What’s delicious to you, something you can’t live without and unique to your culture? It’s our ethnic food, of course! These are special because food originating from one’s country can never be imitated. How different can food be in a different country? Well, think of your favourite food native to your country. Have you ever come across an excellent representation of this dish in another country? Most would say no. For me, kolo mee is one of my favourite ethnic foods that must only be regularly eaten at home. Originating from Malaysia, native to the state of Sarawak. It’s a dried noodle dish tossed in savoury shallot oil and soy sauce mixture, added with various garnishes. I realised I haven’t tried a single kolo mee that comes close to how it tasted back home in Sarawak. Even in the same country, it can be difficult to replicate.
** This article references to, or contains non-halal elements! **
Image by Evelyn Chai from Pixabay
Is Kolo Mee A Foreign Dish?
Famous foods like kolo mee is usually famous for a reason. Infused with a rich history and hints of people’s “secret” ingredients, kolo mee has evolved through generations of “traditional” recipes. Especially more so in a country like Malaysia, filled with a huge diversity of cultures, its story might be an interesting one.
Malaysia boasts of many ethnic Chinese people. They have influenced many aspects of what we call Malaysian today. And we can see many of the big influences around Malaysia like in Sarawak. And one big impact is definitely the food. Some are Laksa Sarawak, Mee Jawa and Hainanese Chicken Rice. Kolo mee as well is definitely a Chinese-inspired dish, and I’ll tell you why.
Image by Atiqah Ghazali
1) Where Did Kolo Mee Originate From Anyway?
I don’t exactly remember my first kolo mee but I also don’t remember a time when I didn’t eat it almost every time I went back home to my hometown, Miri in Sarawak. If you have a chance to visit Miri, Sarawak, buy yourself some kolo mee at any local restaurants like the one I always frequent, Awang Mahyan in Lutong. Whether you like Asian food or not, you will love this. If you forget, don’t worry. You won’t miss the locals enjoying their tiny bowls of noodles with their chopsticks just going at it.
Even with its popularity in Miri, kolo mee actually didn’t originate from here. Instead, it was made popular in the capital of Sarawak i.e Kuching. If you think kolo mee was popular in Miri, kolo mee in Kuching is at another level. This is the place to go to if you want to go on a daring journey with various types of kolo mee.
Image by travelphotographer from Pixabay
2) So, Where Exactly Did Kolo Mee Really Come From?
Going further back, the original kolo mee was actually introduced by Chinese immigrants in Malaysia around the 1800s and is still sold in Malaysia today. Its Mandarin name is gan lao mian. But the kolo mee is actually a Hokkien Chinese dialect directly translating to mean dried tossed noodles. For Malaysians now, we know it as the famous mee kering (dry noodles). Over generations, the dish changed to suit people’s ever-changing palates. As we live in a world of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and overseasoned food, one must adapt. The dried noodles come with more sauce and steamed vegetables are replaced with spring onions. A simple story but one full of mystery that can only be told by real people themselves.
Image by Dina Ghazali
3) From A Chinese To Malaysian-Chinese Dish
As this Chinese dish evolved to satiate Malaysians’ taste buds, many versions like the halal version for Muslims were introduced. Hence the name, Malaysian-Chinese cuisine. We know that the majority of the Malaysian people are Muslims, therefore they only eat halal food. And we know that the star ingredient of kolo mee is pork, which is not halal. Naturally, as more people wanted to enjoy this feast, a halal version was created. The difference being only the protein. Instead of pork, they use beef, and chicken as a substitute. Up to this point, only a handful of muslim shops are selling kolo mee.
Image by Sunday133 from Pixabay
The Foundation Of A Good Kolo Mee
History aside, to actually begin to make kolo mee you always start with the main star of the dish. In the name of the dish, mee which translates to ‘noodle’ is the main ingredient. We also know that ‘kolo‘ in Cantonese translates to dry toss. It’s a dry tossed noodle. You need to use proper ingredients to achieve the taste that people love so much. But first, we need to find out which noodles suit this dish best.
Image by Dina Ghazali
1) Noodles For Everyone, It’s Flexible
Wheat noodles that are dried then boiled are the ones you’re looking for in a recipe like this. In Sarawak, they sell them in packs specifically labeled for kolo mee. These brands are mainly Chinese brands and are non-halal because they add lard. Therefore, those who eat halal opt for a Muslim brand or use thin egg noodles that are similar to the image above. But make sure they aren’t too thick. If you do not have a preference, go for the original Chinese brands here as they have a better chew to them. If you’re feeling adventurous, below is a video recipe for handmade egg noodles. For a simple meal, the noodles from an instant noodle pack are also a nice alternative.
These fresh egg noodles will guarantee chewy texture and you can control how thin you want your noodles to be. Plus it’s fun.
2) Dry, Sweet, or Spicy? And More?
Now here is where the flavour comes in. We can adjust the flavour to our taste, whether we prefer a sweeter dish, or one with strong flavours that coat every single noodle strand in the bowl. So, what are the flavours?
Well, there’re many different ways that people make them. But the flavours that we cannot exclude are definetly shallot oil (pork oil for non-halal), light soy sauce, and white pepper. From here, we can build our own perfect bowl of kolo mee. Others like to add some sesame oil, fish sauce or vinegar, oyster sauce and sweet soy sauce. I personally like my noodles more savoury and darker, so I would add all of these ingredients if I could. Until you can see a thick sauce at the bottom of the bowl when you tilt it.
Image by Dina Ghazali
More interestingly, people have created other varieties of kolo mee. There’s the addition of chilli pork oil for a spicy version. A sweet soy sauce version that makes the kolo mee darker in colour. There’s even an unorthodox menu of curry kolo mee and rendang kolo mee. While I was researching, I even came across a Maggi brand kolo mee. I’m not sure how that’s going to taste but it simply shows how popular this menu is.
3) Steps To A Delicious Bite of Kolo Mee
Now comes the hard part. The garnishes and sides are usually the last steps when plating a meal. But for this recipe, we garnish it first. It isn’t much but it takes some time. Definitely worth the wait. We have to fry some sliced shallots, blanch the vegetables, sauté some minced chicken, make a simple beef soup, and last but not least, concoct a side of sweet chilli sauce. Remember, it’s worth it.
Image by Dina Ghazali
The platter of choice is undoubtedly any type of bowl, preferably small. The way to eat kolo mee in my personal experience is in a small bowl with small portions. This way we get all the noodles coated with the mouth-watering sauce. If you’re still hungry, you can always add or order more. First, put your sauce into the bowl. My advice is to make the one portion of sauce directly into the bowl you’re gonna eat out of. It’s just easier and people can add according to their own taste. Then nicely plate the freshly blanched noodles in. Lastly, sparingly garnish your bowl. Serve with a bowl of refreshing beef soup and chilli sauce.
Share Authentic Food In Unauthentic Places
If we want other countries to serve the food from our country, we would want it to be as similar to how we experienced it. So more people can understand our culture and how our amazing food came to be. This is done through teaching people the recipes physically, sharing the recipes with friends and with the cooking community online. Food52 is a really good platform to ask for any advice relating to cooking. It has a diverse range of people you can interact with in their forum.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Join The Food Community Online
If you wanted to find a recipe to cook, many have been published by people in the Food52 community. If you cannot find a recipe that you want people to know more about, you can even add your own recipe as well. Food52’s videos introduce recipes from all over the world. It’s surprising how they even have a recipe for Malaysia’s national dish, nasi lemak. But they took it a step further and included a podcast network.
One of the podcasts that stood out to me is called, Play Me A Recipe. Cooks from Food52 share their recipes, tips, and stories only a speaking voice can convey. This is an amazing opportunity to voice your opinions and share your stories on food, hence creating a more experienced platform. Let’s make our home away from home come true by sharing our ethnic recipes with friends, online. Why don’t you start now by commenting below where you’re from and what your favourite ethnic food is?
Listen along while you cook in the kitchen or hear the stories and tips that people share. In order to create a place for people to go to when they’re stuck or are curious about a food they’ve come across.
