Taiwanese stir-fry vermicelli (tshá bí-hún)
- Tiffany Chang
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Serves 8 - 10
Easy
Prep: 50 mins
Cook: 10 mins
plus soaking
A star rating of 5 out of 5.1 ratingRate
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Enjoy this classic Taiwanese noodle dish with friends at a big gathering. You can add more veg and omit the meat, if you like
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Ingredients
Nutrition
Units:
MetricUS
-
320g thin rice vermicelli
-
10g dried shrimp
-
20g dried shiitake mushrooms
-
½ sweetheart cabbage
(about 100g), core removed, leaves roughly chopped
-
½ celery stick
(about 35g), cut into 1cm cubes
-
150g beansprouts
-
4 tbsp rapeseed or other vegetable oil
-
150g pork belly
sliced into thin strips (or use streaky bacon)
-
½ large carrot
sliced into thin strips
-
2 shallots
peeled and thinly sliced
-
3 garlic cloves
crushed
-
60ml light soy sauce
-
½ tsp caster sugar
-
½ tsp ground white pepper
-
small handful of chives
sliced into 2.5cm lengths
-
1 tbsp crispy shallots
to garnish
-
Taiwanese black vinegar
or Worchestershire sauce, to serve (optional)
Keep the screen awake with cook mode on the Good Food app.
Nutrition: Per serving (10)
- kcal224
- fat8g
- saturates1g
- carbs32g
- sugars2g
- fibre1g
- protein5g
- salt1.2g
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Method
-
step 1
Cover the rice vermicelli with cold water and soak for 30 mins. Rinse the dried shrimp and mushrooms, then tip into separate heatproof bowls. Cover the shrimp with 250ml boiling water from the kettle, and the mushrooms with 300ml. Set aside to soak for 20 mins. Meanwhile, fill a large wok or pot with 2 litres water and bring to a simmer over a medium-high heat. Add the cabbage and celery, and cook, stirring, for 1 min. Add the beansprouts, then turn off the heat and leave for 30 seconds. Drain and set aside. Dry the wok with kitchen paper.
-
step 2
Drain the dried shrimp, reserving the liquid, and set aside. Squeeze the water from the mushrooms, pouring it into the reserved soaking liquid from the dried shrimp. Cut up the mushroom stems and thinly slice the caps. If the mushrooms are very large, slice in half horizontally, then thinly slice. You should have around 450ml of reserved liquid from the mushrooms and shrimp. If you have less, top up with water or vegetable stock.
-
step 3
Set the wok over a medium-high heat, add 1 tbsp oil and heat until slightly glistening, about 1 min. Cook the pork belly undisturbed for 30 seconds, then stir-fry for about 30 seconds more. Add the carrots and stir-fry for another 30 seconds, then drizzle in another 2 tbsp oil and add the rehydrated mushrooms, dried shrimp, shallots and garlic. Continue to cook until fragrant, about 2-3 min.
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step 4
Splash the soy sauce around the side of the wok in a half-circle; you should hear it sizzle. Mix it into the other ingredients until everything is evenly coloured and smells slightly nutty and caramelised. Reduce the heat slightly if needed.
-
step 5
Pour in two-thirds of the reserved soaking liquid, add ½ tsp of salt, the sugar and white pepper. Reduce the heat to low and taste for seasoning – the broth needs to be slightly salty, so add an additional ½ tsp salt if needed.
-
step 6
Drain the rice noodles and add to the wok, gently tossing with a pair of chopsticks and spatula. Lift the noodles up to mid-air to loosen. Be gentle, and try not to break the noodles. Add the rest of the soaking liquid, tossing until all the noodles are coloured. The noodles are ready when al dente. Turn up the heat to medium and add the cabbage and celery mixture. Cook, covered and undisturbed, for 2 mins.
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step 7
Remove the lid and toss with the noodles again. Turn the heat to high and lift the noodles up high again to loosen; keep tossing, checking if there is liquid in the base of the wok. Once all the liquid has evaporated, turn off the heat, add the chives and cover for 1 min.
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step 8
Toss again, then tip onto a large serving platter. Garnish with crispy shallots and serve with black vinegar on the side for guests to pour on, if you like.
Recipe tips
You can prepare parts of this dish up to a day ahead. Soak the noodles, dried mushrooms and shrimp ahead of time, then cover. Cook the cabbage, celery and beansprouts, then drain and cover. Chill everything until needed.
Don’t let the wok go dry while tossing the noodles. If it’s looking dry, add up to about 60ml water.
The noodles should be fluffy, bouncy and al dente when ready – this is called ‘QQ’ texture (meaning extra-chewy), and it’s synonymous with Taiwanese cuisine.
Recipe from Good Food magazine, December 2021
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