Dry Mee Siam

Ingredients

250g Rice vermicelli

120g Bean sprouts

15 Shrimps, shelled and deveined (marinated with a dash of pepper and little soya sauce)

1 piece Tau kwa (firm tofu), cut to strips and fried till slightly golden

3 stalks Chinese chives, cut to 1 inch length

1 teaspoon Sugar

Salt to taste (optional) ~ I did not add

Soy sauce or fish sauce to taste

3 tablespoon oil

Spice Paste

2-3 red Chillies ( remove seeds, if you don't want it too spicy)

5 Shallots

5 Garlic

2 heaped tablespoon Taucheo, aka fermented yellow bean sauce

2 Eggs, lightly beaten and fried into omelette

Green limes and cut red chillies when serve

Preparation

Soak the vermicelli in water till soft for about 30 minutes (I used chilli brand), Drain and set aside.

Using a food processor, grind the spice paste till fine and set aside.

Heat wok with some oil and make the beaten eggs into an omelette. Fold and slice the omelette thinly. Set aside.

Heat up the wok and add 3 tablespoons of oil. Once the oil is heated, fry the spice paste until aromatic and the oil separates. This ensures that the chillies are cooked through and you will not get that 'grassy' taste of raw chillies. Add shrimps, stir-frying until half done, then add the fried tofu pieces.

Add the vermicelli and keep stirring until the spice paste has spread evenly. (you may add about half cup of water to it if you find the rice vermicelli is still quite dry when frying) Add sugar and salt to taste, if requred, followed by bean sprouts and chives. Continue to stir-fry until the vegetables are cooked. Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding more salt or sugar to taste. If the noodles taste bland, add a little soy sauce/fish sauce to taste.

Garnish with shredded omelette, green lime and some red chillies on mee siam when serve.