serves
4
prep
30 minutes
cook
20 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
4
people
preparation
30
minutes
cooking
20
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 375 g dried rice vermicelli
- 1 litre hot homemade chicken stock (see Note)
- 200 g coral trout fillet, cut into 1 cm–thick slices
- 1 bunch Chinese celery, cut into batons, including the leaves
- 3 spring onions, cut into 1-cm lengths
- 3 stems coriander, cut into 1-cm lengths
- ground chilli, to taste
Fried garlic and shallots
- 1 kg pork back fat, rendered (see Note)
- 2 heads garlic, peeled and minced
- 6 red Asian shallots, thinly sliced
Seasonings, to taste
- fish sauce
- oyster sauce
- umezu (plum vinegar)
- best-quality sesame oil
- white pepper
Instructions
- For the fried garlic and shallots, divide the rendered fat between 2 saucepans. Add the garlic to one pan and the shallots to the other and cook over low–medium heat, stirring regularly until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Stand until cool, then store in an airtight container.
- Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Place the noodles in a Chinese noodle strainer and cook until al dente. Lift the noodle basket out and drain the noodles well. Place in a large bowl and toss with the seasonings and a little of the reserved back fat to taste.
- Add the trout to the same pot of boiling water you used to cook the noodles, reduce the heat to low-medium and simmer very gently until cooked to your liking. Drain and set aside.
- To serve, place the noodles and trout in soup bowls and top with a handful of Chinese celery, spring onion and coriander. Ladle over the stock. Serve immediately scattered with a little ground chilli and the fried garlic and shallots.
Note
• I like to season the stock with coriander root, sliced daikon, sliced onion, garlic and ginger but you can use any aromats you have on hand.
• Reserve the crispy pieces of pork fat from rendering to garnish your noodles.
Photography by Danielle Abou Karam.
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Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
