Here’s a non-meat dish that I decided to post upon request from a friend However, it does have dried shrimp in it. So does it still count? It’s a simple dish which my kids enjoy. I’m not kidding when I say my kids love eating vegetables - especially when it’s this dish. Hmmm…ok maybe not LOVE.  Anyway, I enjoy preparing this dish because it’s really fast - about 20 minutes tops! Furthermore, I love the stringy vermicelli. On a day when I feel that I have other things to pay attention to than food, this dish works really well. Served with rice and a spicy side dish like fried fish or prawns, it’s a sure winner. 

Just to be sure that you don’t buy the wrong kind of vermicelli, here’s an excerpt taken from Wikipedia. An easy and sure way to find the right thing is to look at the ingredients on the package. It should read “green bean, water”. 

Cellophane noodles (also known as Chinese vermicelli, bean threads, bean thread noodles, or glass noodles) are a type of transparent Asian noodle made from starch (such as mung bean starch, potato or canna starch), and water.

Cellophane noodles should not be confused with rice vermicelli, which are made from rice and are white in color rather than clear.

Ingredients:

2 medium sized onions- blend fine
3 cloves garlic - blend fine
2 tbsp dried shrimp (udang kering) - blend coarsely
1 tsp tumeric
250ml coconut milk or evaporated milk
2 cups water
20 stalks of asparagus - washed and cut into 3 parts
2 carrots - cut in half lengthwise and then into 2 inch pieces
2 potatoes - peeled, cut  half lengthwise, and then each half into 3 parts
1/4 of a cabbage head - cut into large cubes
1 bunch vermicelli/soo hoon
2 tbsp vegetable oil
salt to taste
2 tsp sugar - or to taste

Method:

1. Soak the dried shrimps in some warm water for about 5 mins to soften.
2. Blend the onion and garlic together till fine.
3. Add the softened dried shrimps to the blended paste and grind coarsely. You could use the pulse function on your blender for about 4-5 times.
4. Heat oil in a pot. When the oil is hot, add the blended ingredients and the tuemric powder. Stir fry the mixture until fragrant and evenly yellow.
5. Add half the amount of coconut milk and the water and boil under high heat for 2 minutes.
6. Add the harder vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and potatoes.
7. Boil under medium heat stirring occasionally.
8. While the vegetables are cooking, soak the vermicelli in a small bowl of hot water for about 2 minutes. It should start to soften but not become too soft. Drain and set aside.
9. When the potatoes are 3/4 cooked, add the vermicelli, the other half of the coconut milk, the other softer vegetables such as cabbage, salt and sugar.
10. Cook for about another 5 minutes or until potatoes are cooked. 
11. Serve hot with rice.

Tips:

• Use a mixture of hard and soft vegetables.  Some other vegetables that can be used would be long beans, short beans, snow peas etc. The dish is versatile so you could just about use anything. Carrots are strongly recommended as the sweetness from the carrot enhances this dish.
• Two vegetables to avoid would be lady’s finger and brinjal. They give the wrong kind of texture and flavor to the gravy.