Dry Mee Siam

I saw this Dry Mee Siam recipe from the newspaper, so decided to try it out.

Recipe taken from The Sunday Times February 15, 2009

Ingredients :

6 eggs
350g fresh prawns, shelled and deveined
10 Tbs cooking oil
400g of firm soya beancurd, cubed
15 dried red chillies, seeded, soaked in water till soft then drained
5 fresh red chilles
6 cloves garlic
15 shallots
100g dried shrimps, rinsed, soaked in water till soft, drained and coarsely pounded
6Tbs fermented soya beans (taucheo)
400g dried rice vermicelli, soaked in water till soft, then drained
350g bean sprouts
100g Chinese chives, cut into 2cm-long strips
salt to taste
6 limes, halved

Method

1. Boil the eggs, then leave to cool before removing the shell and cutting into thin slices. Set aside.
2. Steam the prawns for 5 minutes until cooked. Set aside.
3. To a hot pan, add 2 Tbs of oil and stir-fry the soya beancurd cubes till golden brown. Set aside.
4. Blend the dried chillies, fresh chillies, garlic and shallots in an electric blender on medium speed until a coarse paste forms.
5. To a hot wok, add 8 Tbs of oil and fry the chilli paste for some 5 minutes until fragrant.
6. Add the dried shrimps and fermented soya beans and stir-fry until well incorporated.
7. Add the rice vermicelli, mix well and stir-fry for about 10 minutes until the vermicelli is cooked. If necessary, add 1/2 cup of water to the vermicelli to prevent them from drying out.
8. Add bean sprouts and Chinese chives, mix well and stir-fry for another 3 minutes.
9. Add salt to taste.
10. Transfer the vermicelli to a serving plate. Top with steamed prawns, fried beancurd cubes, and egg. Before eating, squeeze the limes over the vermicelli and toss well.

Serves six to eight.