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For some of you dear readers who come from Asia, you might be familiar with the Asian version of vermicelli, which usually refers to those white thin rice noodles that can be stir fried or added to laksa gravy or soups. The vermicelli I used to make this fried glass noodles or fried tung hoon recipe is a lighter version of the rice noodle. It has many different names, such as glass noodles (because when cooked, it turns translucent, and looks like thin threads of glass), 冬粉 (‘tung hoon’ in Hokkien or ‘dong fen’ in Chinese which literally translates to winter noodles), or mung bean noodles.
What are the different types of vermicelli
Vermicelli refers to a type of thin pasta in the western part of the world. Somewhat similar to capellini or angel hair pasta. They are all made of durum wheat. The difference is in the thickness, with capellini being the thinnest type. I have a cold pasta dish made of abalone and capellini that you might want to try out, it’s extremely easy to made and such a crowd pleaser.
While the rice noodle (or 米粉 in Chinese), as the Chinese name implies, is made of rice, the mung bean version is made of green beans. The look of both noodles are quite similar and the manufacturer will usually state on the packaging if it is rice (or bee hoon or bi hun) or bean vermicelli (see below picture). And if it doesn’t, do make sure you check the ingredients, as I mentioned earlier, the former is made of rice while the latter is made of beans. That said, glass noodles are much healthier than rice noodles as they are lower in calories and glycemic index, and thus make a diet-friendly choice for a low carb meal.
There are many creative ways to cook these mung bean noodles, such as this Steamed Garlic Prawns with Tofu and Vermicelli (蒜蓉粉丝豆腐蒸虾). As these noodles are very neutral in flavour, it easily absorbs the flavour of the key ingredients of the dish, complementing the dish with its unique chewy texture.
The ingredients are extremely simple and version for this recipe:
- Vermicelli – always make sure you soak these noodles until softened in room temperature water for about 30 minutes.
- Protein – I used chicken breast in this recipe and marinated it with Asian seasonings such as sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce and white pepper. The egg is optional, I actually forgot to add it into the video when I filmed how I cooked this dish.
- Vegetable – Using carrots here as it adds to the ‘sweetness’ and umami taste of the dish. Garlic is used as the main aromatics here but feel free to add onions, shallots too.
- Seasonings – A very typical combination of soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper and sesame oil.
Watch how to cook Fried Glass Noodles on YouTube
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Fried Glass Noodles (Vermicelli) 炒冬粉
Detailed Step-by-Step Video
Ingredients
- 200 g mung bean vermicelli
- 1 small carrot
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
Seasoning
- ½ cup water
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Marinade for chicken
- 250 g chicken breast or chicken thigh, skinless and boneless
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Soak 200 g mung bean vermicelli in room temperature water for 20 to 30 minutes until softened.
- Drain the water off and set the vermicelli aside.
- Cut 250 g chicken breast or chicken thigh into smaller pieces, about 2 inches each.
- Add marinade ingredients – 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp sesame oil.Cover and marinade for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Peel and smash 3 cloves garlic. I used a pounder, or you can use the back of the knife to smash it.
- Peel and julienne 1 small carrot.
- Make the seasoning sauce by combining the seasoning ingredients – 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1/2 cup water.
- Heat up a wok or large pan over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp cooking oil to warm up.Add the garlic and sauté until aromatic.
- Add chicken and stir fry for about 1 minute.
- Add carrot and stir fry until the carrot softened. By now, the chicken should be almost cooked too.
- Add the vermicelli and the seasoning sauce.
- Keep mixing and stir frying until the sauce is well mixed.Optional to add an egg by pushing the noodles to one side of the wok and scramble the eggs before mixing all together. Note: If the noodles are too dry, add some water.
- Turn off the heat, serve while hot with chopped red chillies (optional).
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