- Updated: January 20, 2021
Fried Mee Siam (Mee Siam Goreng) is a stir-fried rice vermicelli which is flavourful and popular dish in Malaysia. It is spicy, sweet, and salty in equal parts and with a minor tinge of sourness.
The paste may be processed using a chopper/blender. You can also prepare a bigger batch of the Mee Siam paste and keep the unused paste frozen for future use.
The paste can also be used in other dishes. Seafood also tastes great when fried with this paste.
INGREDIENTS
Stir fry:
250 g rice vermicelli noodles (bee hoon). Soak in water for 20 minutes before use.
12 tofu puffs. Washed and cut into halves.
2 fish cakes. Slice into 2 cm pieces.
100 g beans sprouts (tau geh).
100 g chives.
2 tbsp fermented soybean paste (tau cheo).
Mee Siam paste:
The following should yield about 8 to 10 tbsp of paste.
6 red chillies (dried). Remove the seeds and soak in water for 30 minutes.
30 g dried shrimps (hae bee). Soak in water for 30 minutes.
4 shallots, diced.
4 garlic cloves, diced.
2 red chillies (fresh).
Sauce for stir fry:
1 to 1½ tbsp ketchup.
½ tbsp salt.
1 tbsp sugar.
Prawns:
16 medium-sized (200 g) prawns.
½ tbsp salt.
½ tbsp black pepper.
2 tbsp Mee Siam paste as prepared above.
Omelette:
3 to 4 eggs cracked into a bowl.
¼ tbsp white pepper.
½ tbsp light soy sauce.
Garnishing:
2 red chilli (fresh). Cut these into 2 cm pieces.
1 or 2 calamansi limes.
General:
4 tbsp cooking oil.
½ cup water or as required. This is used for mixing with the bean paste and the ketchup.
METHOD
Preparing the paste
1. Soak the dried shrimps in water for 30 minutes.
2. Remove and discard the seeds from the dried chillies and soak for 20 minutes.
3. Remove and discard the seeds from the fresh chillies and toss them into the food processor.
4. Dice the shallots and garlic and toss them into the food processor.
5. When ready, remove the dried shrimps and dried chillies from the water and place them into a food processor.
6. Process all the ingredients and place the paste in a bowl ready for use.
Preparing the ingredients before frying
1. Peel and clean prawns, removing the shell leaving only the tails intact. Remove the lines (devein) located at the top and bottom of the prawns. Marinate the unshelled and deveined prawns in salt and pepper for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Crack 3 eggs into a bowl and mix with 1 tbsp light soy sauce and some pepper.
3. Discard the shells/husks from the bean sprouts. Remove and discard the roots.
4. Cut the chives into 1 cm pieces.
5. Remove and discard the seeds from the fresh chillies. Cut them into 1 cm pieces.
6. Soak the bee hoon in water for 15 minutes. Remove from the water and set aside for frying.
7. Slice the fish cake into 2 cm pieces and slice the tofu puffs into halves and keep aside in one separate bowl.
8. Mix 2 tbsp soya bean paste with 3 tbsp water in a bowl.
9. Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the ketchup, salt, and sugar with 2 tbsp water in another bowl.
Cooking the omelette and prawns
1. Add ½ tbsp oil to a pan. Set the pan on a low to medium flame. Pour in the egg mixture and swirl to cover the base of the pan. Cook until the bottom is set and then gently flip over to cook the other side for another minute or less. Use the spatula to cut them into strips and transfer them to a bowl.
2. Heat up 1 tbsp oil in the pan on a medium flame. And then add 2 tbsp of the Mee Siam paste. Sauté the paste for 2 minutes or until fragrant and then add in the prawns. Sauté for 2 minutes or until cooked. Remove the prawns to a plate.
Frying the Mee Siam
1. Heat up the pan with 2 tbsp oil and set at high flame.
2. Then add in the balance of the Mee Siam paste (around 6 to 8 tbsp).
3. Sauté the paste for 2 minutes or until fragrant and then add the soya bean paste, the fish cake and tofu puffs.
4. Stir and mix them before adding some water.
5. Add the bee hoon.
6. Fry the bee hoon for about 2 to 3 minutes until heated through. Use the ladle to gently tap and break up any clumps.
7. Pour in the stir fry sauce and stir and mix with the bee hoon.
8. And then add the bean sprouts and chives into the pan and mix with the bee hoon.
9. Mix and fry for another 1 minute.
10. Toss the prawns and omelette into the pan.
11. Mix and fry all the ingredients for 1 minute.
12. Switch off the flame.
13. Garnish with the red chillies.
14. Transfer to the plates and serve hot with calamansi lime.
Prep Time: 40 mins.
Cook Time: 20 mins.
Total Time: 60 mins.
Cuisine inspiration: Malaysian Peranakan.
Servings: 4