Stir-Fry Clear Noodles

This recipe came about during my undergraduate college years (last year) while I was rooming with 4 other girls. One of my roommate decided to cook this dish one day for dinner, which she learned from her boyfriend's mother. The recipe has evolved overtime and was utterly abused during the last semester of college. Here is my version of this infamous "Clear Noodles" recipe.

This recipe is for 2-3 servings. You can easily modify the quantity depending on how much you want to serve.

DISCLAIMER: I normally do not measure the ingredients that I use. Everything is eyeballed and guesstimated but I will try my best to provide you with some type of measurements!

Ingredients:

• Dry Vermicelli Noodles (4 pieces)
• Hormel Spam or Ham Patties (about half a container)
• String Breans (2 cups)
• Garlic (3 gloves)
• Olive Oil or any other cooking oil
• Sesame Oil
• Oyster Sauce
• Soy Bean Seasoning Sauce

Optional:

• Pickled Lotus Roots (about half a container)
• Chili Sauce

Steps:

1.) Take the dry vermicelli noodles (sometimes called glass noodles, cellophane noodles, or bean thread noodles) and soak them in cold or room temperature water. If the noodles are tied, remember to cut off the strings before soaking. Let the noodles soak for 10-15 minutes or until they start to separate and soften up.

 2.) While the noodles soak, prepare all the other ingredients

• Garlic - Mince into small pieces
• String Beans - Rinse, cut off the end pieces and then cut them in half so that they are about 1.5-2 inches long
• Spam - First cut the spam into thin slices, about 1/4 of an inch wide. Then cut them so that they are about 1.5-2 inches long. If you're using the ham patties, just cut them in half and then in small strips
• OPTIONAL: Drain the lotus roots, rinse them, and then cut them horizontally in half.

Pickled lotus roots come in a clear container and can be found at any asian market. I love using it for this dish because of the crunch and texture that it adds.

I like using the Ham Patties a tad bit more, but Spam tastes just as good. 

 

3.) Drain the vermicelli noodles.

4.) Heat up a wok or big frying pan (preferably non-stick). Cover the wok with olive oil. After the oil is hot, add in the minced garlic.

5.) Add the Spam or Ham Patties to the wok and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the string beans and lotus roots. When the Spam turns slight brown, turn the heat down to medium.

6.) Add 2 tbs of the Sesame Oil and 1/2 cup of Oyster Sauce. Stir for 2-3 minutes, or until the string beans are cooked.

These are the brands of sauces that I use. You don't have to use the exact same ones, anything similar will work just as well.

  

7.) Add in the vermicelli noodles. Add 1 tbs of Sesame Oil and 2 tbs of Soy Sauce to the noodles.

8.) Evenly mix all the ingredients together. Add extra Soy Sauce to give the noodles some color.

9.) Once the noodles are soft and become a clear color, then it is ready to be served.

10.) Add a chili sauce for a spicy kick.

This is one of my top go-to dishes when I am cooking at home. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Feel free to leave any feedback or questions. Try out this recipe and let me know how your experience was!