Rice Vermicelli with Vegetables
©2021 by Hsiao-Ching Chou. Excerpted from Vegetarian Chinese Soul Food by permission of Sasquatch Books.
About the Author
Hsiao-Ching Chou is the author of this book’s predecessor, Chinese Soul Food. She teaches everyday Chinese home cooking at schools in the Seattle area and on YouTube, and she is known for her always-sold-out pot sticker classes. Currently, she serves as the chair of the James Beard Foundation’s Book Awards Committee and volunteers as a member of the board of directors for the Ballard Food Bank. When she’s not wearing her culinary hat, she makes her living as a communications and marketing manager in the biomedical research industry. Chou lives in Seattle with her husband, two children, and her mother. Learn more at MyChineseSoulFood.com.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 stalks green onions, finely chopped
- ½ medium carrot, julienned (about ½ cup)
- 1 stalk celery, sliced ⅛ inch thick on the bias
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup beech mushrooms, separated
- ⅓ pound dried vermicelli noodles (also called rice stick), soaked in warm water for 20 minutes to soften
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
Directions
- Preheat a wok over high heat until wisps of smoke rise from the surface. Swirl in the vegetable oil and let heat for a few seconds until it starts to shimmer.
- Add the onions and stir-fry for about 10 seconds. Add the carrot and celery, and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the spinach and mushrooms and stir.
- Turn the heat down to medium. Add the noodles and stir-fry for 1 minute to combine.
- Add the soy sauce, water, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, or until all the ingredients are incorporated. Serve while hot.
Recipe Note
Back in my family’s restaurant days in the 1980s and ’90s, there were many dishes that didn’t sell because they were unfamiliar. Dry-fried green beans, stir-fried potato strips, hot-and-sour cabbage, and rice vermicelli were among them. When customer demand forced us to shift to buffet-style, we included all of these dishes and many others. That’s when people learned to love rice vermicelli. I always keep a pack in the pantry and can make these noodles in a flash, using whatever veggies and protein I have on hand. This recipe will get you started.
