mee krob

it doesn't look very appetizing, it doesn't sound very appetizing (i think it was one of the 'cursed words' in a south park episode), but man is mee krob tasty. traditionally made with shrimp and beef, this recipe is adapted from madhur jaffrey's vegetarian world of the east cookbook. it's basically a vegetable stir fry with deep fried noodles and egg folded in. very yummy. the ingredients are as follows:

• 6 oz. very thin vermicelli style rice noodles
• 1 large carrot, chopped (sometimes, i don't know what i'm making for dinner until halfway through, and chopping helps me to figure it out. in the picture you may notice i have brunoised the carrot, celery, shallot, and habenero - it might serve the recipe better to finely julliene these ingredients)
• 2 celery talks, chopped
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 habenero, chopped
• 1 small can seasoned, fried bean curd (or season and fry your own), julienned
• 1/2 a small can of bamboo shoots, julienned
• 3 chicken eggs
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce (the recipe calls for ketchup, which i don't have, but i had a mexican tomato sauce i had made the night before flavoured with cinnamon, which worked quite well)
• cilantro to garnish

first soak the rice noodles in warm water until al dente (~8 min), then drain and rinse thoroughly. allow to drain completely. heat oil at a depth of 2 inches or so in a wok to 360 degrees. lay a handful of noodles into the oil and fry for 2 minutes. flip over the noodle patty and fry on the other side until just barely brown. drain on kitchen paper and repeat with the remaining noodles. when finished frying drain off all but 2 tbs. of the oil (i just decant it into a bowl so i can strain it when it's cool). add all the veg to the wok save the bamboo shoots and tofu and stir fry vigorously over high heat for two minutes before adding said omissions. toss for 30 seconds or so before breaking in the eggs. make sure to break the yokes and stir fry until almost set before adding the tomato, soy, and mirin. break in the fried noodles. reduce heat to very low and cook, folding over every now and again until very dry ~15 min. garnish to your liking and serve with rice and your favourite sauce.
also, n.b. i had no scallions, ginger, or bean sprouts, i think all of these things would have improved the dish.