Authentic Singapore Dry Mee Siam Goreng

For the rempah (dry mee goreng paste)

• 2 Tablespoons dried prawns (heibi), pound till powdery. Click here for dried shrimp substitutes.
• 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 (or yellow) 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, 1 of these candlenut subs or leave out 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 using glass noodles, they won't break even if soaked longer.) If you use room temperature/ cold water, it may need around 40 minutes of soaking.
• 1 Tablespoon tamarind Also known as assam jawa. Substitute: ½ Cup tamarind juice.
• ½ Cup water Mix with the tamarind above then strain- keep the tamarind water.
• 2 Tablespoons taucheo Can be substituted with miso or doenjang
• 3 teaspoons white sugar or to taste
• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste Substitute: soy sauce or fish sauce.

Ingredients (Optional- you can skip these for plain stir fried noodles or pick what you like from the list. However, note that If you add more or less ingredients, you may find that there is too little/ too much spice paste!)

• 6 eggs beaten till foamy, seasoned with salt or fish sauce, then fried into an omelette and cut into strips
• 9 Prawns deveined and deshelled then blanched. Substitute: sliced canned abalone, scallops etc
• 1 oz garlic chives cut into 3 inch strips
• 8 slices fish cake pan fried

Garnish (Optional)

• 2 calamansi limes halved.To squeeze on the noodles if u want more tang- but taste first! Click here for alternatives to calamansi.