If there’s one recipe that defines Taiwanese home cooking, it’s chao mi fen – Taiwanese stir-fried rice vermicelli noodles. In her debut cookbook, Tiffy Cooks: 88 Easy Asian Recipes from My Family to Yours, TikTok creator Tiffy Chen shares her grandmother’s vegetarian recipe, packed with rice vermicelli noodles, cabbage, mushrooms, carrots and aromatic seasonings. “At first my grandma didn’t want to share this recipe with me because it’s her secret recipe. But she came around, and now she’s excited to share Taiwanese cuisine with the world,” Chen writes. It’s the dish family and friends request most – and now one of Chen’s favourite recipes to share with home cooks everywhere.
Taiwanese Stir-Fry Noodles (Chao Mi Fen)
Ingredients
- 300 g rice vermicelli noodles
- 1½ tsp olive oil
- 450 g cabbage sliced
- 1 cup Chinese celery cut into 2-in (5-cm) pieces
- ½ cup thinly sliced carrot
- 1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
- ½ cup sliced fresh black fungus
- ¼ cup light soy sauce
- 3 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
- 1 tsp white pepper
- ½ tsp granulated sugar
- 2½ cups water approx
- 1 tbsp shallot oil see note
- 1 tbsp fried shallots recipe below
Homemade Fried Shallots (optional)
- 25 shallots (approx 450 g) thinly sliced crosswise
- 4 cups vegetable oil
Garnish
- fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- In bowl, cover noodles with cold water and soak for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add cabbage, celery, carrots, mushrooms and black fungus. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms start to sweat, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper and sugar. Add water and bring to a simmer. Add noodles and, using chopsticks, loosen them to prevent breaking. Mix to evenly coat in the sauce.
- Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. If noodles are still firm, add more water, 1 tbsp at a time, until they’re fully cooked. Gently stir in shallot oil and fried shallots.
- Transfer to large serving plate and garnish with cilantro. Serve immediately.
Fried Shallots
- Thinly slice shallots crosswise.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until it reaches 325°F on a deep-frying thermometer.
- Working in batches, fry the shallots ½ cup at a time for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and crisp. Watch closely, as they can burn quickly.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried shallots to a paper-towel-lined plate. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Notes
Read More About Tiffy Chen
Discover our interview with TikTok creator and cookbook author Tiffy Chen, where she shares the family traditions, cooking inspiration and recipes behind her debut cookbook, Tiffy Cooks.
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Excerpted from Tiffy Cooks by Tiffy Chen. Copyright © 2024 Tiffy Chen. Photography and illustrations by Vanessa Wong. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
