SWEET POTATO VERMICELLI STIRFRY

I have wanted to try sweet potato vermicelli for a long time now, but had never ventured out to try to find out. Turns out that there were 4 different varieties of this noodle at my tiny local Asian supermarket. I was rather hung-over last Sunday after a Saturday night of drinking (something I rarely do nowadays) and I thought that cooking would make me feel better than sitting around feeling sorry for myself. Turns out that I was right! I’d recommend a trip to your nearby Asian grocery store for this particular type of vermicelli (sweet potato vermicelli is Korean in origin) as regular vermicelli does not taste the same.

INGREDIENTS

• 300g lean eye fillet, sliced into thin, even strips
• 1 teaspoon tamarind 
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed 
• 250g dried sweet potato vermicelli 
• 1/4 red cabbage, finely shredded
• 1/4 green cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 large carrot, finely shredded or roughly grated 
• 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds & 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander, leaves removed from the stems 

COOKING 

1. Place the eye fillet strips in a medium ceramic bowl and add the tamarind, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and 1 tablespoon water. Mix well, until the tamarind is evenly combined with the other ingredients. Cover and leave to sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan or kettle of water to the boil. Pour the boiling hot water over the vermicelli and leave to soak for 5 minutes or until the vermicelli is soft. Drain the vermicelli well in a colander or large sieve, but do not pour cold water over it to rinse. 

3. After the meat has been marinading for 20 minutes, heat the other teaspoon of sesame oil in a large wok over medium-low heat and swirl to coat. Add the eye fillet and the juice from the marinade and cook, stirring constantly, until the meat is lightly brown. Change the heat to medium-high low and add the red & green cabbage and the carrot to the wok and cook, stirring occasionally for 7 minutes or until the cabbage is just tender. Add the two types of sesame seeds, coriander and cooked vermicelli to the wok and toss well to combine. Serve warm, with extra coriander sprinkled on top, if desired. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 25 minutes (including 20 minutes marinading time)

Total Cooking time / 15 minutes 

x Emily