Vietnamese Crispy Noodles With Stir Fried Shrimp and Veggies- “Mi Xao Tom” Recipe + Video

Crispy “birds nest” aka Vietnamese crispy noodle with stir fried shrimp and vegetables.

This is a relatively easy dish but it requires a lot of prep work. I like my noodles very crispy and vegetables also has to be firm with a crisp. I DESPISE mushy noodles & veggies, and over cooked shrimp especially in stir fried recipes. So the best way for everything in your mi xao to be nice and crisp is to cook EVERYTHING separately.

Shrimp Marinade

1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 tsp vegetable powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 sugar
1 tsp oyster sauce

Vegetables
4 garlic cloves minced
1/2 lb broccoli (trimmed)
1/3 lb green snow peas (ends cut off)
2-3 carrots (sliced on diagonal, about 1/3 lb cut)
1 red pepper (about 1/4 lb cut)
Mushroom
1/3 lb Bok Choy

2 tbs light olive oil
1 half onion (sliced, moon shapes)
3 garlic cloves- peeled and minced

Corn starch veggie sauce / mixture
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tbs +1 tsp fish sauce (you can use up to 2 tbs)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
1 teaspoon shaoxing cooking wine
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tsp veggie powder
1 1/2 TBS tapioca starch or cornstarch
1/2 cup water

3 tbs light olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
3 garlic cloves minced

Vegetable oil- enough for deep frying

PREPARATION
1. Mix shrimp marinade ingredients and toss in shrimp and let marinade for at least 10-15 min.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add in garlic, onions until fragrant.
3. Wash and trim all veggies.
4. Heat up a pot of boiling water with 1 tbs oil.
5. Add all vegetables in, one vegetable at a time, carrots, then mushrooms, then broccoli etc, blanch for just about 2-5 seconds and remove and strain, then put into an ice or cold water bath and let completely strain and set aside.
6. Boil fresh pot of water. Separate noodles then cook noodles to specifications on package, let drain and pat dry (these can’t be wet when deep frying or you’ll get lots of splatter). Divide into about 4-5 bundles.
7. Make sauce- In a bowl, combine all veggie sauce ingredients, mix and set aside.
8 . Heat up 2 tbs light olive oil in pan and then add garlic and onions until fragrant, then add shrimp til cooked through, and add a little water like 1/4 cup to help it cook some, then put aside in a bowl.
9. Heat up 3 tbs light olive oil in pan and then add 3 minced garlic cloves until slightly browned then add 1/2 onion chopped and immediately add all your veggies into the pan over high heat.
10. Stir sauce then add half of your sauce into veggie mixture with 1/4 to 1/2 cup water and stir.
11. Then add your shrimp with heat off and stir and set aside
12. Heat up a pan of oil, you need enough oil to deep fry and submerge noodles in, about 1” deep.
5. Take a noodle portion and slide into hot oil. Unravel noodles and drop in the noodle, just one bundle at a time. Use the chopsticks to wiggle around noodles and maneuver the noodle in the wok so it’s in a nice circular layer. About 30-60 seconds one side, then flip with chopsticks and let cook for another few seconds until center is crisp. Take out once golden brown and allow to drain on paper towel. Repeat until noodles are all cooked.
6. Place veggies ontop, then seafood on top of crispy noodles!
break off some crispy noodles, then add some sauce veggies and seafood!

Garnish with fresh black pepper, cilantro and scallions!