MEE SIAM

Ingredients:

250g rice vermicelli or meehoon, soaked for five minutes and drained
200g beansprouts, remove root tips
250g prawns
2 pieces fried beancurd (tau kwa), sliced
100g chives, cut into 4cm-5cm lengths
1/4 cup oil
1 tbsp of assam jawa, add 1/2 cup warm water, squeeze and strain
2 cups of water(for cooking the prawns)

Pound:
3 cloves garlic
6 shallots
1 tbsp preserved soya beans (tau cheong)
50g dried prawns
12 dried chillies, soaked
2 pieces buah keras(candlenuts)
1 stalk serai (lemon grass) - sliced
1 sq inch belachan


Seasoning:

1 tsp sugar or to taste
1 tsp chicken stock granules
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp Nampla (fish sauce)

Garnishing:

Chinese celery (kan choy) chopped
2 limes, cut into wedges
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1 red chilly, sliced
Shallot crisps


Method:

Bring the 2 cups of water to the boil and add in the prawns, remove prawns as soon as they are cooked and put them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. When cooled, peel the prawns and leave aside for garnishing.

Heat oil in a wok and stir-fry ground ingredients until fragrant. Add tamarind juice and 1 cup of stock from cooking the prawns. then bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes.

Add meehoon and stir-fry. Mix in beancurd slices and toss the meehoon well. Add seasoning and a squeeze of lime juice. Lastly add in the beansprouts and the chives toss until breansprouts and chives are just limp.

Dish mee siam onto platter. Garnish before serving.