Sautéed Rice Vermicelli with Pork, Black Mushrooms and Crabmeat

Whenever we had leftover rice vermicelli called 'Bun' (pronounced 'boon') from a previous dinner, my mother would always make this incredibly simple dish called Mien Xao Cua made of vermicelli, pork, black mushrooms, and crabmeat. It would take her only minutes to prepare and yet, it was absolutely tasty and delicious. As I experiment more and more with cooking, I realize that the simplest of foods are truly the most appealing to the eye and the taste buds.

Rice vermicelli and black dried mushrooms found in local Asian grocery stores

It resembles a stir fried rice dish, except that we use vermicelli instead. It’s much lighter, so we have a tendency to make more to satisfy the ones with a huge appetite. Again, it’s simple and extremely flavourful. It’s a tasty dish that can be eaten with a nice vegetable broth on the side .

Preparation: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 15 minutes

Recipe "au pif":
150g dried rice vermicelli (about 1 ½ small package), soaked in boiling water for about 2 minutes, then strain.
½ lb ground pork (or ground chicken or turkey)
¾ cup crabmeat (use frozen or canned if fresh crabmeat is not available)
1 cup dried black mushrooms (Trumpet of Death) soaked in warm water, then strain, and chop coarsely.
2 tbsp fish sauce (more or less to taste)
½ cup chopped fresh coriander
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil for cooking.
2 fresh finger-length red hot chillies
1 stalk scallion finely sliced to garnish

In a large frying pan or wok, heat oil on high heat. Add chillies and ground pork. Stir well to break down the pork, for about 5 minutes until the pork is half cooked.

Add the crabmeat and stir well for about 2 minutes.

Stir in the black mushrooms for another 2 minutes.

Stir in the cooked vermicelli. Mix well, then add the fish sauce and coriander and mix all ingredients until well incorporated.

Add pepper and stir for another 5 minutes.

Serve in bowls and garnish with sliced scallions.

Serves 4people.

Enjoy.