Fuzzy Melon Vermicelli with Dried Shrimp 節瓜粉絲蝦米煲
This dish can be made with more or less water. With more water, it can be made into a soup. I chose to make it more like a stew so that it can be eaten with rice and still had some sauce to it.You can also choose to make it into a stir-fry dish and not add any water at all.It’s important to use fish sauce and not soy sauce because soy sauce will give the fuzzy melon a sour taste. Salt can be used as well. Some oyster sauce contain soy sauce which should be avoided for this dish.
Approximate cost (CAD) $6
Ingredients
- 300 g Pork shredded
- 1.3 kg Fuzzy melon aka hairy gourd aka mogua, julienned
- 8 Shiitake mushrooms , julienned (fresh or dried)
- 10 g Dried shrimp
- 1 stalk Green onions , chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 3 slices Ginger
- 1 tbsp Abalone sauce or oyster sauce (must not contain soy sauce)
- 2 tbsp Fish sauce
- 200 ml Water from soaking dried shrimp and dried shiitake mushrooms or broth
- 100 g Mung bean vermicelli (approx. 3 small bunches)
- 2 tbsp Oil
Ingredients for pork marinade:
- ½ tsp Fish sauce
- 1 tsp Corn starch
- ½ tsp Sugar
Instructions
- Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in water overnight or at least 3 hours
soak overnight if your dried shiitakes are thick. Save the soaking water 
- Soak dried shrimp for 3 hours in water. Save the soaking water
- Soak mung bean vermicelli for 30 minutes
- Slice pork into shreds and marinate with ½ tsp sugar, ½ tsp fish sauce and 1 tsp corn starch. Mix well and set aside
Note that I don’t use soy sauce when making fuzzy melon because it makes the fuzzy melon sour 
- Peel fuzzy melon
fuzzy melon is always peeled since having fuzz/hairs in your dish is not appetizing 
- Julienne fuzzy melon and set aside
- Remove dried shrimp and shiitake mushrooms from the water. Measure 200 ml of the soaking water and set aside.
If you don’t have enough, just make up the difference with water - Julienne shiitake mushroom. Dried shrimp can be chopped or left whole
- Chop 1 stalk of green onions
- Chop 3 cloves of garlic and prepare 3 slices of ginger
- In a pan or wok, add 2 tbsp oil then add pork. Arrange in single layer and let cook for 1 minute. Flip over and cook until browned. Remove from pan. Leave oil in the pan
- Add ginger to pan, fry until slightly browned
- Add garlic, dried shrimp and shiitake mushrooms. Fry until aromatic
- Heat clay pot on medium-high heat. Once clay pot is hot, transfer contents from the pan to the clay pot
- Add fuzzy melon and 200ml of the soaking water into the clay pot. Cover with lid, heat on high and bring contents to a boil
- Reduce heat to low and cook of 20 minutes
- Add pork, 1 tbsp abalone sauce and 2 tbsp fish sauce. Mix well
if you don’t have any abalone or oyster sauce, then add an additional 1 tsp fish sauce and ½ tsp sugar 
- Increase heat to high and bring to a boil
- Drain mung bean vermicelli and use kitchen shears to cut the vermicelli into shorter pieces
- Add vermicelli to clay pot. Mix well. Cover with lid. Turn off heat
Adding vermicelli last will prevent the vermicelli from absorbing all the liquid and getting mushy 
- Wait 10 minutes before opening lid
- Sprinkle with green onions and serve
Nutrition
Calories: 496kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 17gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 1084mgPotassium: 352mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 37IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 131mgIron: 4mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!