Mee Siam

Another local favourite back home & also my hubby's besides his Mee Rebus!  As promised, I prepared this dish for lunch two weekends ago.  This is the Mee Siam with gravy version.  If you want to make it more spicy, add more chillies!  The following recipe is spicy enough for me, taking into consideration the Sambal Tumis which is served on the side.

Ingredients (serves 6):
1 pkt (400 g) beehoon (rice vermicelli), to be soaked in water for an hour & drained
500 g beansprouts, to be cleaned & tails removed
300 g shelled prawns
3 tbsp taucheo (soya bean paste), to be pounded coarsely
salt to taste
cooking oil

Ingredients to be blended:
15 stalks dried red chillies, to be cut, soaked in warm water & drained
1 big onion, to be peeled & sliced
4 pips garlic, to be peeled & sliced
2 tbsp dried prawns, to be soaked in warm water & drained

Gravy Ingredients:
2 stalks lemon grass, to be crushed
2 cm galangal (lengkuas), to be crushed
50 g peanuts, to be deep-fried & finely grounded (you may use the snack peanuts)
200 g taucheo (soya bean paste)
1.5 litre water to be mixed with 2 tbsp of fresh tamarind
6 tbsp sugar or to taste
salt to taste
cooking oil

Ingredients to be blended:
15 stalks dried chillies, to be cut, soaked in warm water & drained
10 red shallots, to be peeled & sliced
2 tbsp dried prawns, to be soaked in warm water & drained

Garnishing:
2 pcs firm beancurd, to be deep-fried & cut into cubes
a bunch of chives, to be washed, dried & cut into 2 cm lengths
5 small limes, to be halved or 1 lime, to be cut into wedges
4 or 6 hardboiled eggs

How to prepare the gravy:
In a medium-size pot, heat enough oil over medium/high heat.  Add the blended ingredients and stir-fry until fragrant.  Add in the crushed lemon grass and galangal.

Add taucheo, sugar, tamarind juice and salt to taste. Bring to a light boil over medium heat.  Then, add grounded peanuts and simmer for at least 20 - 30 minutes.  Check seasoning.  Once done, remove from heat.

How to prepare the noodle:
In a wok, heat enough oil over medium/high heat.  Add the blended ingredients and stir-fry until fragrant. Then, add the taucheo and stir well.  Check seasoning.  Then, check seasoning and then, add the prawns.  Mix well.

Add beehoon portionwise and mix well.  Finally, add the beansprouts and mix thoroughly.

To serve, add a serving portion into a bowl and pour some gravy on top.  Serve garnished with fried beancurd cubes, chopped chives, one half of a hardboiled egg and Sambal Tumis (optional)  on the side.

Bon Appetit!

Mee Siam Goreng

A local favourite back home which I have been wanting to prepare for quite some time.  My hubby prefers the mee siam with gravy version, whereas our son and I prefer the fried version.  So, we won! I get to cook this dish with the promise that I prepare the other version for him the next time.

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6):
1 packet beehoon (rice vermicelli), to be soaked in water for about an hour & drained
300 g bean sprouts, to be cleaned and tails removed
300 g shelled prawns
2 tbsp taucheo (soya bean paste)
1 tbsp sugar or to taste
300 ml tamarind juice
6 tbsp cooking oil

Pounded Ingredients:
10 - 15 dried red chillies, to becut, soaked in warm water & drained
50 g dried prawns, to be soaked in warm water & drained
3 pips garlic
6 shallots, to be peeled & sliced
10 g roasted belacan (shrimp paste)

Garnishing:
2 pcs firm bean curd, to be cut into small cubes & deep-fried
2 - 3 eggs, to be hardboiled, peeled & sliced
a bunch of chives, to be washed, dried & cut into lengths
limes, to be halved

Method:
Heat cooking oil in a wok over medium-high heat.  Add pounded ingredients and stir-fry until fragrant.  Then, add taucheo and stir-fry for another 2 minutes.  Add prawns and stir-fry until colour changes.

Add bean sprouts and stir-fry for a while.  Then, add beehoon, sugar and tamarind juice.  Stir well and bring to a slight boil.  Put on lid and switch off heat.  Leave for about 5 minutes.

To serve, add mee siam to a bowl and garnish with chives, fried bean curd, egg slices & limes.  I also serve my sambal tumis on the side.

Bon Appetit!

Mee Goreng

A spicy dish of fried noodles which is popular in Singapore & Malaysia.  I added prawns and cuttlefish together with the usual mustard leaves and bean sprouts.  One may spice it up, just add more chillies to the recipe.

Ingredients (serves 4):
300 g fresh yellow noodles or cooked spaghetti
2 cakes firm tofu, to be halved and deep-fried until golden brown
300 g fresh or frozen prawns, to be thawed and deveined
2 medium-sized cuttlefish
200 g mustard greens
150 g bean sprouts
1 red tomato, to be cut into wedges
1 medium-sized onion, to be peeled and finely sliced
3 pips garlic, to be peeled and finely sliced
2 eggs
cooking oil

Blended Ingredients:
6-8 dried chillies, to be cut into lengths and soaked in hot water
4 shallots, to be peeled and sliced
4 pips garlic, to be peeled and sliced
1 tsp belacan (dried shrimp paste)

Sauce Ingredients:
2 tbsp soy sauce (kicap masin)
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp black soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Garnishing:
4 calamansi limes (limau kasturi), for garnishing
2 spring onions, to be cleaned and finely sliced, for garnishing
fried shallots

Method:
Cut one side of cuttlefish and open it up with the inside facing up.  Using a sharp knife, lightly make diamond cuts.  Then, cut into 3 cm strips and cut each strip into 3.

Wash clean mustard greens and cut into the lengths.  Lightly smash the stalks a bit. Clean and de-tailed the bean sprouts.

Heat wok over medium heat and add 2 tbsp cooking oil.  Stir-fry blended ingredients for about 5 to 10 minutes until the sambal and oil are separated.  Remove to a small bowl.  Slice cooked tofu into strips and leave aside.  In a small bowl, combine all sauce ingredients and leave aside.

Heat a clean wok over medium/high heat.  Add 2 tbsp cooking oil and stir-fry sliced onion and garlic until fragrant.  Add prawns and squids.  Stir-fry for about 2 minutes.
Then, add tomato and mustard greens.  Stir-fry over high heat for about 1 minutes.

Add chilli paste and stir well.  Then, add the tofu strips, sauce ingredients and noodles.  Mix well and stir-fry over high heat for about 5 minutes.  Make a well in the centre and add 1 tbsp cooking oil.  Add eggs and scramble them until slightly brown in colour.  Mix all ingredients together.  Then, add bean sprouts and check seasoning.

Serve garnished with sliced spring onions, fried shallots, sliced green chillies (optional) and calamansi limes.  One may serve sliced cucumbers with tomato ketchup on the side.

Bon Appetit!

Mee Rebus

A popular dish served in Singapore and Malaysia - yellow noodles served with a thick & spicy sweet-potato/peanut gravy and garnished with chopped spring onions, fried shallots, bean sprouts, fried bean curd, hard-boiled egg, chopped green chillies & calamansi lime.  This recipe has been passed down by my mother.  The preparation may seem to be time-consuming but do not let it hinder you because it is simple to cook and tastes excellent.

Ingredients (serves 4-6):
400 g beef (tetel lembu), to be cook with a little water until tender, then cut into small bite pieces
3 tbsp meat curry powder
100 g peanuts (skinless), to be fried without oil and finely grounded
80 g red sugar (gula tanjung) or brown sugar
30 g sugar
salt to taste
500 ml water or more depending on the consistency of gravy

50 g fermented soybean paste (tau cheow), to be blended together with 50 ml water
250 g sweet potatoes (orange), to be boiled or steamed until tender, then blended together with 150 ml water
3 tbsp cornflour, to be mixed with 2 tbsp water (to thicken gravy)

*A* Ingredients to be blended together:
30 g dried anchovies, to be soaked in warm water until soft and rinsed
50 g dried udang geragau/geraguk, to be soaked in warm water until soft and rinsed (one can use dried prawns instead of udang geragau/geraguk)

udang geragau/garaguk (left) & anchovies (right)

*B* Blended/Pounded Ingredients:
6 stalks dried red chillies, to be cut into pieces and soaked with warm water until soft
1 medium-sized onion, to be peeled and coarsely chopped
4 red shallots, to be peeled and coarsely chopped
2 pips garlic, to be peeled and coarsely chopped
1 lemon grass, to be sliced
1 cm fresh turmeric, to be peeled and sliced
1 cm fresh galangal, to be peeled and sliced
1 cm fresh ginger, to be peeled and sliced
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
100 ml water

Ingredients for garnishing:
5 hard-boiled eggs, to be shelled and halved
250 g bean sprouts, to be plucked
1 block bean curd, to be sliced, deep-fried and cut into cubes
4 green chillies, to be sliced
3 spring onions, to be sliced into fine rings
fried shallots
5 calamansi limes (limau kasturi) or limes, to be halved

4-5 tbsp cooking oil
500 g yellow mee or cooked spaghetti

Method:
All blended ingredients:

From top:  sweet potato, spices, soybean paste and anchovies/udang geragau

In a big pot, heat cooking oil over medium heat.  Add in *A*, *B*, curry powder, chopped peanuts & blended soybean paste and fry until fragrant.  Then, add in blended sweet potato and beef.  Stir well.

Bring to a light boil and add in both types of sugar.  Then, add cornflour/water mixture to thicken gravy to your preference.  Check seasoning - you may want to add sugar & salt to taste.  Simmer gently for about 10 minutes.

To serve, blanch a portion noodles and bean sprouts in boiling water.  Drain well and add to serving bowl.  Pour enough gravy over noodles and garnished with chopped spring onions, fried shallots, bean curd cubes, sliced green chillies, half an egg and half a lime.

Bon Appetit!

Fried Bee Hoon (Malay-style)

This dish is an all-time favourite of my two boys.  One can use any kinds of vegetables and I also added beef slices in my recipe.

Ingredients (to serve 4 persons):
400 g dried bee hoon (rice vermicelli - Wai Wai Brand if possible), to be soaked in warm or cold water for 2 minutes and drained

300 g beef, to be thinly sliced (against the grain)
1 tsp cornflour
1 tbsp light soy sauce

20 g dried mushrooms, to be soaked in warm water until soft, drained and thinly sliced
20 g dried black fungus/wood ear/cloud ear (telinga tikus), to be soaked in warm water until soft, drained and thinly sliced
20 g french beans, to be thinly sliced (at a slant)
1 sheet dried tofu skin, to be soaked and cut into thin strips
100 g carrots, to be peeled and thinly sliced (at a slant)

Stir-fry Ingredients:
1 medium-sized onion, to be peeled and finely diced
4 pips garlic, to be peeled and finely diced
1 stalk red chillie, to be deseeded and finely diced
1 stalk green chillie, to be deseeded and finely diced
400 ml water
4 tbsp light soy sauce (kicap putih)
ground white pepper and salt to taste

6 tbsp cooking oil

Method:
In a bowl, combine beef slices, cornflour and light soy sauce together.  Heat 2 tbsp cooking oil in a wok over medium heat and stir-fry beef slices.  Once the colour changes, remove to a bowl and leave aside.  Do not overcook the beef slice or else it will turn hard and chewy.

Heat the balance of cooking oil in a wok and add diced onions, garlic and both diced chillies. Stir-fry until fragrant and then, add sliced mushrooms, black fungus and dried tofu strips. Then, add water, light soy sauce and pepper.  Bring to a boil before adding the sliced carrots and french beans.

Lastly, add in the bee hoon - portion by portion.  Stir thoroughly and check seasoning.  Serve hot with sliced chillies in soy sauce on the side.

Bon Appetit!

Fried Kway Teow (Malay-style)

Literally translated, this dish is called Fried Flat Noodles.  The malay version is less oily and does not use any lard.  The dish normally incorporates beef or chicken to cater to the Muslim malay population.

Ingredients (serves 4 persons):
400 g flat rice noodles
250 g chye sim (chinese mustard) or spinach, to be cleaned and cut into 7 cm lengths
200 g lean beef, to be sliced
250 g fresh prawns
6 fishballs, to be sliced
salt to taste
4 tbsp cooking oil

To be mixed together:
1 tsp ground white pepper
2 tsp cornflour
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 cup water

Pounded/Blended Ingredients (to be coarsely pounded/blended):
5 shallots, to be sliced
2 pips garlic, to be sliced

Method:
If using dried noodles, prepare according to packet instructions and drain.  Or heat a big pot of water over medium heat.  Once the water is hot (not boiling), add noodles and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes.  Once noodles are soft, drain into a colander.  Leave aside.

Heat oil in a wok and add the pounded ingredients.  Stir-fry until fragrant.  Then, add sliced meat and stir well until it changed colour.  Add prawns and fishball slices.  Mix thoroughly. Then, add the cornflour mixture and bring to a slight boil.  Season with salt to taste.

Lastly, add kway teow noodles and mix thoroughly.  Serve immediately with sliced chillies in soy sauce.

Bon Appetit!