If You're in a Hurry: Bring the water to a near-boil, then remove from heat. Soak noodles in this water for 10-20 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. The noodles should soften but not "cook". When they are tender enough to eat (but still firm and a little "crunchy"), drain and run through with cold water. Then pour 1 tsp. of canola oil onto noodles and mix through with your hands (this will keep them from sticking together).
Note: Be careful not to over-soften them, or they'll become soggy once they're stir-fried.
For this recipe, you will also need:
- 3 Tbsp. each of: fish sauce, rice vinegar (or white vinegar), and soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 red chillies (2 makes this dish very spicy), minced
- 1 tsp. brown sugar
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 8-12 medium or large fresh raw prawns
- optional: 1/2 to 1 cup cooked chicken, and/or 1 cup tofu, cut into cubes
- 1 egg
- approximately 2 cups bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup each of fresh coriander and fresh basil
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- canola oil, or other good-quality oil for stir-frying
- optional: 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, ground or roughly chopped
- optional: shrimp-flavored crushed chilli
