Mee Siam Recipe (Malaysian Spicy & Sour Noodles)

And in a blink of an eye, we're approaching the end of 2016............. If I had a dollar for everytime someone asked why I haven't updated my blog the past year, I wouldn't be a millionaire but probably a hundred bucks richer. I am humbled whenever people tell me how much they've missed seeing my posts. Trust me, I've missed blogging a lot myself.

Truth is, I've started a new role in my job and trying to balance that and find rest in between family time, social life, exercise, travels and everything else has proved to be really challenging. I literally just make dinner and go to bed on weeknights and weekends are spent catching up with friends/family. So hard to find the time to blog, as much as I'd like to.

That said, I told myself that I HAD to share this Mee Siam recipe if I were to only blog one recipe this year. This spicy and sour noodle dish is very popular in Malaysia/Singapore and has always been one of my favourite noodles to eat. I made it from scratch for the first time earlier this year when I had a bunch of my friends over and it was a huge hit. I was really happy with the flavours. 

Normally, I am quite critical of my own thinking but I thought this was really delicious to eat, if I do say so myself. The nostalgia may of eating this again after so many years may have played a part in the enjoyment of it too.

Anyway, I sincerely apologise for the lack of updates but hopefully this recipe makes up for it. It's definitely a winner for me so I hope you try and enjoy it too.

Mee Siam Recipe

(adapted from this recipe by Fong's Kitchen Journal)

Click here to print the recipe

Ingredients

400g thin rice vermicelli

300g prawns 

2 pieces fried bean curd 

4 eggs

4 handfuls of beansprouts 

2 handfuls of chives 

4 tbsp tamarind paste 

4 cloves garlic

3 tbsp oil

2 - 3 cups of water

3 tbsp sugar

Fish sauce to taste

Spice paste:

7 small dried chillies

5 large fresh red chillies 

3 tbsp dried shrimps

1/2 tbsp belachan 

15 small or 5 large purple shallots

5 cloves garlic

2 tbsp soy bean paste

Garnish:

1/3 cup fried shallots

Handful of coriander (chopped)

2 large limes (cut to wedges)

Method

1. To prepare the ingredients: Soak the vermicelli in water until soft. Drain and set aside. De-shell and de-vein the prawns. Cut to 1 inch long and 1/2 cm thick strips. Fry the eggs in 2 batches into a thin omelette and cut to thin strips. Cut the chives to 1 inch strips. Mix the tamarind paste in 1 cup of water. Sieve the liquid and discard the seeds. Mince the garlic.

2. To make the spice paste: Soak the dried chillies in hot water, squeeze out the water and remove the seeds. Halve the red chillies and remove the seeds. Soak the dried shrimps in 1/3 hot water for 5 minutes and retain the liquid. Toast the belachan in an oven for a few minutes until fragrant. Place all the ingredients for the paste in a blender or food processor and blend until it forms a smooth paste.

3. To cook the noodles: Heat up the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the garlic and fry until fragrant. Add in the spice paste and fry the mixture on low - medium heat until it turns dark brown (approx 25 - 30 minutes), stirring occasionally. Stir in the tamarind juice, 2 cups of water, rice vermicelli. Cover the wok and allow to simmer until the vermicelli has soaked up most of the liquid in the wok. Toss the vermicelli with the wok spatula and large chopsticks until the noodles are well combined. Add the sugar and season the vermicelli with fish sauce to taste.

4. Add in the prawns, fried bean curd, bean sprouts, chives and stir fry for a couple of minutes until the prawns are cooked and mixture is well combined. Add a bit more water if the mixture is too dry. Stir in the omelette strips. 

5. To serve, garnish with fried shallots, coriander and wedges of lime on the side. 

Honey, Soy and Mirin Soba Noodles

NOTE: I've had this recipe in my drafts folder for a long time but didn't want to publish it because even though I've made it so many times, I still wasn't happy with any of the photos. I'm always in a hurry when I make these and never have the right lighting, plating, garnishes, etc etc prepared (ugh.. WHATEVER, Winston). I've decided to share them today anyway because my friend Hong Yi recently inspired me when she said that "it is better to have something done, than to have it perfect because you'll never have anything that's perfect". So, hope you enjoy the recipe!

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I started work full time for the first time last year, which really changed the way I eat in general. First, I realised how much better I felt (mentally and physically) when I brought my own lunch to work every day as opposed to just buying anything from the shops. I also realised that it doesn't matter whether I'm coming home early or late from work, having a home cooked meal on a weeknight is always, always better than eating out. It gives me joy and comfort each day, even if I have to make it myself. 

I've started cooking at home a heck lot more than when I was in uni, which actually increased my appreciation for the meals that I do have when I eat out on the weekends. Plus, I was saving heaps more money each week too. It really took a while for me to really settle into the routine of working in the day and then coming home to cook at night. It sounds simple and is probably not as much of a difficult transition for most people when they've entered the work force, but it was for me for some reason. Last year, I was always coming home feeling exhausted and brain fried that I could hardly be bothered to do anything.

As a result, I have become almost desperate for recipes that are extra quick, simple, tasty and wholesome. My cooking style has changed a fair bit as well and found that these time restraints sort of forced me to be more creative in my cooking. I've started making these Honey, Soy and Mirin Soba Noodles after my dear friend Sarah sent me a recipe of it. This woman is seriously awesome and one of the best home cooks I know. 

It was exactly what I wanted. No, needed. It takes about 5 minutes (tops) to make these noodles and it was so tasty too. Needless to say these noodles quickly became a staple for my weeknight dinners or leftover lunches at work (as you can tell by how often I make this at home). Lifesaver.

This recipe is perfect for those emergency meals too because they noodles and sauces keep for ages in the pantry so I've always got them handy. Plus, you really can have them with anything you want. 

I always enjoy them with a Crispy Skin Salmon or Trout (using my recipe: here) and some blanched or grilled vegetables on the side. For the blanched veg, you can put them in the same time as the noodles. Otherwise, drizzle a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper on them and just fry them in the same pan as the fish and fry them on both sides until you get the lovely grill marks. Saves time and minimises wash up -- WIN.

Grilled broccoli or asparagus go so well with these noodles

Medium rare flesh...

Sometimes, I make these with Somen noodles as well, which is just as quick and delicious…
And most days I'm so lazy I just chuck some veg to boil with the noodles the same time.

Soba noodles again (a slightly thicker and flatter alternative to Somen)

Trout instead of Salmon...

...With skin just as crispy and delicious...

Egggstra delicious if you have them with soft boiled eggs too!

Honey, Soy and Mirin Soba Noodles Recipe

(adapted from this recipe by Sarah Cooks, serves 2)

Ingredients:

200g soba or somen noodles

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp mirin

4 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp chilli oil (optional)

3 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup chopped spring onions

Method:

1. Bring a pot of water to the boil. Add in the noodles and boil for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and return back to the pot.

2. Stir in all the remaining ingredients and dish to individual portions. Serve with crispy skin salmon (recipe: here) or blanched/grilled veg.

The perfect lazy weeknight dinner...

XO Fried Noodles

Work...

This whole experience so far has just been nothing short of a roller coaster. There are days when I feel like I can conquer anything that I lay my hands on. So liberating and empowering. Then, there are days like today... Especially today... When the obstacles are so insurmountable and the deadlines are so demanding that it seemed like no matter what I did or how hard I tried, I just couldn't get a win.... Not one. It's kinda sad, really. It's times like these when I really do have no choice but to surrender. But is that even a bad thing? At this point, I draw hope and strength by focusing on the grander scheme of things. Today wasn't my day at all but tomorrow is a New Day and I am even more determined to strive till the end.

Hence, the decision to write a blog post today... Blogging and talking about Food just lifts my spirits more than people know, to be honest.

Anyway, apologies for the melancholy of this post. Back to the recipe. This XO Fried Noodle dish uses one of my favourite ingredients to have in my kitchen: The Lin Lin XO Sauce. This is one of those items that you can be sure to find in my fridge 365 days a year. My family loves it so much that Mum even buys it home to Malaysia to use it to cook for the rest of the family back home.

I enjoy that the flavour is deep and rich whilst balancing the sweetness and saltiness perfectly well. Downright delicious to eat. Plus, it's always cheaper than any other XO sauces in the aisle too. 

I've been making this XO Fried Noodle dish in massive batches for a number of years, whether it's for a potluck I'm attending or during exams in university when I wouldn't leave the house for days. Besides using the Lin Lin sauce for this dish, I also use it similarly for fried rice, or Chinese eggplant dishes or even as a dipping sauce when I have hot pots or steamboats.

I hope you give this recipe a go. It's definitely an old favourite of mine. Take care.

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XO Fried Noodles
(serves 5)

Ingredients:

For the sauce:
5 tbsp of Lin Lin XO sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp chilli oil (optional)
3 tbsp water (to help combine)

Other ingredients:
2 tbsp oil
3 eggs
dash of salt
1/2 large onion (diced)
500g minced beef/pork
200g rice vermicilli (soaked for 1hr, then drained)
1 large carrot (shredded)
1 1/2 cup chopped spring onions

Optional: Garnish with fried shallots

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.

2. Heat up a wok with the oil on high heat. Once hot, add the eggs and salt and scramble the eggs with your spatula until cooked. Dish and set aside.

3. In the same wok, fry the onions until fragrant. Stir in the minced meat and fry until almost cooked while breaking up the meat with your spatula continuously (so that it doesn't lump together).

4. Add in the drained noodles/rice vermicilli and carrots. Stir in half of the sauce mixture. Stir everything until evenly coated. Sometimes, doing this with chopsticks might be easier. Stir in remaining sauce until completely even.

5. Add the scrambled eggs and chopped spring onions before giving it a final stir. Serve while hot and garnish with fried shallots, if using.