Mee Rebus

by Linda Tay Esposito Flavor Explosions, San Francisco
Serves 4

Shallot oil:
2 shallots, sliced thinly
½ cup canola oil

Spice Paste:
4 fresh red Jalapeno
6 shallots
1 inch fresh turmeric
1 inch galangal
1 inch ginger

Spice:
¼ cup of canola oil for frying
2 sticks cinnamon
1/2 star anise
1 teaspoon fennel, ground
½ teaspoon cumin, ground
1 Tablespoon coriander seeds, ground
1 Tablespoon curry powder

Broth:
2 cups coconut milk
4 cups chicken broth
2 Tablespoons tamarind concentrate
1 teaspoon sugar
2 Tablespoons kosher salt, to taste
2 Tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
1 ½ cups mashed sweet potatoes
16 oz fresh egg noodles

Topping:
8 oz shrimp, peeled, tails-on
12 fried tofu puffs, sliced thin
1 cup mungbean sprouts
3 eggs, hard boiled, sliced
1 cup English cucumber, shredded
1 red jalapeno
1 lime, wedges
Cilantro

Preparing the shallot oil:
1. In a small pot, heat ½ cup canola oil. When warm, add sliced shallots and cook until golden brown. Remove from heat. Set aside.

Preparing the spice paste:
2. Grind together spice paste ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.

Preparing the soup base:
3. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat until just hot. Stir in spice paste, cinnamon sticks and star anise. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining spices – fennel, cumin, coriander and curry powder. Saute until the red oil separates from the spice paste about 5 minutes more.
4. Lower the heat, slowly add coconut milk and chicken stock and bring to a slow simmer, stirring constantly. Simmer for at 20-30 minutes. Add tamarind, sugar and salt to taste. Whisk in peanut butter and mashed potatoes.

Preparing the noodles:
5. Bring another pot of salted water to boil and blanch egg noodles till tender but still firm. Rinse egg noodles under cold water to remove the starch.

Preparing the topping:
6. Bring a pot of water to boil. Separately blanch shrimp, sprouts, and tofu puffs.
7. Finely julienne cucumber and jalapeno.

Assembly
8. Place a serving of noodles, and top with sliced tofu, shrimp, bean sprouts and ladle some broth over. Garnish with cucumber, jalapeno, cilantro, sliced eggs and a teaspoon of fried shallots and a little shallot oil.
9. Serve with quartered limes.