Stir-fry Shrimp and Pork Rice Noodles

Stir-fry Shrimp and Pork Rice Noodles (Serves 4-6)

16 oz package of dry flat rice noodle
2 cups bean sprouts, washed w/ tails removed
Small bunch of leek sprouts, washed
3 stalks scallions, washed
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 lb small shrimp, remove shell and de-veined
1/4 lb pork
1 large egg, beaten
Chicken bouillon powder
Ground pepper
Vegetable oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1-2 tsp water

1) Soak the rice noodle in water for 1 hour to soften.

2) Cut leek sprouts into 2 inch segments.

3) Cut scallions into 2 inch segments. Then turn the thicker parts of the scallion lengthwise and julienne.

4) Julienne pork into 2-3 inch slivers.

5) To make the egg omelette topping, start by heating 2-3 tsp of oil in a pan on medium to high heat. Before pouring the beaten egg mixture into the pan, add a couple of dashes of chicken bouillon powder and mix in. Then pour egg mixture into the heated pan and cook 1 minute. Then flip to the other side and cook for another minute. Make sure egg is not runny (completely cooked) before removing from heat and set aside. Julienne the omelette when cooled.

6) Finally we can start to make the actually dish. If you do not have a large wok, make this is two batches to avoid overcrowding in the pan. Start by heating 2 tsp of oil in a wok or large pan on medium to high heat. When oil is hot throw in the minced garlic and stir around for 5-10 seconds until slightly brown. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add pork into the pan and stir around until it is brown (about a minute), then add the shrimp and stir around until the shrimp is pink.

7) Add the rice noodles, followed by the oyster sauce, soy sauce, scallions, 1/2 tsp of chicken bouillon powder and 1/2 tsp pepper. At this point, you may want to use a pair of tongs to integrate all the ingredients with the noodles in the pan. Make sure you keep moving the noodles around to avoid burning the noodles or having it stick to the pan. Do this for a minute or so.

8) Add leeks and bean sprouts to the pan last and continue to move the noodles around with the tongs for another minute or so. If you prefer your noodles less al dente, add 1-2 tbsp of water to create a steaming action to soften the noodles. Stir around for another minute and then plate. Top with the julienne egg pieces.

9) Serve with fish sauce (recipe below) and enjoy!

Fish Sauce Recipe (Nuoc Mam Cham)

4-5 tbsp sugar
4-5 tbsp fish sauce
3 medium or large cloves of garlic, minced
1 lime
1 cup water. room temperature
chili garlic sauce (if desired)

This recipe is not an exact science. Everyone makes it a little bit different based on their own taste buds. Some people like it sweeter while others may like it more tart. Start conservatively with each ingredient and add as needed.

Tip: this is not a necessary step but if you want to make sure that all the sugar granules are dissolved, you can add 2-3 tbsp of hot water to the sugar to dissolve it before adding the other ingredients.

This is the color and look you want. If you like it spicy, you can add some chili garlic paste in here. That's the sauce with chili seeds in it or you can add fresh minced red/green chili if you have that on hand.