Auntie Dolly's Mee Siam

There are many versions of Mee Siam, Malay, Indian, Peranakan and now Auntie Dolly's.

I have tried and tested different recipes and tweaked it to my family's liking.  When you have a party and there are more people, you can do the dry version.  Basically you just reduce the amount of gravy and make it thicker.  Here is the wet version. Always remember the measurements are agak agak (estimated). After you've tried it, you will know how much to use.

 

Ingredients for frying bee hoon

 

1 pkt of bee hoon soaked in hot water for about 3 mins then drained dry.

300 grams bean sprouts, tail plucked

2 tablespoons of chilli rempah (look for recipe in earlier post)

6 pcs small red onions, pounded.

chinese chives for garnishing

Hard boiled eggs, quartered for garnishing

Oil for frying

 

Method for frying bee hoon

 

Heat oil, fry onions and rempah till fragrant

Add bean sprouts, fry a little while and then add bee hoon

Using a pair of long chopsticks, keep tossing till evenly coated with rempah

Add salt and light soya to taste, then dish out

 

Ingredients for gravy

 

6 pcs red small onions pounded (you can use big onions too)

300 grams dried prawns, soaked and pounded till half fine

200 grams tau cheong pounded (fermented soya beans)

3 tablespoons chilli rempah (recipe in earlier post)

300 grams assam (tamarind pulp) soaked in 1 bowl of warm water to extract juice

200grams coconut cream (kara brand)

4 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

6 pcs dried Taupok (bean curd puff) cut in to broad strips

Water - about 300 ml

Oil for frying

 

Method

 

Heat oil, fry onions till aromatic, add dried prawns and fry for about 2 mins

Add chilli rempah and continue to fry till fragrant

Add pounded soya bean paste and fry again

Using a sieve. drain the assam juice into pot

Add water and boil for about 20 mins (adjust amount of water accordingly)

Add coconut cream and stir till dissolved

Add sugar, salt and do a taste test.

Lastly add in taupok and boil for another 5 mins

 

Dish a handful of bee hoon onto plate

Spoon gravy onto bee hoon

Garnish with eggs and chives

You can have additional chilli sambal at the side (can be bought from glory at east coast road)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cha Kway Teow

Its good to make cha kway teow yourself as you can control the amount of oil used.  9 out 10 people I know love cha kway teow.  Somehow this dish evokes nostalgia as we remember how we used to bring our own egg when we buy from the street hawker. Its so wonderful how a simple dish like this gets so many compliments

 

Ingredients

 

1 kg kway teow (flat rice noodles)

1/2 kg yellow noodles

1/2 kg choy sum or 100 gms bean sprouts

Prawns

Sliced chinese sausages

Sliced cooked  fish cakes

Fresh cockles

Eggs

Black sweet sauce

Bottled sambal chilli

Sugar and salt to taste

Garlic

Oil

 

 

 

Method

 

It is best to fry individual portions

Heat oil (1 tablespoon) till very hot, fry garlic
Fry prawns and sliced sausage

Add kway teow and noodle (enough for 1 person)

Toss around the wok. If very dry,  sprinkle a little water

Add vegetable, toss again, add the chilli sambal, sweet sauce, salt and sugar

Fry till even distributed

Taste the noodle and adjust taste accordingly

Add the cooked fish cake

Break in the egg and add cockles, fry quickly and dish out

 

Tips

The amount of seasoning is how you like it
This is a fast cook dish. Do not fry for too long

Fire must be high

Eggs and cockles must NOT be overcooked

The noodles should be a little wet.

 

 

 

 

 

Batter Prawns

Do you notice that the price of prawns have fallen quite a bit?  It used to be a luxury to be able to afford big prawns but now you can get decently sized prawns for $18 to $20.  It was my late mother in law's specialty and she used to prepare this for us every chinese new year eve. Though it looks simple, the trick is in the type of flour used and the proportions. Why not try my recipe and see if you like it.

 

Ingredients

 

1/2 kg big prawns - pat dry

season with salt, pepper and sugar

 

 

Batter

 

3 tablespoons plain flour

3 tablespoons rice flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons water

 

Method

 

Prepare batter. Mix till dissolved

No need to be completely smooth

Heat oil for deep drying

Fry on medium heat till golden brown

Har Cheong Gai (Prawn Paste Chicken)

I have experimented with many recipes that I have collected over the years but never satisfied.
Now, I have finally perfected this dish by tweaking and combining the tips from various cooks.
My version is simple and easy.  Do give it a try.

Ingredients
3 boneless chicken thighs cut into medium strips.(you can also use chicken wings)
1 tablespoon prawn paste
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water
Potato starch
Oil for deep frying

Method

Marinade the chicken overnight with prawn paste, oyster sauce, sugar and water
Remove the excess liquid to make sure  chicken is dry
Coat chicken with potato starch
Heat oil for deep frying
Fry on medium heat till golden brown
Simple and GOOD