Malaysian-Style Mee Siam (2024)

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By Nicky Corbishley

• ▢ 4 nests dried rice vermicelli (about 240g/8.5oz)
• ▢ 3 tbsp sunflower oil
• ▢ 2 onions peeled and sliced
• ▢ 5 red chillies roughly chopped (leave the seeds in if you like it hotter). I use fresno or serrano chillies which are a medium heat chilli.
• ▢ 1 tsp minced ginger
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
• ▢ ½ tsp shrimp paste
• ▢ 2 tsp yellow bean paste (see swaps in the notes section if you can't find this)
• ▢ ½ tsp tamarind paste
• ▢ 1 tsp fish sauce
• ▢ ½ tsp sugar
• ▢ 2 eggs lightly whisked
• ▢ ½ tbsp light soy sauce
• ▢ 20 king prawns (shrimp) these can be ready-cooked or uncooked prawns. They need to have been deveined and have no heads or tails.
• ▢ 70 g (1/2 cup) tiny brown shrimp
• ▢ 300 g (2 cups) beansprouts
• ▢ 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

To Serve:

• ▢ spring onions/scallions chopped
• ▢ fresh chillies thinly sliced
• ▢ lime wedges

• Place the vermicelli nests in a pan and pour over some boiling water from the kettle.

  4 nests dried rice vermicelli

• Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then drain them and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Put to one side.

Making the paste:

• Whilst the vermicelli is cooking, start on the sauce/paste. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a wok and fry the onions on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until they start turning translucent.

  3 tbsp sunflower oil, 2 onions

• Add in the chopped chillies, ginger, minced garlic, and shrimp paste. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly.

  5 red chillies, 1 tsp minced ginger, 4 cloves garlic, 1/2 tsp shrimp paste

• Remove from the heat and blend the onion/chilli mixture. I like to transfer to a blender cup or food processor (make sure it's heat-proof) so it doesn't splash when blending.

• Once blended, stir in the yellow bean paste, tamarind paste, fish sauce, and sugar. Put to one side.

  2 tsp yellow bean paste, 1/2 tsp tamarind paste, 1 tsp fish sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar

Making the omelette:

• Now make the omelette strips. Mix together the two whisked eggs with the light soy sauce.

  2 eggs, 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce

• Heat 1/2 tbsp of oil (in the same wok) until hot and then add in half of the egg/soy sauce mix. Swill around the pan to make a thin omelette.

• Turn over after a minute and cook the other side.

• Slide out of the pan onto a cutting board and repeat with the remaining egg (use another 1/2 tbsp. oil if you need to).

• Place the second omelette on top of the first, then roll them up and slice – to give you long, thin slices. Put to one side.

Pulling it all together:

• Heat the remaining 1 tbsp of oil in the wok and add in the king prawns, cook for 2 minutes until pink (if they're already cooked, then heat for 2 minutes anyway to heat through).

  20 king prawns (shrimp)

• Add in the tiny shrimps and beansprouts and cook for a further minute.

  70 g (1/2 cup) tiny brown shrimp, 300 g (2 cups) beansprouts

• Add in the chilli/onion paste and heat for a minute or two, whilst stirring, until bubbling.

• Add in the cooked noodles and the dark soy sauce, then heat on high, moving around the pan often for another couple of minutes until the noodles are heated through. I use tongs to lift and drop the noodles, so they don't get mushed up.

  1 tbsp dark soy sauce

• Divide the Mee Siam between bowls, and top with the cooked omelette (the heat from the noodles will be enough to ensure the omelette slices are warm).

• Sprinkle on some chopped spring onions/scallions and fresh chilles, then garnish with lime wedges.

  spring onions/scallions, fresh chillies, lime wedges

Yellow Bean Paste

Yellow Bean Paste (a salty paste made from fermented yellow soy beans) can sometimes be a little difficult to get hold of in UK supermarkets. If you can’t find it, you can replace it with another soybean based paste – such as black bean, chilli bean (will be hotter) or even hoisin (will be a little sweeter). I’ve made this previously with hoisin, and it still tasted delicious.

Can I make it ahead?

I find it tastes best when freshly cooked, as the noodles can get a little mushed up during reheating.
However, if you did want to prep ahead, you can:

• Cook the noodles ahead (run through cold water, cover and chill for up to a day)
• Make the spice paste ahead (cook, blend, cool, cover and chill for up to 3 days)

If you wanted to make the whole dish and reheat (or reheat leftovers), cool the cooked dish quickly, cover and refrigerate for up to a day.
Reheat in a wok over a medium heat, tossing together, using tongs for about 10 minutes, until the prawns are piping hot throughout. Add a splash of water when reheating to loosen the noodles up.

**I don’t recommend reheating if you’re using cooked prawns instead of raw prawns in this dish. If you’re using cooked prawns, you’re essentially reheating them when you make the dish. By reheating the dish, the prawns would be being reheated for a second time. That’s too many times to reheat from a food safety point of view. **

Just making it for two (or one large serving)?

You can halve the recipe quantities and cook in the same way.

Nutritional information is per serving.