Ingredients
To be blended into a paste
- 40 dried chilies – seeded, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and drained
- 3 large onion – peeled and sliced
- 12 garlic – peeled
- Once blended, divide the spice paste into 2 portions.
For the vermicelli
- 1 portion of the spice paste
- 1 packet of rice vermicelli – soaked in warm water for 20–30 minutes and drained
- 2 tbsp fermented/salted soybeans (tauco) – Washed well to get rid of access salt and drained
- 300 g fresh shrimps, peeled and deveined
- 2 cups of beansprouts (tauge)
- Salt to taste
For the gravy
- 1 portion of the spice paste
- 3 tbsp fermented/salted soybeans (tahuco) – Washed well to get rid of access salt and drained
- 1 stalk of lemongrass – bruised
- 1/2 inch of galangal – peeled and bruised
- 2/3 cup of roasted peanuts, skin removed and grounded till semi-fine.
- 50 g assam jawa (tamarind paste) mixed with 1.5 litres of water
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sugar (according to taste)
- Salt to taste
For the garnishing
- 8 hard-boiled eggs
- Puffed Tofu squares – cut into cubes (You can also deep fried fresh beancurd that has been cut into 1 cm cubes.
- Chinese chives – washed and cut 1.5 cm long
- 8 calamansi limes, halve crosswise and discard seeds
Instructions
Cooking the vermicelli
- Heat a few tablespoon of cooking oil in a pan/wok.
- Fry the spice paste until fragrant, for about 10 minutes.
- Add in the fresh shrimps and salted soybeans (tauco) and stir well.
- Mix in the rice vermicelli and cook till the vermicelli is soft.
- Throw in the bean sprouts, season with salt and cook for a further 2 minutes before turning off the fire.
For the gravy
- Heat a few tablespoons of cooking oil in a pot and fry the spice paste, lemon grass and galangal until fragrant. This takes about 10 minutes.
- Add the salted soybeans and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Pour the tamarind juice and season with salt and sugar.
- Bring it to a boil then add the grounded peanuts.
- Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes on low heat and turn off the flame.
To serve
- In a bowl, place a serving of rice vermicelli, then add some gravy over the vermicelli. Garnish with a hard-boiled egg, beancurd, chives and half of a lime.
- Before eating, squeeze the lime all over the mee siam.
Notes
Instead of using tamarind paste, you can also use 2 pieces assam gelugoh (tamarind skin). Do remember to add the 1.5 litres of water to the gravy though.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 374
- Sugar: 17g
- Sodium: 552mg
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 37g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 26g
- Cholesterol: 266mg