Vegetarian Kerabu Meehoon

I’ve wanted to try this spicy + sweet + sour recipe that I’ve whipped up several months ago for quite some time now, but I wasn’t able to gather all of the ingredients until today. A friend from the Malaysian bridal forum had posted a non-vegetarian version of this and I can just feel my saliva glands activating as I read her recipe. Because the regular version called for dried shrimps and shallots, and also a special ingredient called “laksa flower” which I cannot find here in Detroit/Windsor, I had to be extra creative when it comes to substituting. As usual, I never measure anything, so I would encourage those who try my recipe to adjust to suit their taste.

I found out that “kerabu” simply means “salad”, Thai version. The ingredients are quite similar to my Mango Salsa recipe that I’ve posted wayyy back when I started this blog. Although some may say that this is a Thai recipe, but I prefer to associate it with my home country, Malaysia

As usual, I never measure anything, so I would encourage those who try my recipe to adjust to suit their taste.

1. Cook beehoon (rice vermicelli) in hot water. I prefer pouring boiled water on the softened beehoon that has been pre-soaked in tap water in a bowl or container rather than cooking them in a pot over the heat. This always results in a wad of annoying strands of noodles. Drain and set aside.
2. Chop the following and set aside:
   • Tomatoes
   • Fresh basil leaves
   • Cilantro
   • Cili padi (bird’s eye chili) or “Thai hot” chili
3. Deep fry the following ingredient and set aside:
   • Sliced firm tofu (to replace the real jumbo shrimps that you can get in Malaysia)
   • Vegetarian dried “shrimp” or diced vegetarian ham
4. Pan roast the following and set aside:
   • Vegetarian belacan powder (until fragrant but not burnt)
   • Coconut flake (until semi browned)
5. Because I cannot find fresh lemon grass here, I bought a tube of lemon grass paste and stir fried my deep-fried tofu in it, since the tofu has no taste anyway. Set this aside.
6. Season the noodle salad with the following to taste:
   • Soy sauce
   • Lime/lemon juice
   • Lemon zest
   • Sambal paste (I have homemade ones in jars that I brought from home). Otherwise, just cook blended red chilies with belacan powder and sugar a head of time.
   • Salt, pepper, and sugar if needed. (My coconut flakes were sweetened, so there was no need for sugar)
   • Fish sauce, if using. (Generally, my substitute for fish sauce were soy sauce + sugar + a drop of seaweed paste for fishy-ness, or soy sauce + sushi rice vinegar + sugar).
7. Toss all the ingredients that has been set aside in a big bowl with the cooked beehoon. You can reserve some of the coconut flakes to sprinkle on the salad just prior to serving.
8. Serve chilled or at room temperature.