Ingredients

  • Serves 2 people
  • 500 g pork ribs (blanched with hot water)

  • 4 tbsp oil

  • 4 clove garlic (sliced)

  • 1 kg prawns (remove shells and head, set aside)

  • 220 g pork loin

  • 2 star anise

  • 4 cloves

  • 3 tbsp brown sugar

  • 2 L boiling water

  • 2 tbsp white peppercorn

  • 30 g rock sugar

  • 2 tsp salt

  • 1 tbsp fish sauce

  • 1 tbsp dark soya sauce

  • salt and pepper (to taste)

  • 200 g yellow noodles

  • 25 g bean sprouts

  • 5 sprigs kang kong

  • 2 red cut chili

  • 2 tbsp red chili powder

  • ½ cup fried shallots

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Recipe Courtesy of
Asian Food Network

Hawker at Home: Make Your Own Prawn Noodle Soup

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Prawn noodle soup is a popular Asian dish that many often order when eating out at hawker centers. What better way to enjoy Prawn noodle soup dish than to recreate this dish on your own! Have as many serving as you want, and take all the prawns that you want to eat. The richness of the broth will definitely make the extra time taken worth it, and you won't regret your homecooked Prawn Noodle Soup.
  • Medium
  • 30 min
  • 140 min
  • 15 min
  • 4 steps
  • 21 Ingredients
  • Medium
  • 4 steps
  • 21 Ingredients
  • 30 min
  • 140 min
  • 15 min

Prawn Noodle Soup 

A Popular Asian Comfort Food 

Prawn noodle soup, more commonly known as Har Mee, is a very popular Asian dish that many often order when eating out at hawker centres. Har Mee is an Asian dish that was sold not just by hawkers, but street vendors across the continent as well. The Har Mee recipe is definitely intricate and takes a certain level of skill to bring out the right combination of sweet and savoury flavors. 

Prawn Noodle Soup is a favourite among locals for its dense flavor profile, brimming with the seafood stock of shrimp and sweetness of sauces. Big, fresh prawns, sweet and tangy chili sauce and savoury, dense shrimp broth make up a delicious bowl of Har Mee. The trick to a dense and full-bodied Prawn Noodle Soup is in cooking the prawns and pork ribs for hours instead of using MSG. Boiling the prawn broth from scratch for a good couple of hours using real prawn meat will give you that full flavor profile - an effort that is very worth the time once you taste the broth!

The Prawn Noodle Soup, like many other Asian recipes, are packed with bold flavors, combining sweet, spicy and sour taste profiles elegantly to deliver a unique gastronomic experience unlike any other. Other popular Asian dishes that come to mind when we discover the taste profiles of the Har Mee include the Singaporean Hokkien Mee and the Ban Mian

Fans of the local Har Mee can be found frequenting several hawkers until they find a bowl of tangy savoury goodness that tantalises and teases their taste buds. Are you a fan of the local Har Mee? What better way to enjoy this Prawn Noodle Soup than to recreate it on your own! Have as many servings as you wish and load up on that shrimp goodness! The richness of the prawn broth will make all the difference, and you will not regret making this Har Mee recipe at home. 

Frequently-Asked Questions about Prawn Noodle Soup 

First time attempting the Prawn Noodle Soup recipe? Fret not, we have all the necessary tips and tricks for you to master this bowl of savoury shrimp goodness!

What are the main ingredients required for the Prawn Noodle Soup recipe? 

Yellow noodles, prawns, bean sprouts, pork loin and ribs make up the main ingredients for the recipe. Kang Kong vegetables, chili, soya sauce and fish sauce are crucial ingredients that help season and bring out the flavours of the prawn noodle soup.

How long should I boil the prawn stock for? 

Ideally, for the full body flavors to emerge, the stock should boil for a couple of hours. Boiling your prawn stock broth from scratch will definitely add authenticity to the dish and bring the flavors of the entire meal together. 

What other ingredients can I add unto the prawn noodle soup broth? 

You can include radish, carrots and rock sugar into the broth. These ingredients can enhance the flavor of your broth. 

What about the noodles? What other ingredients are good to fry with them? 

Some hawkers do add fried lard bits and shallots into the mix and fry them together. Coupled with the tangy sweet chili sauce, the noodles complement the savoury shrimp-flavored broth. 

Tips on making a savoury Prawn Noodle Soup 

  1. Add aromatics: Before you add the shrimp heads and tails into the prawn broth, you can try stir-frying them in oil to elevate the aromatics. Boil your stock for several hours so that you can really extract all the flavors packed in the ingredients for a full-bodied taste profile. 

  2. Add a variety of spices and seasonings: As the soup base is really the star of your Prawn Noodle Soup dish, you should experiment with the variations of chili, herbs and spices added into your broth. Depending on your preference, you can increase the amount of chili in your broth for a spicier, tangier taste. 

Instructions

  1. Make prawn stock

    • Heat oil in a pot.  Add garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add in the prawn shells and head, brown sugar and sauté until they are fragrant and the colour changes to orange.

    • Add water and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for 20 minutes.

    • Strain the stock and discard the shells.



  2. Make soup base

    • Pour the prawn stock into another clean pot.  Bring it to a boil.

    • Add the blanched pork ribs, star anise, cloves, white peppercorns, rock sugar, fish sauce, salt.  Bring to boil and let it simmer for 1 ½ hours or until the ribs are tender but not falling apart.

    • Once the soup base is done cooking, taste and add more salt, sugar and pepper if needed. Add the dark soya sauce for colour if needed.


  3. Blanch the prawns and lean pork

    • Blanch the prawns you will be serving with the noodles briefly in the soup base until they turn pink and cook through.  Remove and set aside.

    • Using the boiling soup base, blanch the pork loin till cooked.  Remove and cut the pork loin into thin slices.



  4. Serve

    • Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Then portion out the noodles, bean sprouts and kangkong and blanch them.

    • Transfer into serving bowls.

    • Top with prawns, pork slices.



Plate and Serve!

Ladle hot soup over, then garnish with shallots. Serve with cut chili and chili powder as condiments.

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    Ingredients
    • Serves 2 people
    • 500 g pork ribs (blanched with hot water)

    • 4 tbsp oil

    • 4 clove garlic (sliced)

    • 1 kg prawns (remove shells and head, set aside)

    • 220 g pork loin

    • 2 star anise

    • 4 cloves

    • 3 tbsp brown sugar

    • 2 L boiling water

    • 2 tbsp white peppercorn

    • 30 g rock sugar

    • 2 tsp salt

    • 1 tbsp fish sauce

    • 1 tbsp dark soya sauce

    • salt and pepper (to taste)

    • 200 g yellow noodles

    • 25 g bean sprouts

    • 5 sprigs kang kong

    • 2 red cut chili

    • 2 tbsp red chili powder

    • ½ cup fried shallots

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