Prawns in Vermicelli

Updated: May 4, 2021

A low carb Chinese recipe

found served in Chinese seafood restaurants and tastes best cooked in a claypot. I don't have one so my wok had do. I've always enjoyed my mother's recipe the most because she is generous with the quantity and size of the prawns.

INGREDIENTS

8 large prawns

400g dried vermicelli noodles

200g pork fat or pork belly

7 bunch of chinese celery

4 fresh coriander root

150g thick sliced mature ginger

8 tsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp dark soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp chinese rice wine

1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp vegetable oil (on the side)

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 tbsp whole black peppers

1 head of garlic

Large claypot or work with a lid

DIRECTIONS

1. Soak vermicelli in cold water for 5 minutes

2. Wash and prepare the vegetables and slice the pork into strips

3. Cut open the back of the prawns. Clean and devein. leave shell and head intact. Add 1 tsp of oyster sauce in the back of each prawn.

4. Remove vermicelli from water. Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vegetable oil, salt, sugar and mix all ingredients into vermicelli

5. Add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil, pork and ginger to the wok or claypot

6. Lightly crush garlic cloves, coriander root and whole black peppers with the back of a kitchen knife and add to the wok

7. Layer prawns into the wok on top of the other ingredients and add the seasoned vermicelli on top of the prawns

8. Cover wok with a lid and cook on medium to high for 5-7 minutes

9. Remove lid and stir through vermicelli with the ingredient’s. Do not stir the prawns but flip them over so the other side cooks

10. Sprinkle chinese celery on top. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes

11. Turn off the heat. Remove the lid and stir in sesame oil and chinese rice wine.

Serves 3 - 4 people

Notes:

- If you use a claypot soak water in the pot overnight, this will prevent the pot from cracking when exposed to the heat. Also never use dish soap to clean the claypot it will absorb into the pot and ruin the flavor

- You can also 10-12 medium sized prawns if large prawns are not available

- When you devein try not to not remove the fat. It's where we get the most flavor from the prawn. This is found in the head and sometimes along the back.

- If you cannot find mature ginger, young ginger can also be substituted. It will just not be as aromatic

- I like to lightly crush the peppers with a mortar and pestle while mum likes to put the peppers in a small plastic bag and crush them with the back of a knife

- If you do not have chinese rice wine, you can substitute with a white wine or not use wine at all. The sesame oil and wine adds an aromatic flavor to the dish

- Mum likes to use Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce, soybean vegetable oil and Japanese sesame oil

- The dark soy sauce is not necessary to the flavor, it is used to add color to the vermicelli