Good evening dear readers. I hope you’re having a great weekend so far! Mine has been really relaxing, trying out new recipes and cooking up a storm in the kitchen. It definitely felt good cooking and baking again after quite a long time! One of the things I tried is dry mee siam. hehe If you don’t know what mee siam is, it is a malaysian dish and is similar to fried rice vermicelli with lots of aromatics to make it flavourful and delicious! It’s usually comes with a gravy, but I do prefer the dry version. Every mouthful makes me nostalgic!
As my sister-in-law says, it brings the taste of home (有家的味道) ! I was quite worried about how it would turn out, but it was pretty good for a first timer! hehe And quite simple as well! Just blend all the aromatics together, fry, add stock, rice vermicelli, viola! Definitely something you can consider making during parties! I topped mine with prawns, fried beancurd, chinese chives and crispy fried shallots! But you can top it with anything you like, for meat lovers, you could shred some chicken in as well! heh So what are you waiting for? Give it a try!
Dry Mee Siam (adapted from Valee Belly & To Food With Luv)
1 packet of rice vermicelli (about 400-500g)
300g bean shoots
300g prawns, shelled and deveined
100g fried beancurd/ firm toufu, sliced and fried till golden brown
3 hard boiled eggs, cut into halves
10 stalks chinese chives, finely chopped, extra for garnish
2 tbs vegetable oil
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs tamarind paste
2 tsp brown sugar
ground white pepper
fried shallots
1 lime, cut into wedges
Aromatics / Spice blend :
5 cloves of garlic
10 shallots
20g belachan
55g dried shrimps, soaked and drained
3 heap tbs sambal chilli
2 tbs fermented yellow beans/taucheo (I used crushed salted soya beans)
Steps :
1) In a blender, place the garlic, shallots, belachan, dried shrimps, sambal chilli and fermented yellow beans. Blend till it becomes a fine paste.
2) In a heavy based frying pan or wok if you have one, heat the vegetable oil on high heat. Add the prawns and fry till its cooked through. Set it aside. Fry the blended aromatics for about 8-10 minutes, till fragrant. Remember to keep stirring it so that they do not burn.
3) Add the chicken stock, fish sauce, brown sugar and tamarind paste and bring the mixture to a boil, lowering the heat and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes.
4) Add the rice vermicelli and bean sprouts and mix well till well combined. Toss it well to make sure the rice vermicelli is well coated and the liquid is absorbed and almost dry. Add the chives and give it another good toss.
5) To plate, place some dry mee siam on the plate/bowl, top it with hard boiled eggs, fried beancurd, prawns, more chives, fried shallots and a wedge of lime. Remember the lime as it gives the dish a sourish and refreshing kick!
Now it’s time to sit down and enjoy! (: Hopefully you’ll love it as much as we did! Brought us straight back to Singapore hehe
Remember to always cook and bake with love!