Vegan Mee Siam
A delicious and vegetables packed rice vermicelli that is spicy with an addicting tang that you'll love after one bite. This noodle dish is one of my favorite breakfast item to get at warung. Check out how you can easily create this at home!
Servings: 3
Ingredients
- 180 g dried rice vermicelli
- 2 garlic clove finely minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped onion or 1 large shallot finely chopped (see notes)
- 2½ tablespoons sambal plus more to taste
- 2½ tablespoons fermented bean sauce taucu
- 1 small carrot ~¼ cup, sliced
- 200 g [3 cups] chopped cabbage
- 7 oz tofu sliced, pan-fried & salted
- ¾ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1-2 cups veggie stock*
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 3 tablespoons tamarind juice plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon mushrooms seasoning or vegetable seasoning
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon dark soy sauce for color
- 2½ cups mung bean sprouts
- 3 stalks green onion
- 3 tablespoons fried shallots separated
- lime juice for serving
- oil for cooking
Instructions
- First, dilute a golf ball size of wet tamarind in ¼ cup of water. Using your fingers, squeeze and rub the tamarind seeds to release the flavor, then let it sit for 5 minutes. Drain out the juice and set it aside. Reserve the tamarind for other uses such as in soup.
- Prepare the rice vermicelli as directed on the package. I like to undercook it slightly and adjust the doneness using vegetable stock later.
- To make the mee siam, heat a large wok or skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil. Sauté garlic until fragrant, then add carrot, onion, and continue to stir-fry for about a minute.
- Stir in the sambal and fermented bean sauce. Add the cabbage, tofu, and season with salt.
- Then, add the vegetable stock and season with ketchup, tamarind juice, mushrooms seasoning, and sugar.
- Add the rice vermicelli and dark soy sauce, then toss until all the sauce has been absorbed. If the noodles appear to be too dry, add the remaining vegetable stock, ½ a cup at a time.
- Once the noodles have fully cooked through, fold in the mung bean sprouts, green onions and a tablespoon of fried shallots. Toss for another minute so or until the bean sprouts are as crisp as you like.
- Turn off the heat and transfer noodles to a plate and top with more fried shallots and a squeeze of lime juice before serving.
Video
Notes
- If you are using shallot, sauté it along with the garlic until fragrant.
- For homemade sambal, please check the nasi lemak bungkus recipe. If you prefer to get a store-bought version, try Ayam brand Malaysian curry paste (that doesn't contain any shrimp paste) or sub with a Thai red curry paste and adjust the sweetness accordingly.
- *To make a quick vegetable stock, I added ½ tablespoon Yondu (leek seasoning, see picture below) to 1 cup of water.
- Because there are many ways to prepare the rice vermicelli depending on which brand you get, I always start with a smaller amount of liquid and adjust accordingly. So, start with 1 cup of vegetable stock and top it once you've added the rice vermicelli.