Introduction of Mee Siam

Mee siam is a dish of bee hoon (rice vermicelli) with a unique sweet and tart gravy. Some believe that the name of the dish refers to Siam, the old name for Thailand, and that the dish is influenced by Thai cuisine, while others believe that the dish is Malay or Peranakan in origin.



Mee Siam made from thin rice noodles in a sour spicy gravy.

Description
The sweet and sour gravy of mee siam is reminiscent of the flavours of Thailand. The gravy, made with tamarind, sugar, shrimp, belacan (shrimp paste) andtaucheo (soyabean paste), is poured over the bee hoon and the dish topped with sliced hard boiled egg, fried tau pok, bean sprouts and Chinese chives. A dollop of sambal tumis (a type of chilli paste) rounds off the dish.

History

Mee siam is Malay for “Thai noodles”, where Siam was the term used for pre-World War II Thailand. The earliest mention of the dish in local newspapers appears only in the 1970s, around the same time the dish was described in recipe books such as that of Mrs Lee Chin-koon (mother of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew).

However, there is controversy over whether it is a local adaptation of an actual dish from Thailand or if the name arose out of a Malayan innovation that drew inspiration from Thai flavours. A Thai coconut rice noodle dish (Kanom Jeen Numprick) that uses similar ingredients to mee siam and the Bangkok rice noodle (sen mee Krungthep) have been mentioned as the Thai inspiration for the dish. Others indicate that the vermicelli used in the dish was originally manufactured and imported from Siam in the early 20th century, thus lending the name to the dish.

Local food critic Sylvia Tan suggests that the dish is of Malay origin while Tan Chee-Beng thinks that the dish is wholly Peranakan, an innovation of the Straits Chinese nyonyas. On the other hand, Mrs Lee Chin-koon, a well-known nyonya, identified it as originating from Thailand. Tan argues that locally its association with Thailand has long faded and those who consume the dish relate it to the Peranakans instead, with primarily the Singapore nyonyas given credit for its current taste. Chua Beng Huat also asserts that the dish is an example of hybridity in Singapore hawker food, incorporating flavours from Chinese, Malay, Peranakan and Thai cuisine. Wendy Hutton believes the dish originates from Penang, where Thai influences on Peranakan dishes are common. The closest cousin in Penang to mee siam is mee kerabu or kerabu bee hoon.

Variants
In Singapore, Mee siam is not familiar in parts of Malaysia although there are known variants in Johore (dry fried), Malacca (wet), Kuala Lumpur, Mersing, Kedah and Perlis. Mee kerabu or kerabu bee hoon found in Penang is a similar dish which has rice vermicelli stir-fried in a chili paste with a tart gravy and topped with prawns. In general, Malaysian mee siam is fried while the Singapore version comes with gravy.