Spaghetti Rebus

Spaghetti Rebus

The Hub asked me yesterday what those ugly roots were. There I remembered that I've forgotten about my basket of sweet potatoes. I bought them 2 weeks ago thinking of having them roasted on the BBQ or making a soup out of them. But since last night, all I could think of was Mee Rebus. Since I do not have any fresh yellow noodles, I made Spaghetti Rebus in its stead. And instead of going to the gym, I stayed at home to cook.

Sweet potatoes were what grandma dug out of the ground to eat during the war as mom liked to tell me. And in Singapore the leaves are stirfried and served in some restaurants. I rather like them actually. Sweet potatoes are rich in complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, beta carotene (especially the orange-fleshed ones), vitamin C and B6. I usually like them steamed or roasted.

This is comfort food. So nice when it's so cold in the house (even when you pay nearly a thousand euros each month for gas). Use to have it at Rahim's almost every week. He added satay sauce when serving to make his mee rebus more sedap, but I actually prefer my rebus simple and did not bother to thicken the sauce too much.

Sweet potato root

Mee Rebus (Curry Noodles with Mashed Sweet Potatoes) :

The rempah

Tau cheo (salted soy beans)

Dried shrimps (soaked in water and drained)
Roasted peanuts
Candle or macademia nuts
Shrimp paste (toasted and pounded)
Ginger
Galanga
Garlic
Lemongrass
Shallots
Dried red chillies (softened in hot water and drained)

Ground Coriander

Ground Turmeric

Curry Powder

Sweet potatoes (boiled/steamed and mashed)

Prawn or meat stock

Cornstarch

Salt

Sugar

To serve with

Fresh yellow noodles or spaghetti

Green chillies

Beansprouts

Prawns
Hard boiled eggs
Fried beancurd
Fried shallots
Chopped spring onions and fresh coriander leaves

Lime juice

Kecap Manis

To make the gravy, pound/blend the ginger, lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallots and dried chillis into a paste. Fry the peanuts and macademia nuts in a little oil and blend with the tau cheo, dried shrimps and toasted blachan into another paste.

Heat more oil in a pot and fry the dry spices until fragrant. Add in the ginger paste and then the nut paste. Fry till aromatic and the oil seeps out.

Stir in the mashed sweet potatoes. Pour in a litre of warm/hot stock. Let it simmer.

Add salt and sugar to taste. Thicken with a cornstarch solution.

Cook the noodles, scald some beansprouts and arrange them on a plate. Pour some gravy over it. Garnish with egg slices, cooked prawns (if any), sliced green chillies, a cut lime, some taupok (if any), fresh coriander leaves and fried shallots. Dribble some kecap manis over it.