After the not-very-satisfactory one that I had here, I had been wanting to cook my own Singapore mee siam from scratch but somehow or other, I never got round to doing it. The main reason, of course, was the fact that I was too lazy and furthermore, I took the trouble to browse through some of the video clips on Youtube to watch some people cooking it and I was horrified by the amount of ingredients that one would have to prepare and some did not seem like the real thing even, for instance, they did not use tau cheo (fermented bean paste) and things like that.
Well, the other day, I finally did! I cooked my own Singapore nyonya-style mee siam…
You see, when Melissa was home for the holidays sometime back, we spent a lot of time together and among the things that we did, we went window-shopping and roamed around the shopping complexes and supermarkets and imagine my delight when I saw this at one near my house…
– the ready-to-cook sauce for mee siam, “an authentic Singaporean dish that will tempt you with its fragrant aroma” – that was what it said on the box.
I noted that it was made in Singapore…
…so I decided to buy it and give it a try but unfortunately, it did not come cheap – one box cost over RM13.00 and there was supposed to be enough for 2-3 servings. That means that one serving would be around RM4-6.00…but never mind! I simply had to have it, period.
There were four sachets inside – the paste for the gravy and the one for frying the mihun (rice vermicelli) plus the sambal (chili paste) and the last one, the lime juice…
I boiled the prawns, shell removed…and used the stock for cooking the gravy. That was easy enough – all I had to do was to empty the contents of the sachet and bring it to boil…
The peeling of the prawns and the de-veining was the tedious part and took quite a while. Besides, I also had to lightly fry the tau kua (bean curd/tofu cake) and the omelette and then slice them into small thin pieces/strips plus some spring onions for the garnishing. They usually have chives in mee siam but I am not a fan so I decided to omit that. I also decided not to have any hardboiled eggs either as there was the omelette already and I reckoned that would suffice.
When I had got everything ready, I started to fry the mihun. All I had to do was to heat up the wok and empty into it the second sachet – the one with the paste for frying…and then, I added the mihun, pre-soaked to soften, and mixed everything together thoroughly. Once done, I scooped it all out into a casserole dish and garnished it with everything that I had got ready earlier…
Lastly, I emptied the sambal into a bowl and added the lime juice to it…
This would be the chili dip to accompany the main dish and I must say that it was quite spicy and very very nice.
Finally, the moment of truth! I helped myself to some of the mihun and the condiments and poured a bit of the gravy over everything…
Ooooo…it was good!!! Exactly like how I remembered the Singapore mee siam to be – the one that I had way back in 1973.
In case anyone is thinking that there wasn’t much gravy in the serving that I had, the truth is that I was scrimping on it – trying to stretch it a bit so that I could have extra servings and instead of 450 ml of water for the gravy according to the instructions on the box, I added a bit more – 500 ml…and in the end, there was enough for 5 servings instead of just 2-3.
For one thing, I thought that was a lot of work…and I just cannot imagine me preparing the ingredients and everything right from the start and cooking it all by myself, no way! Now that there is this available at the supermarket here and the end result is as good as it gets, should I be craving for mee siam again, I will just hop over to the place a stone’s throw away from my house and grab another box… Easy! Hehehehehehe!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
I AM SO GONNA BUY THIS MEE SIAM PASTE THINGY!
cos apparently me loves mee siam too!!!
This one’s good! Worth buying…and worth all that work to appease the craving that I have been having all these years. 😉
huahhh u really can cook ah bro… not a fan of mee siam but yours look damn appetizing! 😛
I love it…a lot and this is the first time I’ve have anything as good as what I had in 1973.
Still seems like too much effort to me. I’d be willing to pay RM4-6 for one of those.
If I can get anything that even comes half as close, I would too. Hard to find good ones even in Singapore, they say…and in KL, mee siam = tom yam mee. I don’t know as I have not been to Singapore for ages…and I have not seen any in KL…and the one I found in Sibu, I would not want to go for it again.
Nice. I wish I could cook something like that, too 🙂
If you can get hold of the stuff in the box, it should not be a problem. Otherwise, it would need a lot of work – you can check out the video clips on youtube. Quite horrifying, I would say…the amount of work it entails.
Looks delicious with those big chunks of tofu and prawns.
It was! I wouldn’t mind buying and cooking some more…soon. 😉
it seems…… wet?! =p LOL
It’s supposed to be…wet! There should be a lot more gravy than this but I was being very stingy as I need the extra gravy to enable me to have double and triple helpings. If you have had mee siam and it is dry, then it is not the authentic Singapore nyonya mee siam…!
Your Mee Siam looks fabulous. I am so motivated. I don’t think I have seen that ready made paste in KL. Maybe there are other brands. But if I am worthy of my Nyonya heritage, I should really make an effort to cook this from scratch.
Go ahead…and do blog about it! I don’t think I would be up to it – even like this when everything’s almost instant, I already thought it was a bit too much work for the likes of me. 😉
Last week when my girl was back home, my mum cook this for her… she simply loves the taste of the tomyam on the noodles… as for me, I still prefer the normal usual way of frying noodles.. maybe I am lazy! hahahaa… Thank goodness for my mum, she cooks whatever her grandkids love! 🙂
Tom yam??? No, no…that’s not the same. Definitely not the Singapore nyonya-style one. Maybe that’s the northern version…like otak-otak is different between the north and south. If you want tom yam, fried…make sure you come back tomorrow. I have just the thing for you…and it’s as easy as A,B, C…no hassle at all!
oh, i thought that packet of sauce is to be cooked together with the meehoon.. but i actually like it before you pour the gravy, haha.. original to its best without the spiciness for me~~ 😀
You don’t take spicy stuff? I thought most people over your side would not like anything not spicy enough – like the authentic Foochows in Sibu. When I was small, I used to rinse my chicken curry in water first before eating – cannot tahan anything even a bit spicy! Well, the sauce is the best part of Singapore nyonya-style mee siam. Best if added a lot so can enjoy the exquisite taste while eating the mihun and everything else. Without it, it’s nothing more than just fried mihun… No, thank you.
wow, 1973?? that’s almost 40 years ago and you still can remember that taste?? fuyoh~~
Of course!!! An elephant NEVER forgets…and I have a memory like an elephant’s and I certainly look like one too! Muahahahahaha!!!!
The mee siam surely is delicious. Becos it looks good! I don’t have much time to prepare dinner. Therefore I tend to buy those ready-to-cook sauce(ie: Assam Fish, Curry Chicken)…which saves alot of cooking time, rather than I start from scratch. And the result is quite good too… =)
Which brand do you use for assam fish? I use A1 Mountain Globe for curry – meat or seafood…and the rendang is also nice. So much easier…and the best part is that it is also very very nice, maybe nicer than some at the shops!
Looks simply delicious but if it involves a lot of tedious work, let’s forget about it. Lazy people like me would prefer easy peasy & hassle free receipe, hehehe. Anymore easy & simple receipe to share.
You can try tomorrow’s then – my usual way of cooking – simple and quick…and eat!!! Best thing is – it is also very nice! Nom…nom..nom!!! LOL!!! 😀
WOW!! It look very good!! And i am so hungry ( still not have my lunch) by looking at it!! Drool!
But i like the “dry version”, the one before you pour the sauce over the mee hoon, to me that mee hoon already look very good. slurp slurp slurp.
Nah!!! The main attraction is the gravy or the sweet and sour and spicy and very tasty soup – otherwise, it is just sambal mihun, nothing special at all. Waiyor…what time already, still haven’t gone for lunch. So much money to count kah? Muahahahahahaha!!!!
First of all, you ve changed ur blog color! Nice!!! very catchy.
secondly, that looks yummy with the prawn. too much work?
For the likes of me… I’m basically very lazy. Like making laksa or popiah, would think thwice or three times if I want to cook. Too mcuh work! LOL!!! 😀 Ya…I quite like this theme – the colour is quite soothing, pleasant to the eggs…and I can have bigger photos.
there used to be a singapore lady selling mee siam in Kuching, at the food court next to Everise. Unfortunately it was closed down.
Ya, a coz of mine told me she could get to eat this in Kuching once but not anymore. Now she is going to try and cook her own too – like me. She got a box in Singapore but has yet to cook it – so surprised we can buy it here in Sibu.
Whah…. pink blog from a man blogger!!!…haha. Arthur, you are definitely getting younger and more romantic! 😀 And you are cooking more these days too! Love your mee siam. Now that sure looks better than those from the shop…..mmmm.
It’s maroon lah!! Ok, the right column is pink…but anyway, I’m colour-conscious – any colour that is nice is fine by me and the trend these days has changed. They say it takes a real man’s man to wear pink – they don’t look at it the same anymore…and like how old Chinese people would frown when people wear black – I don’t care…but usually I will not wear black as it is very hot and I will end up with heat stroke. Maybe just on cold rainy nights…
Ya…no visitors, so not going out to eat…so I will be staying home and cooking more…and I can share the tips here if anyone is interested.
Pandai memasak la you… I also dunno how to cook mee siam.. haha must learn soon!
This is easy. Just follow the instructions on the box… Hehehehehehe!!!! 😉
wah .. singapore ppl really seems sophisticated
got so many sachets..
I bet it is very delicious .. yummy . and i see those prawns..
so when you want to be my cook?
When are you coming to Sibu? Stay at my house…makan free,tidur free…and I’ll bring you around sightseeing here there and everywhere – tours also free. Where to find, I ask you? 😉
wah … seems like an offer that is too good not to resists huh…
any catch or not?
later come ady cannot go back to KL and have to work for you for the rest of my life… lol
I look for some free time.. most probably in Sept . after the raya…
Hahahahaha!!!! That’s the risk you have to take… Wink! Wink! 😉
I have two packet of these sitting my pantry but have yet to cook it. I have to cook it this weekend after seeing yours. They look delicious! By the way, I like the new layout.
Go ahead… If you love the original nyonya Singapore mee siam, this is good, take my word for it. Worth all the trouble. 😉
Strange…lots of folks love the mee Siam here but I don’t fancy too much. Haha… It’s nice, sour and sweet but I still love the dry mee Siam!
Like many people here like the Foochow dianpianngu…and I cannot even finish one bowl of it. I’d rather have kueh chap…
prepacked paste? I thought you dont like
If nice, I like!!! But must be nice lah! Like A1 Mountain Globe instant curry paste… Once used, no more turning back, will always use when cooking curry. So nice…and minus all the hassle.
Yup, agree, no turning back once you use A1 Mountain Globe instant curry paste. What about the rendang paste. Have you tried, Arthur?
The rendang is also nice. Some people prefer using this instead of curry for cooking curry – slightly sweeter, nicer…but definitely nothing like real rendang. For rendang as we know it, you will have to look for some other brand… Btw, the A1 Mountain Globe for seafood is really great for cooking fish or fish head curry.
https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2008/11/29/thats-what-friends-are-for/
Just when I thought the tom yam sotong mihun looked seriously delicious, this nyonya style mee siam is super seriously delicious! The killer is the sambal, I must say…just looking at the photo of the sambal and reading the lime being added to it was enough to make me salivate! These are my type of favourite food!
Both are nice, each in its own way – the tastes are totally different. Only thing that’s the same is that mihun is used in both.
wah the whole presentation looks good. You can definitely serve this to your guests during party. More work means more satisfaction!
Nice eh? I bet everyone will love it! Maybe if I prepare some of the things before hand and keep in the fridge, e.g. peeling the prawns, it will not be so tedious on the actual day of cooking.
This is a Singapore product? Looks good. Next time I go there, I must buy some back.
It is very good. Certainly saves all the trouble, preparing all the ingredients…
That looks really good! I should try out this Prima Taste paste too… have heard good things about them!
Very good, all…but so very expensive here, not surprised with the dwindling value of our MYR. 😦