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Vegetarian, South and Southeast Asian

Mee rebus

Mee rebus is a Malaysian noodle dish coated in a thick sweet potato sauce, flavored with turmeric and garlic. It feeds 4 people in 45 minutes with no tricky technique, for about €1.60 per serving. The key is blending the sauce until smooth and adding a squeeze of lime right before serving.

Tonight we're making mee rebus from Malaysia, yellow egg noodles under a velvety sweet potato sauce, with an egg, tofu and a squeeze of lime.

Mee rebus
Total time
45 min
Difficulty
Easy
Cost per person
€1.60
Calories per person
590 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Fall, Winter

Under a glossy orange sauce, the yellow noodles pick up a mild, slightly spiced flavor built on turmeric and ginger. Crisp golden tofu adds bite, the hard boiled egg brings roundness, and the lime cuts through it all with a brightness that wakes up every forkful. It's a comforting bowl that never feels heavy, perfect once sweet potatoes show up at the market in fall.

This is the kind of weeknight dinner you can start without a second thought, since the sauce simmers on its own while you handle everything else. At Mon Chou, we like it for being a vegetarian meal that never feels like it's missing something, in flavor or in texture. Kids curious about noodles and mild sauce can dig in too, as long as you go easy on the chili.

The ingredients

4 people

Pantry

  • Yellow egg noodles 400 g
  • Soy sauceoften in the pantry 3 tbsp
  • Turmericoften in the pantry 1 tsp
  • Oiloften in the pantry 2 tbsp
  • Saltoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Fruits and vegetables

  • Sweet potato 500 g
  • Onion 1
  • Garlic 3 cloves
  • Fresh ginger 1 tbsp
  • Lime 2
  • Fresh chili 1

Dairy

  • Eggs 4
  • Firm tofu 200 g

Allergens Gluten, Eggs, Soy

The step by step recipe

  1. Peel the sweet potato, cut it into cubes and cook it in 1 liter of water with the onion, garlic and ginger. 20 min

    Even cubes cook at the same rate and blend without lumps.

  2. Blend everything with the turmeric, soy sauce and salt until you get a thick sauce, then return it to low heat.

    Thin it with a bit of hot water if it's too dense, it should coat the back of a spoon.

  3. Hard boil the eggs, then brown the diced tofu in the oil. 10 min

    Well drained, well patted tofu browns without splattering.

  4. Drop the noodles into boiling water for the time indicated, then drain them. 3 min

    Rinse them briefly under hot water so they don't stick together.

  5. Divide the noodles among bowls, ladle over the sauce, add the sliced egg, tofu, a bit of chili and a lime wedge.

    Squeeze the lime at the very last moment, its acidity wakes up the sweetness of the sweet potato.

Our tips to get it right

  • Pick a sweet potato that's firm and deeply orange, it gives the sauce better color and natural sweetness.
  • Taste the sauce before serving and adjust the salt or soy sauce, since sweet potatoes vary in sweetness depending on the season.
  • If your blender isn't very powerful, push the sauce through a strainer afterward to catch any remaining lumps.

The variations

  • Swap the tofu for peeled shrimp, sautéed for two minutes, for a version closer to coastal styles.
  • For an egg free version, double the tofu and top with a handful of raw bean sprouts.
  • For kids, serve the sauce on the side and let everyone add their own chili and lime to taste.

What to serve it with

  • Crunchy bean sprouts on top
  • Hot jasmine tea
  • Fresh cucumber wedges on the side

Storage

The sauce keeps 2 to 3 days in the fridge in a sealed container, stored separately from the cooked noodles. It freezes well for up to a month, reheat gently with a splash of water. Cook the noodles fresh right before serving, they don't hold up well waiting around.

Questions about this dish

Can I make the sauce ahead of time?

Yes, the sweet potato sauce can be made a day ahead and stored in the fridge. Reheat it gently with a splash of water to bring back its coating texture before serving.

What noodles can I use if I don't have yellow egg noodles?

Fresh wheat noodles or udon work well instead. Skip rice noodles, they're too thin to hold up this thick sauce.

Does mee rebus freeze well?

Only the sauce freezes well, up to a month in an airtight container. The cooked noodles and golden tofu are best made fresh right before you eat.

How do I make it milder for a less spicy version?

Remove the seeds from the fresh chili, or serve a few slices on the side so everyone can add as much as they want. The sauce stays flavorful even without any chili.

How long does it take to make a mee rebus?

Count 45 min in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “easy”.

How many calories are in a mee rebus?

About 590 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does a mee rebus cost?

About €1.60 per serving, or €6.40 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains gluten, eggs, soy. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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