mee

Mee is a term used in Malaysia, Singapore, and parts of Indonesia and Brunei to denote a category of Chinese-style wheat noodles. The word derives from the Hokkien/Minnan word for noodles and has become common in Malay, English, and regional menus as a general label for various cooked noodle dishes. In many Southeast Asian cuisines, mee refers specifically to yellow, egg-based wheat noodles, though it can also encompass other wheat-based preparations.

Typical mee varieties include yellow egg noodles, known as mee kuning in some dishes, which are often used in both soups and fried preparations. Mee is commonly paired with meats, seafood, or tofu and can be served in clear or rich broths, or tossed with savory sauces. Popular preparations include mee goreng, a fried noodle dish seasoned with soy sauce, sambal, and aromatics, and mee rebus, where noodles are served in a thickened gravy with potatoes and spices. In street food and hawker centers, mee appears in numerous regional adaptations that reflect local tastes and available ingredients.

Culinary use of mee is widespread in households and eateries, contributing to the everyday fabric of Southeast Asian noodle cuisine. The term also appears in related spellings such as mie (Indonesian) and mien or mien-like forms in other languages, reflecting shared linguistic and culinary influences across the region.

See also: noodles, mie, mien.