Mee Siam, literally translated as Siamese noodles in English is actually stir-fry vermicelli in spicy-sweet-sour gravy. Mee Siam can either be served dried or in gravy. Hailed from Peranakan family, I am familiar with the gravy version as it was the version I grew up with.
The soul of a plate of great Mee Siam actually lies in the tangy assam gravy (tamarind based gravy). Justin's aunt used to cook the best Mee Siam in town by a mile. The assam gravy she made was totally spot-on, a well balance of the savory belacan paste and the sour taste from the tangy assam paste.
I have been searching high and low for a bowl a good Mee Siam in PJ area but to no avail as the Mee Siam served are mostly the dried version. The closest taste I could get is the Mee Siam from Killiney Kopitiam albeit with overly salty gravy.
My quest for a bowl of good Mee Siam, gravy version is finally fulfill. Credit to Mei, who is so thoughtful enough to bring me this Prima Taste's ready-to-cook Mee Siam sauce kit all the way from Singapore.
It is unbelievably quick and simple to prepare a bowl of Mee Siam with this sauce kit. Times spent to cut and grind the spices can be skipped as the kit comes with pre-ready chili paste for the vermicelli, the Mee Siam paste for the gravy and sambal chili for garnishing. Even the lime juice is included in the sauce kit too. What required are just 125g vermicelli for 2-3 servings, some condiments such as hard-boiled eggs, sliced fish cakes, fried bean curd or tau pok cubes, fresh lime juice or kalamansi juice, some fried shallots and some greens such Chinese chives or cucumber.
The ready-to-cook Mee Siam sauce kit comes with detailed instructions. Just follow the clear instructions especially on the water measurement in order to reach the right consistency for the Mee Siam gravy.
Check out how sumptuous my bowl of home-cook Mee Siam (gravy style) turned out to be. I substituted the fried bean curd with Chinese cruller (you tiao) since it was out-of-stock in Asian grocer.
I like my Mee Siam with refreshing cucumber shreds. You may substitute it with Chinese chives instead.
The spicy sambal chili added the spicy kick to the Mee Siam. The sambal tastes even better with a light squeeze of kalamansi juice. The kalamansi juice was able to cut through the spiciness and rather strong aroma of shrimp paste in the sambal.
This is the magic box and secret for the delectable Nyonya style of Mee Siam.
Additional tips
a. The Mee Siam gravy is slightly on the sweeter side in taste profile. Recommend to squeeze in some fresh lime juice or kalamansi juice into the Mee Siam gravy for the much needed tangy taste
b. I skipped using the pre-packed lime juice as I reckon fresh lime juice is more superior anytime
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