Vegan Mee Siam... So Shiok!

Living in Singapore for past 6 years has given me a lot. There is so much to this little island that one can easily spend lifetime discovering it and yet not getting bored...

When I came across this website : http://discover.stayfareast.com/ I was blown away that I am lagging so far behind discovering this place full of surprises. So I decided to start digging in my food  journey here and start sharing my experiences.


I discovered Mee Siam very late in Singapore... I was always hesitant at trying Local dishes as they were almost all Non Vegetarian. We in a fix to eat maximum we tried Vegetarian Mee Goreng where we had to always tell twice about No Meat, No Fish, No Chicken and No Egg. Then this Cafe opened up near my office which was Vegan and I found courgae to go an try. There I found Mee Siam which made me a Punjabi Forget Rajma Chawal. Which made me an Italian Lover forget Pasta and thing what was I doing all this while without Mee Siam!

Mee Simply means Noodles and here its Rice Noodles and Siam is a region in Thailand Basically the dish originated there but today's Mee Siam is an evolved version of Chinese and Malay Indians. Traditionally its made with a curry base, (So Thai). This paste is made with Dried Shrimps, Dried Red Chillies, Tamarind, Sugar,  Galangal , Lengongrass and load and Loads of Garlic. This gravy is topped with Prawns, Fish balls, Boiled Eggs, Tofu and Spring Onions. So its basically a Non Vegetarian Dish. But I loved the Vegan Version I tried at the Cafe and so I was determined to get the same flavors at my home kitchen and I pleasantly did achieve it. My recipe is inspired by Mayakitchenette.com. Since I am really bad at following recipe, I referred her for ingredients and made few... okay lots of changes to the method of preparations and added and modified few ingredients too in order to achieve the taste I fell in Love with ... <3

Here is how I did it :

Ingredients (Makes 4 generous portions) : 

For the Paste : 

1. Dried Red Chilies : 5-6
2. Fresg Red Chilied : 1-2(used to add pop of color)
3. Garlic : 10-12
4. Ginger : 2 inch 
5. Onion : 2 medium sized

For Spicy Bee Hoon(Rice Noodles) :

1. A pack of Bee Hoon( I bought a 400 g pack)
2. Spice paste : 4 tbsp 
3. Tauco (Fermented/preserved Soy Beans) : 4 tbsp
4. Bean Sprouts : 1 cup
5. Oil : 2 tbsp
6. Sal tto Taste

For the Gravy : 

1. Remaining Paste
2. Sugar : 2 tbsp
3. Jaggery : 2 tbsp
4. Tauco (Fermented/preserved Soy Beans) : 4 tbsp
5. Pan Fried Tofu Cubes : 200 gm
6. Coconut Milk : 1 cup*
7. Water : 2 cups
8. Oil : 4 tbsp
9. Salt : to taste

For Garnish : 

1. Tofu Puffs :1 cup
2. Chives(Roughly Chopped) : 1 cup
3. Bean Sprouts : 1/4 cup
4. Crushed Peanuts.

Method : 

Let me inform you first that, this is a dish needs to be cooked in steps and that makes this dish a lengthy process. So to ease yourself,  you can cook few things in advance like the paste. For paste, soak the red chilies in hot water for about 30 minutes. Then grind it with rest of the ingredients into a fine paste. ( You migh want to cover your nose at this point onwards as I forgot too)

Heat oil in a wok for Bee Hoon and cook 2 tbsp of the paste for 5-7 minutes Add  tauco, salt, Bean Sprouts and mix well, add bee hoon and mix well to combine. Take of the heat and set aside.

For gravy/broth, you can use same wok, just wipe it with a kitchen towel first to ensure no bits of bee hoon are remaining or they will burn. Heat  oil and cook the paste for 10-15 min(it would take longer now because of the quantity). Make sure your nose is well covered while cooking the spice paste or chilies will burn your nose... like a lot. Once thoroughly cook which means you would be able to see oil on sides of the paste, add Tauco, sugar, Jaggery, Tofu cubes and salt. Cook for about 1 min and then add the coconut milk and water and let boil. Tauco might break down while cook but don't worry, its okay...

Taste the gravy/broth and adjust sweet, sour, and saltiness as per your taste. It should taste like a burst of all the flavors in you mouth and your mind should go like wohohoo I want more.. Once we feel like this, turn off the heat.

Now in a large bowl, Firstly place the bee hoon and top it with the gravy generously. Garnish with tofu Puffes, Chives Bean Sprouts and Crushed Peanuts and forget everything and just eat... and find yourself in food heaven... :)

Let me know if this dish made you feel as divine as it does to me.... 

Note : I could not find Vegan Fish Balls but they taste amazing in this dish. If you can find please do add them. You can also put the puffs for 2 minutes in microwave to make them taste and look like croutons for extra crunch.

* I haven't seen any recipe using coconut milk but I like its creaminess and subtle sweetness suit my tastebuds It makes the gravy/Broth more aromatic and easy on palate.