Let's Talk about Fridays

I know it's a bit too early to talk about Friday when she's sitting dragging her feet :) But time flies, she will be here faster than we would have thought :) Friday is my favorite day, i love the prelude to the weekend more than the weekend itself! 

In recent weeks, I have consistently made all in one noodle dishes on Fridays.  Don't know how long this trend will last but it has been fun so far.  I guess it will be until someone in the family screams "Stop, no more noodles!" or until i run out of noodle ideas.  All in one noodle dishes are normally quite easy to prepare and the other thing that i love about it is the family gets to spend more quality time at the table instead of just concentrating on the food  (plus there are lesser dishes to wash)! All in one are no brainers, everything there is to eat is already on one's plate, so one can chat while eating, of course the no food in mouth when talking rule still applies here :)  Noodles Friday it shall be for now!

Mee Siam is common in Malaysia and Singapore as far as i know.  From what I read it was originally a Malay dish until the Nyonyas added their zest to it.  Simply put, it's vermicelli fried in a sweet, savory and tangy gravy.  Two  versions to it, the dry and the wet.    Over in Malaysia, it's the dry version that we are used to while it's the wet one for our neighbors down south.    So, it's the dry one that I am talking about here.  This recipe from a local daily was the one I referred to for my maiden attempt many many moons ago and it was love at first bite!  I don't refer to it anymore since getting mine more or less there.

Vermicelli fried with a combination of  prawns, tofu puffs, chives, bean sprouts and gravy made from a blend of chilli, shallots, preserved soybeans plus tamarind juice, topped with thinly sliced omelet plus a squeeze of calamansi juice and topped with some sambal belacan is simply divine.   Very interesting mix of flavors and how vermicelli does such a good job at soaking up these flavors makes this dish so appetising and difficult to stop at!  

Recipe
Reference : Kuali.com

Ingredients

• 500g rice vermicelli
• 2 eggs
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced 
• 10 pieces tofu puff cut into slices
• Calamansi cut into wedges
• 300g prawns shelled
• 3 tbsp dried shrimps soaked and minced
• 200g bean sprouts
• A handful of chives, cut into around 5 cm length

Gravy (mix all ingredients except tamarind juice together)

• 10 dried chilli (replaced with 5 tbsp of store bought chilli paste to tone down spiciness for little one and is a cheat in way because handling chilli is no easy job)
• 5 shallots, slice and minced
• 2 tbsp minced preserved soybeans
• 3 tbsp tamarind paste mixed with 60ml water (squeezed for tamarind juice)

Seasoning

• Light soya sauce/Fish sauce
• Sugar

Steps

1. Soak rice vermicelli in water until soft.  Drain and set aside.
2. Fry beaten eggs in a shallow pan with a little oil like making an omelet (without stirring).  Remove and cut into thin strips. Set aside.
3. Fry sliced shallots in some oil until golden brown and crispy.  Set aside.
4. Fry gravy ingredients with 2 tbsp oil until fragrant and oil separates.  Add in minced dried shrimps and fry until fragrant.
5. Add in tamarind juice and bring to a boil.
6. Add in prawns and tofu puffs.
7. Add vermicelli and mix well with gravy.  Add in a little water if it's too dry.
8. Add in bean sprouts and fry for 1-2 minutes.  Do not overfry or sprouts will turn out limpy. 
9. Add in seasoning to taste.
10. Add in chives and fry for another minute.
11. Dish out and serve with omelette strips, fried shallot and calamansi wedges on the side.