Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Singapore Style Mee Siam



I just realized in the recent years that Singapore mee siam (rice vermicelli) is completely different from Malaysian mee siam. I grew up eating Malaysian mee siam which is dried and spicy. So imagine my surprise when I learned that Singapore style mee siam has gravy in it and it's a combination of sweet, sour, spicy and made with fermented yellow beans. I was really curious of how it tasted like that my good friend V, from East Meets West Kitchen who is from Singapore purposely cooked this mee siam for me. That was quite a lot of work that went into preparing this mee siam from scratch and she really spent the whole morning cooking. I was really appreciated of her effort and 爱心.



I always heard about how tasty this Prima Taste mee siam is that I just need to grab one to try. Since my readers know that I'm not really as hardworking as preparing paste from scratch, this kind of ready made paste has suited me the best. I can have a bowl of delicious mee siam in 30 minutes or less. One thing is, this brand is not cheap. It's about US $6 per box and serves two American servings and three Malaysian servings. Compare to other brands that range between $2+ to $3+ and serve more servings, you do the math.



This is definitely a yummy bowl of Singapore mee siam that you can make your own in less than 30 minutes. Just a bit on the pricey end. Prima, Prima, if any of you are reading this, can you lower the price you set for US consumers so that we can enjoy this paste more often (can't blame me for trying right? ;P)?

Ingredients:

1 box of Prima Taste Mee Siam Paste
2 boiled eggs

1/2 cup of taufu pok (deep-fried soy bean cake), cut in half

6-8 Shrimps

1/4 cup chopped scallion

Half packet of dried rice vermicelli (mee hoon), soaked in hot water until soften


Method:

1. Follow the packet instruction for the mee hoon, set aside.

2. Follow the packet instruction for the soup, while boiling add in the taufu pok and shrimps.

3. Cut the boiled eggs.

4. Divide the mee hoon into two bowls. Add in the soup with the taufu pok and shrimps. Arrange the sliced boiled egg on top and sprinkle with scallion. Top with sambal and lime juice provided in the packet to serve.

I am serving this noodle to this week Pesto Pasta Night and sharing it with Ruth and her readers.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

May I ask where you got the Prima Taste?

SIG said...

Wow, US$6 is expensive, but I guess you have to factor in the shipping costs etc. I think they sell here S$3 plus, if not wrong.

Ling's Passion said...

This mee siam looks delicious. Like you I am also depend a lot on readymix paste for my cooking.

tigerfish said...

I forgot how much they sold this Mee Siam pack in California. Maybe it was 4.99 or 5.99. But imagine you have to make it from scratch....I think this premix can save you lots of efforts.

We have dry mee siam in Singapore too but I did not know dry mee siam is Malaysian version.

daphne said...

Good entry! I like Mee Siam.. maybe i should give this box of paste a try too.

Big Boys Oven said...

wow this look awesomely superb aand so well captured!

Anonymous said...

I actually had the same problem as you coz my home town is KL. Took a while for me to get used to the Singapore way to cooking mee siam as well as other Msian dishes such as wanton mee, fried kuay teow and hokkien mee (KL one is the black noodle whilst Spore version is white).

Lia said...

everything with noodles is yum! i love to enjoy with hot sauce

Little Corner of Mine said...

Hi Anon,
If you are in Denver area, you can get it at Viet Hoa Supermarket. They sell a wide selection of Prima Taste products at $5.99.

Hi D, it's really expensive considering other brands are only in the $2-$3 range. The online pricing for each box is even more ridiculous at $7-$8 (included shipping) per box!!

Thanks Ling. Readymix paste is so convenient plus certain brand is better than what you can buy outside.

Tigerfish, it's $5.99 here, to me it's just too expensive that I can go without it and be happy with Delimas and ChanHong brands (eat Malaysian noodle lah). Hehehe.... The above I got it in Singapore for half the price, I just couldn't part with $6 for a box of premix paste yet. Wait until I'm richer perhaps! :P

Daphne, this paste is good, you should give it a try. Better yet buy some back while you are in S'pore again.

Thanks BBOven! :)

Hi Jo, Yes I was surprised with their hokkein mee and fried kuay teow (mixed with mee and fry)too! Regretted that I never get to taste any of all these S'pore version of noodles while in my short visit in S'pore (1 day in relative house where lunch and dinner were included). I only tried the premixed version in USA!

Yes Lia, you see my sambal on top? ;)

ICook4Fun said...

I never try this kind of mee siam before. Too bad I can't find any Prima Taste paste at the Asian store here. When I was in CA I tried looking for it but can't find any either.

Beachlover said...

LCOM:
aiyooo.I can't even find Prima here in east coast.I also look for it in KL but no luck:((!

Passionate About Baking said...

Hi LCOM.
I'm glad you like our Singapore Mee Siam. I prefer our mee siam with the gravy. After eating, you felt satisfied as the sourness in the "assam" opens up your appetite even more! I also like the dried kind, where sometimes, they served in buffet meals. In fact, most of the packet PRIMA TASTE food you can try. I especially their chicken rice pack. I've tried all the other brands in the market, including Asian Gourment, Kee's and some others, PRIMA's is still my top favourite. You should try when you can "spend" just a little. Happy cooking! :)

Jane

Unknown said...

hhmm.. that looks definetely yummy.

Unknown said...

I am a huge fan of ready mix paste...I gotta try this soon! hehehe

Ruth Daniels said...

It does have me drooling. THanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

Little Corner of Mine said...

Gert, hmmm...not many places sell it huh?

Beachlover, you can't get Prima Taste in M'sia. At RM$10+ a box, who wants to buy huh? I think they just increase the price, the S'pore laksa is S$5+ and this mee siam is like S$4+.

Hi Passionate About Baking, thanks for your recommendation. I will try the chicken rice when I have a little more to spend. But chicken rice is easy to cook though. Anyway, I did get the Mee Rebus while in S'pore, can't wait to try that.

Thanks Mindy because it is! :P

Rita, Yes! You should try this brand if you can find it in your area!

Thanks for dropping by Ruth and thanks.

Passionate About Baking said...

Hi LCOM,
Wow! You also get the Mee Rebus? I hadn't eaten that for quite a while boy! How about laksa? Do you make your own laksa or do you buy the paste too? Prima Taste also has laksa.
Actually you're right, Chicken Rice is quite easy to cook. But with a paste, you can still pose off the Chicken Rice without any chickens! Heehee...

Jane

Retno Prihadana said...

I haven´t had mee siam, how does it taste like?

Little Corner of Mine said...

Hi PAB,
I have tried Prima Taste laksa and love it. But I didn't get any this time because of the price. I bought the Dancing Chef laksa paste instead, which I also love.

Retno,
This Singapore mee siam is sour, sweet and a little spicy. I like it but my hubby said it was only so so and nothing to shout about. Hmmm....

Michelle Gson said...

ohh this blog post is so utterly dissapointing. not everyone has access in getting that pre mix packs any part of the world.

I find it even more annoying that this was allowed on foodgawker.com!