Spicy and tangy, these authentic Singapore Nyonya Fried Dry Mee Siam Goreng Noodles pack a punch and are perfect for those who like bold flavours!
Jump to:
My wet mee siam (also known as mee hoon siam, mee siam kuah, or mee siam with gravy) recipe is 1 of the most popular carb recipes on this blog. Personally, however, I prefer to eat the dry version as the flavours are so much more intense- if you like strong flavours, you'll love this stir fried noodle recipe! For noodle fans like myself, you may like these 8 longevity noodle mee recipes, this fried mee hoon goreng or this quick vegan wonton noodle soup that's done in 20 minutes and does NOT use store-bought stock/ stock cube/ powder etc.
What is mee siam?
Despite the word "siam", it is a popular Singaporean and Malaysian noodle dish, not a Thai dish! The name could be due to the similar taste to Thai food (sweet, salty, sour and spicy) or the dish could have originated from Thailand, but we're not sure either way!
Variations
Besides wet mee siam, there is also a version made with coconut milk but that's quite rare these days- I haven't seen 1 in a food stall in Singapore for 2 decades. Some versions of the dry fried/ goreng version also add ketchup- you can certainly add a bit to this recipe to try- but I find that the tamarind adds enough tang so I skip it.
Why make this
- It's authentic- my family has lived in Singapore and Malaysia for generations so I grew up eating this dish!
- It's simple- essentially it's 2 steps:
- You blend and stir-fry the rempah
- Add the noodle and other ingredients, toss for a bit- you have your authentic Singapore Nyonya Fried Dry Mee Siam Goreng!
Ingredients & Substitutes
You will require these items to make this recipe for mee siam:
- Noodles
- Mee siam is traditionally a fried rice vermicelli dish (bee hoon), but I find it's even better with mung bean noodles (tang hoon). The latter absorb water so they absorb the flavours superbly. And, they're much easier to make than bee hoon as they're good to go after soaking in hot water!
- Dried chillies
- Instead of pounding your own dried chillies, you can use pre-made unsweetened chilli paste. Alternatively, you could use sambal belacan sauce, which can be easily made at home in advance or bought from an Asian supermarket.
- If using dried chillies, remember to handle them with gloves and not to touch your eyes! Also, soak then cut the chillies and remove the seeds or the spice level will literally burn your tongue. Different brands of dried chillies differ in heat (also the age of the dried chillies) and some can be really powerful- I once had a burning sensation on my arm for DAYS just because of the fumes from stir frying dried chilli paste so be careful!
- Fresh red chillies
- Shallots
- Alternatives are red or yellow onions
- Belacan
- Please do not substitute with fresh prawns alone as you won't get the same depth of flavour! Whilst you can make a plate of fried noodles with belacan shrimp paste, you won't get the mee siam taste. If you really have a craving but can't get the belacan, try using some fish sauce and more of the dried prawns (hei bi).
- Dried shrimp (small dried prawns or hae bee)
- You can also fry a few extra of these and sprinkle on top of the finished fried vermicelli - if you are out of this, here is a list of suggested dried shrimp substitutes
- Taucheo (Yellow soy bean paste)
- You can use miso or doenjang instead
- Candlenuts
- This is for thickening the rempah- if you can't find it, here is a list of the 6 best candlenut alternatives, including options for people with nut allergies.
- Tamarind paste
- This is essential for the wet version (mee siam kuah) but some dry versions of mee siam skip it. If you decide not to add tamarind, simply use the same amount of prawn stock or water instead. Also, do not skip the calamansi at the end- give it a generous squeeze!- as mee siam isn't mee siam without the acid notes!
- Omelette
- If you want to eat more healthily, use hard boiled eggs as I did in the photo (less oil)
- Prawns and garlic chives
- These are merely a guide. You can use other proteins such as chicken and tau pok (a type of tofu) or other veggies such as beansprouts. Personally, I love prawns though! You could also throw in chicken leftovers, from roast chicken or Chinese soy sauce chicken.
- Calamansi lime wedges
- Calamansi has a fruitiness that other citrus fruits don't so always use it if you can get it. If you can't, I guess you'll have to make do with lemons but it won't taste the same!
Vegetarian?
The key to an authentic mee siam recipe is the belacan and dried prawns (hei bi/ hae bee) so traditionally this is not a vegetarian dish, even if you don't add shrimps later. In South East Asia, we do have vegetarian belacan so you could make this recipe with that and just add vegetables for a vegetarian version.
Meal Prep: Make the rempah first
Pounding the remaph is the most laborious part of cooking Malay and Peranakan food. Traditionally, it would be done in a mortar and pestle but a lot of people opt for the blender these days- it's not the same as the blades don't bring out as much flavour as crushing does, but it'll do in a pinch! (If you have a food processor- use that instead of a blender as some blenders aren't powerful enough to process the rempah.)
Alternatively, blend or pound a huge batch of the rempah ingredients for dry mee siam paste in 1 go, then portion it out and freeze so that you can easily whip this up in 10 minutes at a later date!
Cheat
You can even cheat by buying a pre-made mee siam spice paste. Popular brands include Prima, which I personally find tasty but a bit sweet.
Authentic Singapore Nyonya Fried Dry Mee Siam Goreng Recipe
Ingredients
For the rempah (dry mee goreng paste)
- 2 Tablespoons dried prawns (heibi), pound till powdery
- 20 dried chillies, cut and deseeded Note that various brands of dried chillies have different spice levels. we've removed the seeds to make sure it's not too spicy but if you're not sure about the spice level, maybe use a bit less for your first try. You can also substitute this with chilli paste (unseasoned) if you want to cut down on the blending time- if so, blend the shallots, fresh chillies and candlenuts first, then add in the chilli paste before stir-frying)
- 5 oz shallots, cut into small ½-1 inch pieces for easy blending/ pounding (approx 140g) I use red onions when I don't have shallots
- 0.5 oz belacan (14g) do not substitute with fresh prawns if you can't get taste or you'll be making a totally different dish
- 0.7 oz candlenuts (20g) Use macademia if you can't get this. Note uncooked candlenuts are a little toxic so don't eat them raw!
- 0-4 fresh red chillies The amount depends on how fertile my plant feels.
Noodles
- 5.6 oz dried bee hoon (160g) Alternative option: glass noodles. Note the weight of dried vs rehydrated noodles is totally different! 5-10 minutes before you're going to start stir-frying the noodles, soak the bee hoon (rice vermicelli) or tang hoon (glass noodles) in hot water. Make sure that they're not left too long- you want them al dente because they're going to be cooked some more. (Also the mee becomes fragile if it soaks for too long.) If you use room temperature/ cold water, it may need around 40 minutes of soaking.
- 1 Tablespoon tamarind or assam jawa
- ½ Cup Water Mix with the tamarind above then strain- keep the tamarind water
- 2 Tablespoon taucheo Can be substitute with miso or doenjang
- 3 teaspoon white sugar, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to salt
Ingredients (Optional- you can skip these for plain stir fried noodles or pick what you like from the list)
- 6 eggs, beaten till foamy, add a bit of salt or fish sauce, then fry into an omelette and cut into strips
- 9 Prawns, deveined and deshelled
- 1 oz garlic chives, cut into 3 inch strips
Garnish (Optional)
- 2 Calamansi Lime, halved To squeeze on the noodles if u want more tang- but taste first!
Instructions
Making the dry mee siam paste- this part can be batch made in advance and frozen
- Put ⅓ of the rempah ingredients in the blender/ food processor or mortar and pestle. Blend/ process/ pound. If necessary, add a bit of oil to the blender/ processor to help the blending. Once the ingredients are broken down, scrape with a spatula, then add another ⅓. Repeat the process until all the ingredients have been blended. Note: don't use a spatula that you use for baking as the belacan smell is quite noxious.
- Add 1.5-2T of oil to a wok and heat it on medium-high. When hot, add the mee siam paste. (Add oil to a cold pan if you're using non-stick cookware. If you're using stainless steel, heat then pan then add the oil.) (Don't skimp on the oil as the rempah needs it, but if you've added oil when blending the rempah, use a bit less.)
- Saute the spice paste till fragrant (about 5-10 minutes).
- Once aromatic, add the taucheo/ miso/ doenjang and stir till well-mixed. If you're planning to freeze the spice paste, stop at this step. Let it cool, portion and freeze accordingly. (You can also freeze the rempah after blending and before saute-ing, but stir-frying the rempah now saves time later!)
Frying the noodles
- If you're eating the mee siam today, add the tamarind water, sugar and salt to the rempah in the pan, stir, then add the prawns and stir-fry for a minute or so.
- Add the noodles and stir till they've absorbed the rest of the water. Taste and add more salt or/and sugar if necessary
- Add the garlic chives and omelette strips, give everything a mix and the noodles are good to go
- Optional: give it a squeeze of calamansi juice and maybe a side of sambal if you like your spice!
Notes
End the meal with a traditional Peranakan dessert (pandan coconut pancake/ kueh dadar) or some of these refreshing jellies- they'll taste great after all the spice!
Rose says
Didn't know about vegetarian belacan. Going to make this with that!
Zen says
Awesome, if you have time, let me know how you find it with vegetarian belacan, Rose!
Grace This Place says
This looks SO delicious. I am Filipino so we cook a lot of Filipino and American food in my home!
Zen says
Haha we cook adobo at mine, Grace 🙂 I guess the closest match in Filipino food I can think of to mee siam is sinigang but there r a lot of Filipino dishes I'm not familiar with!