Vegetarian soup recipe with mung bean vermicelli

This is a hearty vegetarian soup recipe with carrot, bamboo shoot, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, cloud ear and wood ear fungus and mung bean vermicelli.

What the heck is mung bean vermicelli?

The problem with trying to explain chinese food in English is that sometimes there just aren't any equivalent. So, we resort to using direct word translation or borrowing somewhat similar terms from other languages. Mung bean vermicelli and bean thread noodles are two such terms.

In chinese, it is known simply as 粉丝 (fen si) and 冬粉 (dang hun) in hokkien, a southern chinese dialect.It is basically thin round noodles made from ground mung beans. It is sold in its dried form.

I like mung bean vermicelli in hot soups, vietnamese spring rolls and salads. Grandma likes to stir-fry it with mixed vegetables. It can be added to soups dried although it should be rinsed first. For spring rolls, salads and stir-frying, it needs to be parboiled to soften it first.

This soup is thickened with a little cornstarch mixture and the texture blends very well with the bean thread noodles. To enhance the flavour, sometimes I will add a small piece of fermented bean curd.

It is a more elaborate version of the mixed vegetable soup.

Ingredients
60ml cooking oil
30g cloud fungus
30g wood ear fungus
55g mung bean vermicelli
4 shiitake mushrooms
100g cabbage
55g canned bamboo shoot
100g carrot
1 litre vegetable soup stock

Seasoning A
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 pepper

Seasoning B
cornstarch mixture (1 tbsp with 2 tbsp water & 1 tsp sesame seed oil)

Directions

1. Soak the cloud ear fungus, wood ear fungus till soft and expanded. Drain and cut into thin strips
2. Soak the mung bean vermicelli in hot water to soften. Drain and leave aside
3. Wash and slice the shiitake mushrooms
4. Cut the cabbage into long strips, wash thoroughly
5. Wash the canned bamboo shoot and cut into thin strips
6. Wash and peel the carrot, cut into thin strips
7. Heat the oil in a wok
8. Add the cloud fungus, wood ear fungus, mung bean vermicelli, shitake mushrooms, cabbage, bamboo shoots and carrot
9. Stir fry for a while, add seasoning A
10. Mix well and add soup stock
11. Bring soup to a boil
12. Add cornstarch mixture and stir continuously until soup thickens
13. Serve

The finished product

Recipe link: Vegetarian soup recipe with bean thread noodles

---

Search within this site: