Singapore-style curried rice vermicelli with prawns
Thin rice vermicelli tossed with curry powder until golden and dry, with prawns, onion and red pepper — fragrant and moreish without being fiery.
- 30 min
- Serves 2
- Stir-fry
- Medium
Why it suits you: People with yang deficiency feel the cold and have cold hands and feet, and summer iced drinks quietly drain their yang. Curry powder and ginger are pungent and warming, prawns tonify kidney yang, and onion and pepper move qi; something gently warm and spicy in damp Grain Buds warms the stomach and dispels damp.
Method
Prep 20 min · Cook 10 min- 1Soak the vermicelli in warm water for 10 minutes until soft, drain and snip shorter. Rub the prawns with a little salt, rinse and pat dry.
- 2Beat the eggs, fry into a thin omelette and cut into strips. Stir-fry the prawns until cooked and set aside.
- 3Add more oil to the wok, fry the ginger, onion and pepper until fragrant, then sprinkle in the curry powder and fry until aromatic.
- 4Add the vermicelli, soy sauce and sugar, lifting and tossing with chopsticks until dry and evenly coloured, then fold in the prawns and egg strips.
Cautions
- Not suitable if you are allergic to prawns or shellfish; curry powder is drying, so go easy with a sore throat or mouth ulcers.
Chef's tips
- Soak the vermicelli only until pliable so it doesn't stick or break in the wok.
The TCM view
Prawn is sweet and warm, tonifying the kidneys and strengthening yang. Curry powder, with turmeric and pepper, is pungent and warm, warming the middle, dispelling cold and transforming damp. Onion and red pepper are pungent and warm, regulating qi and whetting the appetite, while egg nourishes blood. Together they warm yang and resolve damp, protecting spleen yang in humid weather.
