XO Prawn Vermicelli Pot
By Michael · from our van kitchen
This is our Asian van life meal. XO sauce prawn vermicelli is usually served in a clay pot, but I made it in one cast iron pan in our van while we were camping at Fort De Soto, near St. Pete, Florida. You can watch me make it; the cooking starts around 27:30.
Shopping for it
We picked up most of the ingredients at an Asian supermarket on the way: the XO sauce, light soy sauce, green onion, shallots, ginger and enoki mushrooms. I also looked for a clay pot to cook it in, but they didn’t have one I liked, so I decided to just use the cast iron I already have with a regular glass lid.
The prawns were the problem. The ones at the Asian supermarket were either really small or farm raised, so we went to Publix instead. Publix didn’t have any prawns either. So this version is really XO sauce shrimp vermicelli, made with large shrimp that weren’t head-on.
The crispy bottom
Because I wasn’t using a clay pot, I tried a method with the same cast iron at the end. I took everything out, got the pan piping hot until it started to smoke, then put the noodles back in and covered it for a few minutes. Look at that sizzle.
That gave us a little bit of crunch stuck to the bottom of the pan, and it brings out even more flavour from the vermicelli and the sauce. The crispy bits were my favourite part.
How it turned out
Rina tried it first and said it was pretty good. She said it would be even nicer served in a clay pot, as a presentation thing, but the cast iron was good enough. To me it was so flavourful, and the vermicelli had a good texture: nice and chewy, not too soggy. We finished the entire pack. Nothing left.
What I’d do differently: get the big head-on prawns. All that sweetness from the shrimp heads would make it even more flavourful. Next time we might try it with clams too.
About a week later, at a vanlife festival, I did a variation of this with steamed egg noodles and steak instead of vermicelli and prawns, with the same seasoning and sauce.
Tips
- Don’t oversoak the vermicelli. About 10 to 12 minutes in warm water is enough.
- Mix the soaked noodles with soy sauce and a little oil before they go in the pan so they don’t clump.
- Cook the shrimp for only 60 to 90 seconds before the noodles go in.
- If you’re using a pan instead of a clay pot, the last 2 to 3 minutes on high heat with the lid on is what gets you the crispy bottom.
Ingredients
Noodles and seafood
- 1 pack of vermicelli
- Large shrimp (head-on prawns if you can find them)
- Enoki mushrooms, about half a bag (optional, my own addition)
Aromatics
- Shallots, a few pieces
- Garlic, a few cloves
- Ginger
- Scallion, to garnish
Sauce and seasoning
- About 3 tablespoons XO sauce
- About 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- About 1 tablespoon cooking oil, plus a little for the pan
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- Some chicken stock
- About 1 tablespoon sugar
Steps
- Soak the vermicelli in warm to hot water for about 10 to 12 minutes. It doesn't need to be boiled water; hot tap water works. Use a big enough pot, and don't soak it too long or it gets soggy. Strain it.
- While it soaks, prep the aromatics: cut the ginger, a few pieces of shallot and a few cloves of garlic. Let the shrimp thaw if they're frozen.
- Put the drained vermicelli in a bowl with about 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce and about 1 tablespoon of oil and mix it in, so the noodles don't stick together and they soak up the flavour.
- Cut the ends off the enoki, use about half the bag, and wash it.
- Heat the cast iron, add a little oil and start with the shallots on medium-high heat. When they start to brown, add the garlic and the ginger.
- Add about 3 tablespoons of XO sauce and cook it for about a minute, until the flavours come out.
- Turn it back to medium and add the shrimp (drain off any water first). Cook them for about 60 to 90 seconds. Don't overcook them.
- Push everything to the side and add the vermicelli, plus the enoki (I forgot mine and added it at the end; it should go in here). Lower the heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, some chicken stock and about 1 tablespoon of sugar. No extra soy sauce, the noodles already have it. Mix everything in and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes until the vermicelli is ready. Taste it.
- For the crispy bottom: move everything into a bowl, get the little pieces off the pan, then put the empty pan on high until it starts to smoke. No more oil. Put everything back in, it will sizzle, and cover it for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Top with green onion and serve it straight from the pan.
Amounts are what I said in the video. Where I didn't measure, it says "to taste". Cook it your way.
