Home-made curry mee

This was one helluva tedious meal to make but I had fun making it. A silly dish to make in Malaysia when you can find curry mee where corner especially in Ipoh but you don't find such good curry mee anymore in Malaysia. This is definitely quite traditional or I would say an Authentic curry mee.

Adapted from Agnes Chang's Hawkers' Delight

Curry Gravy

5tbsp oil

Pounded spices (mixed)

20 shallots,10pips garlic

10 dried chillies

10 red chillies. 5 chilli api (bird's eye chillies)

5tsp toasted belacan (shrimp paste), 3tbsp dried prawns,soaked

6 candlenuts (buah keras) **

3tbsp curry powder

** you can use macadamia nuts if you can't find candlenuts.

A

3 stalks lemon grass, bruised, 3 sprig curry leaves

1litre chicken stock ***

1litre thick coconut milk from 2 coconuts

1 cube chicken stock

salt to taste

Accompaniments

200g taufoo pok, cut into halves

100g shelled cockles

300g bean sprouts,blanched

2 pieces fried fish cake,sliced

10-16 fish balls

chicken meat from the bones for making stock

10 large prawns, shelled, shells and head kept for stock

***Making stock from scratch

Bones from 1 1/2 chickens

2litres water

Shells and head of large prawns

Method

Make chicken stock:

1. Place bones,water & heads and shells of prawns in a pot and let it simmer over low-medium heat for 3-4hours.
2. Remove shells and head of prawns from the pot and continue to boil for another half hour.
3. Remove chicken bones and debone chicken bones for later. ( it may sound weird but there are still some meat left on the carcass of the chicken after the butcher debones the chicken)
4. Place chicken bones and shells and heads of prawns back into the stock and continue to boil for another hour.

Curry gravy:

1. Heat up oil,saute pounded spices and A until fragrant.Add chicken stock and bring to boil. Lower fire and leave to simmer for about 10-15minutes. Add thick coconut milk,chicken stock cube,salt and bring to boil again, stirring all the time to prevent it from curdling.
2. Add tau foo pok and bring to boil.Taste.

To serve:

1. Divide fresh yellow mee and bean sprouts into individual bowls,arrange other accompaniments on top, pour curry gravy and taufoo pok over and serve immediately.