The beauty of Cantonese food is in its simplicity. The ingredients for this Garlic Prawn Vermicelli Pot are simple, using basic Chinese aromatics, staple ingredients, and fresh prawns. Yet the resulting flavours are amazing. With plump fresh prawns lying over a bed of flavoursome vermicelli, it’s a dish that never fails to impress. It’s an easy one to make at home, too. Traditionally, this dish is cooked & served in a claypot, but it’s perfectly fine to use your regular pots. In this article, I’m going to share with you my exact recipe for my take on this classic Chinese dish.
Why You’d Love This Chinese Garlic Prawn Vermicelli Pot Recipe
The recipe starts with extracting all the flavours from the head of the prawns, which is key to giving your broth an extra oomph. It’s utterly packed with flavours, especially the way the vermicelli soaks up all the glorious flavours and umami from the broth. This dish always steals the spotlight on the dinner table, and it’s so good to serve with a bowl of Jasmine rice, along with other typical Chinese dishes.
How to Make Garlic Prawn Vermicelli Pot at Home
Ingredients You Need
- Vermicelli – Longkou vermicelli is best suited for Chinese recipes. Rehydrate before use by soaking in warm water for 30 minutes till softened
- Whole Tiger Prawns – separate the heads and tails
- Ginger, Garlic, Spring Onions – the aromatics
- Light Soy Sauce, Dark Soy Sauce, Oyster Sauce
- Salt, White Pepper
- Chicken/Fish Stock – I used a mix of both*
- Sesame Oil
- Red Chillies, Fried Shallots, Fresh Coriander Leaves – for garnish
*See recipe notes
Cooking Tips & Recipe Notes
- Whole prawns are essential in this recipe. This is because the prawn heads are one of the main flavour contributors to the broth, which is a key part of this dish.
- The head of the prawn is where all the essence and best flavours are concentrated. Using prawn heads to cook a broth is like a secret flavour bomb trick. Hence, this recipe emphasises using fresh whole prawns, with the heads and tails separated, so that we can fully utilise the prawn heads to create the broth base.
- Light soy sauce adds a salty, savoury flavour to the dish, whereas dark soy sauce gives umami and colour. Both are needed for this recipe to achieve the best flavours.
- I like to use a mix of both chicken & fish stock for this recipe. For just fish stock alone, I find the final dish a little too fishy to taste. Whereas using just chicken stock alone is missing that extra touch of seafood oomph, in my opinion. Half fish stock and half chicken stock is the sweet spot for me.
- Traditionally, Chilli Garlic Prawn Vermicelli Pot is cooked and served in a clay pot. Cooking this recipe in a clay pot offers an extra layer of flavour and makes this dish even more irresistible. But don’t sweat over it if you don’t have one. It is completely fine to use your regular pots, and it’d still turn out delicious.
Discover More Halal Chinese Recipes
Chinese Steamed Fish
Cantonese Ketchup Prawns
Chinese Tomato Egg Stir Fry
Chinese Garlic Prawn Vermicelli Pot
A simple yet showstopping classic Chinese dish, this Garlic Prawn Vermicelli Pot is a dreamy dish to savour.
Equipment
- 1 Clay Pot* optional
Ingredients
- 10 Tiger Prawns (rinsed & trimmed) heads and tails separated
- 7 g Ginger sliced
- 4 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- 2-3 sprigs Spring Onions (white & green parts separated) chopped
- 1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
- ½ tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- ½ tsp White Pepper
- ½ tsp Salt and more to taste
- 1½ cup Chicken Stock & Fish Stock*
- 100 g Vermicelli soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
For garnish
- Red chillies
- Fried shallots
- Fresh Coriander Leaves
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add prawn heads and saute for a few minutes until fragrant. You'll see the prawn heads releasing their oils.10 Tiger Prawns (rinsed & trimmed)
- Add in chopped garlic, ginger, and spring onions. Stir fry for a few minutes until aromatic.7 g Ginger, 4 cloves Garlic, 2-3 sprigs Spring Onions (white & green parts separated)
- Stir in light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper, and salt.1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce, ½ tbsp Dark Soy Sauce, 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce, ½ tsp White Pepper, ½ tsp Salt
- Add in chicken/fish stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 15 minutes.1½ cup Chicken Stock & Fish Stock*
- When ready, remove and discard the prawn heads and ginger slices.
- Add the rehydrated vermicelli to the pot. Give it a little stir to make sure all the vermicelli is fully immersed in the broth.100 g Vermicelli
- Lay the prawn tails evenly on top of the vermicelli. Drizzle the sesame oil on top, then cover the pot and let it cook for about 10 minutes until the prawns are cooked through.1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- Top with the remaining green spring onions and garnishings.Red chillies, Fried shallots, Fresh Coriander Leaves
- Serve hot with jasmine rice and a side of chilli oil, if you like.
Notes
- Chinese Garlic Prawn Vermicelli Pot is traditionally cooked and served in a clay pot. Cooking in a clay pot offers an extra layer of flavour, but it’s still incredibly delicious using just your regular pots.
- Using whole prawns is highly recommended for this recipe. This is because you need the prawn heads to create a umami flavour-packed broth. The prawn heads are concentrated with prawn essence and flavours, hence the importance.
- I recommend using half chicken stock and half fish stock for this recipe. It is, of course, entirely up to you, but I find using just fish stock is too fishy to taste, whereas just chicken stock alone lacks a seafood oomph.
Save & pin this recipe!
