Prep time: 10 mins + soaking time
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves
Ingredients:
- 280 gm hairy gourd
- 35 gm dried shrimp
- ½ cup water, for soaking dried shrimp
- 3 to 4 slices ginger
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 cup chicken stock (or water)
- 50 gm vermicelli
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- coriander (or spring onion), for garnish
- Rinse the dried shrimps. Soak in the ½ cup of water for about 10 minutes, until they are softened. (Remark: If you find any dirt or vein, you can use a needle to scrap it out. If your dried shrimp are too small, it’s quite difficult to clean them one by one. Try to get quality ones.) Drain out the shrimps when they turn soft. Keep the water for later use.
- Soak the vermicelli until softened. Don’t soak too long at this stage as you need to cook with other ingredients later. Otherwise, it turns soggy. Drain well. Use a pair of scissors to cut into two or three sections. Discard the water.
- Peel the hairy gourd. Slice then cut into 5- to 6-cm (2- to 2½-inch) strips. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Saute ginger and dried shrimp. Add hairy gourd. Stir to combine and heat up all the ingredients. Season with salt and sugar. Pour in the chicken stock and the dried-shrimp soaking water. Cover and cook until all ingredients become tender.
- Add vermicelli. Cook until softened taking up all the sauce. Beware not to let the sauce dry up completely. Add sesame oil. Stir to combine. Serve hot. Garnish with coriander.
- Try to get quality dried shrimps without shells. Large ones are meaty and better.
- Good quality dried shrimps are larger without any dirt/veins inside.
- Vermicelli likes water/sauce. After serving, the vermicelli won’t stop absorbing the sauce. Thus, don’t let it cook too long in a wok as you don’t want your dish to turn to be too dry. There should be some sauce.
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