Filipino stir-fried sotanghon

One of my favourite noodle dishes is the Filipino stir-fried sotanghon (Vermicilli or mung-bean noodles). I love the salty-sour flavour from soy-sauce and kalamansi (a Filipino citrus fruit). If you don't have kalamansi, use lime which has a similar taste.

You can easily customize this dish using your favourite vegetables. Carrots and cabbage are the most common vegetables for this dish. I particularly like adding mushrooms and celery because they add a nice flavour and texture to the dish.

Tips:
1. Do not boil the sotanghon. Just soak them in hot water for 2 -3 minutes so that it does not become overcooked and mushy.
2. Add the soy-sauce/kalamansi mixture to the noodles before adding them to the vegetables. This ensures that your noodles absorb the soy-sauce/kalamansi flavour well.
3. Taste before adding more soy sauce or salt, you don't want them to get too salty.

A trivia: In the Philippines, stir-fried noodles is eaten not only during meal times but also as snack.


Serves 2 - 3 people
Preparation time: 20  minutes (excluding soaking time for dried mushrooms)

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 small onion (chopped)
100 grams sotanghon (vermicilli) noodles
5 - 6 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked in water for at least 30 minutes)
50 grams fresh mushrooms (oyster or champignon mushrooms)
1 piece carrots (julienned)
2 cups of sliced cabbage
1 stalk of celery (julienned)

Seasoning:
2 tbsp calamondin (lemonsito/kalamansi) or lime juice
3 - 4 tbsp light soy sauce
salt and black pepper to taste


Preparation

1. Boil a liter of water and add salt. Remove from heat and soak the noodles for 3 minutes. Drain the water (save 1/2 cup of it). Mix 1/4 cup of the water, 2 tbsp of soy sauce and 1 tbsp of the kalamansi juice. Pour this to the noodles and mix well. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil. Saute the onion and celery. Once the onions are a little soft, saute the garlic.

3. Add the mushrooms and saute until a little brown. Add the carrots and cabbage. You can add a little water to cook the cabbage faster. Taste and season with salt and pepper

4. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the noodles and 1 tbsp of kalamansi juice. Mix well.   Taste and if needed add more soy sauce.

Serve with sliced kalamansi.

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