I found out about kon loh mee when we tried out a new restaurant called The Spice Table in downtown LA. It was so good, so I had to try making it at home! I did a little research and kon loh mee simply means Malaysian dry noodles. If you search for kon loh mee, you get a lot of recipes for wan tan mee. I think kon loh mee is just without the wontons, but I’m really not sure! The first time I made the recipe I used this recipe on To Food with Love which has a separate seasoning sauce and mushroom sauce. This last time, I just made one sauce to save on cooking time and it worked well! I did change it up quite a bit, and I don’t know what the authentic noodles taste like, but we really enjoyed it.

The sauce is soy saucy and sweet and pairs wonderfully with the blanched choy sum and chewy mushrooms. I think that the pickled jalapenos are key, but Tejas preferred sambal oelek. You can find choy sum in an Asian market or you can substitute bok choy. If you don’t have fresh shiitake, soaked dried shitake or any mushrooms can be substituted.

This recipe does take a lot of pans and everything is done separately, but it isn’t difficult.

Pickled Green Chilis
3 big jalapenos or 6 serannos thinly sliced
Boiling water
2/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

1. In a small pan boil water. Add the chilis and turn off the heat and let sit for a couple of minutes.
2. Mix together vinegar, salt and sugar in a bowl. Strain the green chilis and add them to the bowl. Let sit for a couple of hours or until the chilis have changed from bright green to olive green.

Garlic Oil
2 cloves garlic sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil

• Heat oil in the same small pan over low heat and add the garlic. Once the garlic is slightly browned and crispy remove from heat. Drain on a paper towel and save for garnish. Save the oil for the rest of the recipe.  

Sauce
4 tablespoons sweet soy sauce (thick caramel sauce is in the original recipe, I used a Thai sweet soy sauce)
2 1/2 tablespoons mushroom flavored dark soy sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce
Pinch white pepper
1/2-1 cup water
1 teaspoon cornstarch

• In a small pan, heat the sweet soy sauce, soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, white pepper and water. Bring to a boil. Mix cornstarch with a little water and add to sauce.

The Noodles
1 teaspoon garlic oil
1 pound shiitake mushrooms sliced
1 teaspoon garlic oil
6 ounces tofu (1/2 package) sliced with the excess water pressed out
1 bunch choy sum cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 pound fresh thin chinese noodles
2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons garlic oil
Sauce
Pickled green chilis

1. Heat garlic oil in a saute pan and saute mushrooms until tender. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with a little sauce. Remove from pan.
2. Heat another teaspoon of garlic oil and pan fry the tofu on both sides. Sprinkle with salt while cooking. Once done, drizzle with sauce.
3. Bring a big pan of water to a boil and add the choy sum stems. After a minute or so add the leaves. Strain from water, but leave the water boiling for the noodles.
4. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook for just a few seconds. Rinse with cold water, drain and toss with the sesame and garlic oils.
5. In a bowl, add noodles, choy sum, mushrooms and tofu. Pour on the sauce and garnish with pickled jalapeno and fried garlic.