Ingredients

Serves 4

2 tbsp vegetable oil
100 g prawn mince
100 g lean pork mince
5 green prawns (shrimp), shelled, deveined
150 g palm sugar, shaved
100 g yellow beans, mashed to a paste
3 tbsp fish sauce
½ mandarin, zested


Noodles
100 g rice vermicelli
1egg, for egg wash
Vegetable oil for deep-frying


Salad
4 stalks garlic chives, cut into 1 cm (1/3 in) lengths
1 red chilli, julienned
½ mandarin julienned
1 red eschalot, peeled and finely sliced
1 head pickled garlic, separated & finely sliced
50g hard bean curd, diced and deep-fried
½ cup coriander leaves

Method

Soak the noodles in water (from the tap will do) for 20 minutes until soft. Drain and spread out on absorbent paper to absorb any excess moisture. Separate the noodles into individual strands as much as possible.

Lightly brush the noodles with a little egg wash – this will make the noodles turn a golden colour when cooked.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok to between160˚C and 180˚C. Work with small bunches of noodles at a time, and drop them into the hot oil in batches. They should separate and cover the surface of the oil and look like a spider’s web. When it finishes sizzling (about 30 seconds), remove the noodles with a Chinese spider. Drain on absorbent paper. Repeat with the remaining noodles.

Heat the oil in a wok and stir-fry the pork and prawns separately until cooked. Drain away any excess liquid and set aside.

In a heavy-based pan, melt the palm sugar with a little water to help break down the sugar. Allow the sugar to caramelise, then add the yellow beans mandarin zest and fish sauce and combine until the consistency of a thick sauce. Remove from the heat and fold through the pork and prawn mixture. Set aside.

To combine, place the pork and prawn in a mixing bowl and add the mandarin juice. Mix well.

Toss in all the salad ingredients and lightly mix to bind all the ingredients together.

Break up the crisp noodles and toss through the salad. Serve at once, as the noodles lose their crispness if left to sit for too long.

Top with shredded omelette and a lime wedge on the side.