Stir-Fried Vemicelli with Crabs

Last week, my niece visited me, and she bought some crabs from Pike Place market in Seattle.  I had some crabs left over after she left. The quantity of the crabs was just enough to make a stir-fried noodles dish for two. This is a quick and easy recipe to please everyone. If it is hard to find live crabs, the crabs that are sold at Costco is what I always use. The same recipe can be made with shrimp or squid as well. I like this dish because the noodles made from mung bean starch or sweet potato starch is healthy. The kind of vegetables is the choice of each cook. I use what I had in my refrigerator. This recipe also can prepared for vegans too.

Ingredients:
2 bunches of vermicelli
1 to 2 cups cooked crabs
1/4 cup oil*
3 garlic cloves, mined
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 handful of bean sprouts
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1/2 celery, julienned
1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, julienned
1/2 white onion, sliced
1 piece dry fungus, soaked in water for 20 minutes and julienned
2 green onions, cut into 2 inch lengths
Seasoning ingredients:
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp chicken seasoning or mushroom
Other ingredients:
Soy sauce

Directions:
Prepare the vegetables and set aside.
Mix the seasoning in a small bowl.
Heat oil in a wok and add shallot and garlic. Stir on low heat until fragrant. Pour the garlic-shallot oil in a glass bowl.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt and 1 tbs of oil. Stir in vermicelli and bring back to boil. Stir and cook for less than 1 minute. Submerge in cold water and drain.

Place noodles in a medium size bowl and add 1/3 of the garlic-shallot oil and 1/3 of the seasoning. Mix well.

In the same wok, add some garlic-shallot oil. Add crabs and stir for 1 minute. Add some seasoning to crabs; Remove from wok.

Add some garlic-shallot oil into a wok. Start to cook carrot for a few minutes.

 Then add the fungus, celery, and bell pepper.  Stir and cook each vegetable until tender. Add the seasoning to the vegetables.  Let cook for 3 minutes.

Return the noodles and crabs to the vegetables. Make a quick stir to combine.

Add the bean sprouts and adjust the seasoning at this point with soy sauce. Add the green onions and serve.

 

* you might not use all the oil and it can be kept in refrigerator for weeks to use for other dishes