Glass noodle seafood salad (yum woon sen)

"If you’re up near the Giant Swing or the Democracy Monument, you must dine at Mit Ko Yuan on Dinso Road in Sao Chingcha. I’m telling you, this place has not changed a bit since it opened over 60 years ago. They’ve still got the original decor so it’s truly olde worlde, with tiled walls, blue shelves and gorgeous old wooden tables and stools down each side. It oozes character. Despite being wildly popular they’ve never expanded and they even run the same menu they had when they opened – there’s a copy of it on the wall complete with the original prices. I really enjoy their yum woon sen, which you’ll also see cooked on the street too and you will see the cook stand behind a wok and cook this dish to order. It only takes a few minutes before you are eating this divine plate of seafood noodles." Luke Nguyen, Luke Nguyen's Street Food Asia

Credit: Alan Benson

• serves

  2

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 8 dried shrimp, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, drained
• 4 bird’s eye chillies
• 6 cherry tomatoes, halved
• ½ red onion, finely sliced
• 2 Chinese celery stalks, stalk cut into 4 cm lengths, leaves chopped
• 4 coriander stalks, coarsely sliced
• 10 mint leaves
• 200 g minced pork
• 150 ml water
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 6 large green king prawns, peeled and deveined
• 1 small squid, gutted, cleaned, scored, sliced into 2 cm x 4 cm pieces
• 50 g dried glass noodles (bean thread noodles), soaked in cold water for 15 minutes
• crushed roasted peanuts, coriander sprigs and thinly sliced bird’s eye chilli, to serve

Dressing

• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2½ tbsp lime juice
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 bird’s eye chilli, sliced

Soaking time 15 minutes

Instructions

To make the dressing, place all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Set aside.

In a mortar and pestle, pound the dried shrimp and bird’s eye chillies until a light paste is formed. Transfer the paste to a mixing bowl, then add the cherry tomatoes, red onion, Chinese celery, coriander and mint leaves. Set aside.

Place the minced pork and water in a small saucepan, then bring to the boil over medium heat. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, stir, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until the water has evaporated. Transfer the pork to the mixing bowl with the paste and vegetables.

Half fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Cook the prawns for no more than 2–3 minutes until just cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain well, then add to the mixing bowl. Repeat this process for the squid and add to the mixing bowl. Add the glass noodles to the same boiling water and cook for 1 minute or until just softened but still al dente. Drain well, then add to the mixing bowl and pour the dressing directly over the noodles. Toss the salad well, then transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with crushed peanuts, coriander sprigs and sliced chilli to serve.

Photography by Alan Benson. Styling by Lucy Tweed. Food preparation by Tammi Kwok.

Luke Nguyen's Street Food Asia. Visit the program page for recipes, videos and more.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.