This is a delicious noodle dish from Singapore which is Gluten-Free! It is the perfect marriage between the Chinese and Malay culture - it was a fusion dish before fusion was even trendy! Serves 4.
Ingredients
2 tbsp peanut oil
2 tbsp Saucy Wench Green Chilli Paste
1 jar of Saucy Wench Satay Sauce
2 tbsp kecap manis
1 tbsp salt
5 kaffir lime leaves
1 cup of chicken or prawn stock
200g dried rice vermicelli (mee hoon), soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, then drained
1 squid hood, washed and opened, scored on the inside and cut into bite sized pieces
200g kangkong (water spinach) or spinach washed, woody ends discarded, and cut to 5cm lengths
20 cooked prawns, peeled and deveined, tails intact
Shredded chicken from half a BBQ chicken
4 fried tofu puffs (available at the Asian grocer in the fridge) or unflavoured tofu nuggets, halved
2 green chillies, sliced
Crushed peanuts (optional)
Sliced spring onions (optional)
Lime wedge (optional)
Method
- Heat oil in a pot and fry Saucy Wench Green Chilli Paste until fragrant.
- Add in the whole bottle of Saucy Wench Satay Sauce, kecap manis, salt, kaffir lime leaves and stock and bring to a boil
- Add in tofu puffs and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the ingredients
- Season the squid with salt, pepper and a little sugar, then blanch in boiling water until they curl up. Remove from the water and set aside.
- Blanch the kangkong or spinach. You can use silverbeet if you wish, but it needs to be shredded and cooked for longer. Remove from the water and set aside.
- Lastly, blanch the rice vermicellli and remove from the water. Drain well and divide into 4 bowls.
- Top rice vermicelli with kangkong or spinach, squid, prawns and chicken.
- Pour Satay broth over the vermicelli bowls and top with sliced green chilli, crushed nuts and sliced spring onions.
- Serve with a lime wedge if desired.
Tips
Open up the squid hood by cutting along one side of the squid.
Always score on the inside of the squid hood in a criss cross pattern so when the squid curls up in the hot water, it makes a beautiful "pineapple" effect.
I like to blanch squid before cooking instead of frying it to cook it. This way, it ensures no overcooking!
Kangkong or Morning Glory is a vegetable that is very popular in South East Asia. You can get it at Asian grocers and also at Farmers Markets.