A Thai inspired dish. An alternative way of using tom yum paste (other than for cooking soup). Tangy and spicy taste - yummilicious!
PREP TIME 10 Min
COOK TIME 15 Min
READY IN 25 Min
SERVINGS & SCALING
Original recipe yield: Serves 2 as a main course
INGREDIENTS
-100g bee hoon (rice vermicelli / noodles /sticks, bihun)
- 1 tbsp tom yum paste (Woh hup brand), mixed with 1 cup of hot water, blend well
- 3 lemongrass stalks, cut to 2 inch lengths, make slits on the stalks to release the aroma
- 1 can of straw mushrooms
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- a handful of prawns (around 10), deshelled & deveined
- 1 bell pepper, cut to small wedges
- lime for garnishing (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Soak the rice vermicelli in water for at least 20 mins, until the noodles are rather soft. Drain and set aside.
2. In a wok, heat some oil and stir fry the garlic & lemon grass stalks till fragrant. Add bell pepper and mushrooms and stir fry for about a minute or two. Then add the prawns, stir fry till everything is cooked. Set the cooked vegetables and prawns aside on a plate.
3. Leave the lemongrass in the wok. Saute for a while. Stir in the tom yum mixture at this stage. Leave to simmer at low heat. Add the rice vermicelli into the wok. The rice vermicelli does a good job of soaking up the excess liquid. Once the excess liquid has been soaked up and the rice vermicelli is rather dry, throw in the previously cooked vegetables and seafood.
4. Serve rice vermicelli on a plate. Squeeze in a wee bit of lime juice if you desire a tangier taste!
TIPS
Note: For people handling lemongrass for the first time, I found this link especially useful: http://thaifood.about.com/od/thairecipesstepbystep/ss/lemongrasshowto.htm. This link will prove most useful if you are preparing tom yum soup as well, but note that in this recipe, the lemongrass has to be cut into 2 inch sticks instead.
Some people may prefer the rice vermicelli to be cut up into smaller more manageable strands for consumption. By all means use a pair of scissors to cut it into shorter lengths before throwing it into the wok. In my case, I left the rice vermicelli as it was.
The Tom Yum Rice Vermicelli prepared based on the above recipe gave a very subtle Tom Yum taste, which was my preference. Not too overpowering for a Rice Vermicelli dish. The amount of paste to water ratio can be varied depending on individual preference.
Try this recipe. You won't regret it :)!
