Soak the de-seeded cut dried chillies in hot water until they expand and drain out all the water

Grind the chillies, small onions, belacan and taucheo into a fine paste

Add oil in the wok and fry the grounded spices till the oil has separated

Wash & boil the dried ikan bilis in 2 litres of water for 1 hour

Fry prawns shells peeled from prawns

Add the fried prawn shells into ikan bilis stock and simmer another 1/2 hour

Sieve out ikan bilis and prawn stock. This will be the stock base for the mee siam gravy

Soak assam (tamarind) in 2 cups of water, mix well and sieve out assam water

Add in sugar and assam water to the fried grounded spices & mix well

Pour the ikan bilis/prawn stock and mix well

Add in the thick coconut milk slowly to the gravy and mix well and let it simmer for 1/2 hour

Add 1 tsp chilli paste to one large chopped onion in a wok and fry evenly

Add washed and peeled bean sprouts (taugeh)

Add thick bee hoon and fry evenly

Fry the thin bee hoon the same way as the the thick ones

Dish out the bee hoon onto a plate

Pour the hot gravy over just before eating and garnish with the eggs prawns and chives

For thin dried bee hoon, boil in water for 2 mins and drain completely.