Commonly pronounced as “Hair Mee”, or Prawn Noodles to those who do not indulge in hollering in dialect while ordering with hawkers, this humble dish is simple, yet extremely satisfying. Found in many places throughout Asia especially in Singapore, prawn noodles were brought here by immigrants from Fujian province in South-eastern China.

True connoisseurs of this dish will always have prawn noodles with the soup, because its thick soup broth is what makes the dish so distinctive. One can instantly tell whether a bowl of prawn noodles is delicious or sub-standard simply with a spoonful of soup. Most famous prawn noodle stalls jealously guard their recipes which are often passed down from one generation to another, to retain their own unique flavour that keeps their customers coming back for more.

One can choose across a range of noodles (similar to Fishball Noodles), ranging from yellow egg noodles, to kway teow (flat rice noodles) or vermicelli. Most diners in Singapore prefer the thick yellow egg noodles because it tastes better. The noodles are usually served with slices of pork, fish cake and stalks of beansprouts, as well as large juicy prawns. Should one prefer the dry version, the noodles will be tossed with chilli, soya sauce, oil and crackling, topped with bits of fried onion, then served with a bowl of soup on the side.

The basic soup stock across all prawn noodles include the soup stock, made from boiled prawn shells, first fried to release the distinct prawn flavour. Pork loin, pork ribs and dried shrimps make up the rest of the meats in the soup. Spices such as white pepper, garlic and others are tossed in and cooked till it forms a broth. As the final touch of the dish, succulent prawns cooked to the right texture are then served in the same bowl of noodles and soup.