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PRAWN MEE SOUP RECIPE

Name: PRAWN MEE SOUP RECIPE
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 110 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 500g (1.1 lb) Whole prawns, heads and shells on (heads and shells used for broth, tails reserved for serving); 400g (14 oz) Pork spare ribs or pork neck bones, blanched; 200g (7 oz) Pork belly or pork shoulder, whole piece for slicing later; 2 litres (8 cups) Cold water; 3 tbsp Neutral oil, for roasting prawn heads and shells; 6 cloves Garlic, smashed; 4 shallots Peeled and halved; 2 stalks Lemongrass, white part only, smashed; 1 tbsp Dried shrimp (hae bi), rinsed; 1 tbsp Rock sugar or white sugar; 2 tbsp Fish sauce; 1 tsp Fine sea salt, adjust to taste; 1/2 tsp White pepper; 200g (7 oz) Fresh yellow wheat noodles (hokkien mee or egg noodles); 150g (5 oz) Rice vermicelli (bee hoon), soaked in cold water 10 minutes and drained; Reserved whole prawns From the broth, shells on or peeled depending on preference; Cooked pork belly From the broth, sliced thin; 3 large Eggs, hard-boiled, halved; 150g (5 oz) Bean sprouts, blanched 30 seconds in boiling water; 4 tbsp Fried shallots, store-bought or homemade; 2 stalks Green onions, thinly sliced; Fresh red chili Thinly sliced, for garnish; 8 to 10 Dried red chilies, soaked in warm water 20 minutes and drained; 4 cloves Garlic, peeled; 3 shallots Peeled and roughly chopped; 1 tsp Shrimp paste (belacan), toasted; 1 tbsp Neutral oil; 1 tsp Sugar; 1/2 tsp Fine sea salt

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Total 1h 50m

Prep 20m

Cook 1h 30m

Serves 4

Level hard

Prawn mee soup is one of Singapore and Malaysia's most deeply flavored hawker dishes, and the broth is the entire reason to make it. A dark, intensely savory, slightly sweet prawn and pork stock built from roasted prawn heads and shells, pork ribs, and aromatics simmered for at least an hour until the liquid turns a deep amber-orange and tastes like concentrated ocean and pork in the same spoonful. Noodles, fresh prawns, pork slices, and boiled egg go in at the end. The broth is the work.

What is prawn mee soup?

It's called har mee in Hokkien, meaning prawn noodles, and prawn mee in Singaporean and Malaysian English. Yellow wheat noodles and rice vermicelli are served in a prawn-pork broth with whole cooked prawns, sliced pork, half a boiled egg, bean sprouts, and fried shallots. A spoonful of sambal goes on top for heat. The dish exists in two formats across the region: the soup version, which is this recipe, and the dry version where the noodles are tossed in a sambal and prawn head oil and the broth is served alongside.

Where does prawn mee come from?

Hokkien immigrants brought the dish to Singapore and Penang from Fujian province in southern China in the late 19th and early 20th century. The Penang version, called Penang har mee or Penang prawn mee, uses a slightly different broth with more dried shrimp and a darker, more intensely spiced character. The Singapore version is cleaner and sweeter. Both are excellent and both start with the same fundamental technique: roasting prawn shells to extract maximum flavor before simmering.

What makes the broth so deeply flavored?

Two things. Roasting the prawn heads and shells in oil before adding water. Chitin, the compound in prawn shells, and the proteins in the heads caramelize under high heat and produce flavors that can't develop through simmering alone. The second is time. The pork ribs release collagen, gelatin, and fat into the broth over 60 to 90 minutes of simmering. The combination of caramelized prawn flavor and slow-extracted pork richness is what makes prawn mee broth different from any single-protein stock.

What does prawn mee soup taste like?

Intensely savory with a pronounced prawn sweetness and a deep pork richness underneath. Slightly sweet from the natural sugars in the prawn heads. The sambal on top adds a sharp, fresh heat that cuts through the richness of the broth. The fried shallots add crunch and a caramelized onion note. It's a complex, layered bowl that rewards the hour you spend on the broth.

Recipe Profile

3 attributes

Category Soups Salads Light Meals

Origin Singapore

Season All Season

Ingredients

29 Items

Instructions

8 Steps

Peel the prawns and prep the shells

Peel the prawns, separating the heads, shells, and tails. Keep the tails whole and refrigerate them until serving. The heads and shells go into the broth. If the prawns have digestive tracts, devein them now. The prawn heads contain the most flavor, specifically the tomalley inside the head and the fat deposits around the glands. Don't discard the heads thinking they're just packaging. They're the most important ingredient in the broth.

Blanch the pork bones and belly

Place the pork spare ribs and pork belly in a pot of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water, scrubbing off any grey foam clinging to the bones and meat. This blanching step removes blood, impurities, and the compounds that make pork stock cloudy and slightly bitter. Blanched pork produces a cleaner, clearer, more refined broth. Don't skip it.

Roast the prawn heads and shells

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Add the neutral oil and heat until shimmering and just smoking. Add the prawn heads and shells in a single layer. Press them flat against the hot surface and leave completely undisturbed for 2 minutes. The heads will sizzle aggressively and begin to turn deep orange-red as the chitin caramelizes and the prawn fats render. Turn and press again. Continue roasting for another 2 to 3 minutes until the shells are deeply colored and the oil in the pan has turned orange from the prawn fats. The kitchen will smell intensely of roasted prawn. This is correct. Add the smashed garlic, halved shallots, and lemongrass to the pot and stir for another 60 seconds.

Build and simmer the broth

Add the blanched pork ribs, pork belly, and dried shrimp to the pot with the roasted prawn shells. Pour in the cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface in the first 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 60 to 90 minutes. The broth should reduce slightly and turn a deep amber-orange from the prawn shells. After 30 minutes, remove the pork belly and set it aside to cool before slicing. It will be fully cooked at this point. Continue simmering the ribs and prawn shells for the full time.

Strain and season the broth

Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing the prawn shells firmly with the back of a ladle to extract every drop of liquid and flavor from them. Discard the solids. Return the strained broth to the pot. Season with fish sauce, rock sugar, salt, and white pepper. Taste carefully. The broth should be deeply savory, slightly sweet, and intensely prawn-forward. Adjust fish sauce for saltiness and rock sugar for sweetness. The broth should taste slightly stronger than you want to eat it straight because it dilutes slightly when noodles are added.

Make the sambal

Blend the soaked dried chilies, garlic, shallots, and toasted belacan together in a blender until a smooth paste forms. Heat the neutral oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the blended paste and fry, stirring constantly, for 5 to 8 minutes until the paste darkens, the oil separates from the solids, and the raw chili smell cooks off into something fragrant and rounded. Add the sugar and salt. Stir and pull off heat. The sambal should be thick, deeply colored, and smell smoky and fragrant. Cool and store in a jar. It keeps refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Cook the reserved prawns

Bring the seasoned broth back to a gentle simmer. Add the reserved whole prawns to the simmering broth and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until they turn pink and are just cooked through. Remove immediately with a slotted spoon. Overcooked prawns in a hot broth turn rubbery within seconds of being done. Pull them the moment they're pink and opaque throughout. Keep the broth simmering for the noodles.

Blanch the noodles and assemble

Blanch the yellow noodles in the simmering broth for 60 to 90 seconds until loosened and hot. Remove and divide into bowls. Blanch the soaked rice vermicelli for 30 seconds and add alongside the yellow noodles in each bowl. Blanch the bean sprouts for 30 seconds in the broth and scatter over the noodles. Arrange the cooked prawns, sliced pork belly, and halved hard-boiled eggs over each bowl. Ladle hot broth generously over everything. Top with fried shallots, sliced green onions, and fresh red chili. Add a teaspoon of sambal on the side of each bowl. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving

1152.8kcal Calories approx.

protein 100%

77.3g

sodium 84%

1926.8mg

cholesterol 100%

522.7mg

Vitamin D 41%

8.1mcg

Calcium 24%

241.1mg

Iron 35%

6.3mg

Potassium 27%

1281.4mg

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

What every cook needs to know about prawn mee soup

Why does roasting the prawn shells before simmering matter so much?

Raw prawn shells simmered in water produce a pale, thin, slightly fishy liquid. Roasting them first in hot oil caramelizes the chitin in the shells and the proteins in the prawn heads through the Maillard reaction, producing hundreds of flavor compounds that don't exist in raw shells. The orange-red oil that develops in the pan during roasting is concentrated prawn flavor. Every drop of that oil goes into the broth. The difference between a broth made with raw shells and one made with roasted shells is the difference between a weak seafood soup and a broth people ask about.

Why combine prawns and pork in the same broth?

Prawn broth alone is bright and intensely seafood-forward but lacks body and depth. It tastes one-dimensional after the first few spoons. Pork bones and pork belly release collagen, gelatin, and a rich savory fat over 60 to 90 minutes of simmering that adds body, mouthfeel, and a savory pork depth that rounds out the prawn sweetness. The combination is what makes prawn mee broth taste complex and satisfying rather than just intensely prawn-flavored water.

How do you know when the broth is ready?

Color and flavor together. The broth should have turned a deep amber-orange from the prawn shells and the roasted shallots. It should taste intensely savory and prawn-forward with a clear pork richness underneath. If it still tastes thin or watery after 60 minutes, simmer uncovered for another 20 to 30 minutes to reduce further. The longer it simmers within reason, the deeper the flavor. Beyond 2 hours with no additional water added, the broth can turn overly concentrated and slightly bitter from the prawn shells.

Can you make prawn mee broth ahead of time?

Yes, and it's better the next day. Cool the strained, seasoned broth completely and refrigerate overnight. The fat solidifies on the surface and can be partially skimmed for a cleaner finish or left in for richer flavor. The broth keeps refrigerated for up to 3 days and freezes well for up to 2 months. Make the broth on a Sunday and assemble individual bowls through the week with fresh noodles, prawns, and toppings cooked to order.

What is belacan and why is it in the sambal?

Belacan is Malaysian and Singaporean shrimp paste, made from fermented small shrimp that are sun-dried, salted, and compressed into blocks. It has a pungent, intensely savory, fermented smell that transforms completely during cooking into a deep, rounded umami that no other ingredient replicates. In the sambal for prawn mee, it amplifies the seafood note of the dish and adds a fermented depth that connects the sambal to the prawn character of the broth. Toast a small piece directly over a flame or in a dry pan before blending. Toasting drives off the raw ammonia smell and develops the flavor.

Prawn mee soup, called har mee in Hokkien, is a Singapore and Malaysian hawker dish of yellow wheat noodles and rice vermicelli served in a deeply flavored broth made from roasted prawn heads and shells simmered with pork ribs. It's topped with whole cooked prawns, sliced pork belly, half a hard-boiled egg, bean sprouts, fried shallots, and a spoonful of sambal. The broth is the defining element of the dish and takes 60 to 90 minutes to develop its full flavor.

Singapore prawn mee uses a cleaner, sweeter broth with a lighter color and a more restrained spice profile. Penang prawn mee, called Penang har mee, uses more dried shrimp and sometimes pork lard in the broth, producing a darker, more intensely flavored and slightly spicier result. Penang versions often incorporate more dried shrimp paste into the broth base. Both start with roasted prawn shells and pork bones but the seasoning ratios and additional aromatics differ.

Yes. Replace the pork ribs and pork belly with chicken carcass or chicken bones for body and collagen. The broth won't have the same pork depth but remains very good with a cleaner, lighter character. Double the quantity of prawn shells and heads to compensate for the flavor contribution of the pork. Use soy sauce in place of fish sauce if you want a fully seafood and poultry version. The sambal remains unchanged.

The orange color comes from astaxanthin, the natural pigment in prawn shells that becomes visible when the chitin is broken down by heat. Roasting the shells in hot oil releases this pigment into the fat, which turns orange immediately. As the broth simmers, the pigment disperses through the liquid and produces the characteristic amber-orange color of prawn mee broth. The deeper the color, the more intensely the shells were roasted and the more flavor has been extracted.

Traditional prawn mee uses a combination of fresh yellow wheat noodles, called hokkien mee or yellow noodles, and rice vermicelli, called bee hoon. Both are served together in the same bowl. The yellow noodles are thick, chewy, and eggy. The rice vermicelli is thin, delicate, and absorbs the broth quickly. Using both gives the bowl textural variety and is the authentic hawker presentation. Fresh yellow noodles are available at Asian grocery stores. Dried yellow noodles work as a substitute.

Cool the broth completely before storing. Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days. The fat will solidify on the surface overnight and can be skimmed for a cleaner finish or stirred back in for richer flavor. Reheat on the stovetop over medium heat until at a full simmer before ladling over fresh noodles. Freeze the broth without noodles or toppings in freezer-safe containers for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat fully before serving.

Recipe By

Elena Marchetti

Elena Marchetti is a recipe editor at RoamFeast, developing and editing recipes from around the world for home cooks. She focuses on accurate quantities, clear step-by-step methods and dishes that work in a normal home kitchen, with details checked before publication.