Probably this is a dish every mother in Hong Kong will cook for her family. Dried shrimps and vermicelli are simple, inexpensive ingredients, and can be conveniently stocked up in kitchens. Yet, maybe this is too well-known and basic that we seldom find it included in recipe books.
- Ingredients
- 2 fresh fuzzy melon (~500g)
- 2 tbsp dried shrimp
- 1 pack bean threads (~50g)
- 1 tbsp each of finely shredded shallot and ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp cooking wine
Method
1) Soak dried shrimps for 10-15 minutes and drain all water. Soak vermicelli in hot water for ~1 minutes and tranfer it into cold water for a while (so doing will soften the bean threads yet retaining its chewiness); scissor the bean threads into shorter sections if it is too long. Drain water and set aside.
2) Peel the fuzzy melon. Cut them horizontally into slices of ~1/3 cm thick, then cut the slices into ~1/3 cm strips.
3) Heat 1table spoon of oil in wok or deep skillet. Saute ginger, shallot and dried shrimps until fragrant.
4) Toss in melon, add ground white pepper, sprinkle in wine and mix well. Pour in ~1/2 cup of water , cover wok and let the melon simmer over low-medium heat for ~2 minutes or until the melon turn transparent and tender.
5) Put in vermicelli (optional: add some water in case the sauce has dried up), add salt, sugar and stir fried for another 1-2 minutes.
Tip
We seldom use a peeler to peel fuzzy melons because it will remove most of its tasty green skin. Instead, a small knive is used to rub their skin lengthwise such that only the outer hairy surface is remove. See a picture on peeled fuzzy melons.
- Category: Vegetable .
- 7 comments
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Nice work! I can’t get Welcome to the Jungle out of my head! ”Welcome to The Jungle, We’ve Got Fun And Games”
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Hi ! I read that fuzzy melon actually is an immature form of winter melon. Thus, may I use the former as I would the latter, in case I can’t purchase it ? I’m wondering so because I saw a lot of fuzzy melons at the asian grocery, but this time no winter melon, which I’d like to cook though as it is summertime now.
Look forward to reading from you ! Have a nice week.
@Helena,
That is very different from what I know, fuzzy melon is not an immature form of winter melon. It is hard to conclude whether or not fuzzy melon can be used the same way as winter melon. In general, you may use both of them in soups, I’d use fuzzy melons in this but not this and this. Fuzzy melons are also good for stir-fries like this recipe, but if you use shredded winter melon here, it may turn rather mashy like cooked aubergine (or you may cook them very briefly without the water). Hope this helps.
This is known as “大姨媽嫁女” (First [maternal] aunt marries off daughter); “Tai Yee Ma Kar Lui”. 🙂 (Yale: daai6 yi4 ma1 ga3 neui5)
didn’t have any dried shrimp on hand so sub with anchovies instead and happy to say it turned out well 🙂 if my white husband said it was yummy, it can’t be that bad right?
@bitemesmurffie,
I have yet to try your creative way : ), but glad to know you like this with your adaptation.
Sometimes, I cook anchovies with vegetables, substituting fermented shrimp pastes in most cases, one of the dishes I enjoyed lately is Stir-fried Water Spinach with Anchoives, Garlic and Chilies.