version but never in the soupy Penang dish.
And then, there's laksa. Which is actually a Malay dish! It comprises rice noodles served in a spicy fish broth with lots of chunks of deboned fish.The Penang version of laksa comes closest to the original Malay dish but that's probably because the first Chinese to cook it for themselves were the spice and spicy-loving Straits Chinese (the Babas and Nyonyas) who are the offspring of long ago Malay-Chinese intermarriage.
South of Penang, this sweet, sour and spicy dish of white rice noodles in a rich fish broth is called Nyonya laksa. When Singaporeans and KLites refer to "laksa" this is what they mean. The soup is made richer with a bit of coconut milk and the main seafood ingredient is blood clams and fish cake, though a more deluxe version of it comes with poached prawns, too.In Penang, KL and SIngapore laksa is called Curry Mee. And if you told the Penang curry mee lady to cut down the chili in her laksa, she would probably give you the same look that Queen Victoria gave to Prince Bertie when he told her about Lillie Langtry!
Food history is interesting, isn't it? More so if you can find a whiff of scandal to spice up the story, I've been told!
And I'll go talk to some really old ladies to dig up stories like that so the next time you come to Penang and order a bowl or a plate of the local street delight, you'll have a little bit more to enjoy with it.
