Authentic Chinese Vermicelli - Ants Climbing The Trees (蚂蚁上树)

1. Soak about 200g of Mung Bean vermicelli in water for at least 2 hours.  The authentic recipe calls for Sweet Potato Starch/Vermicelli.  If Sweet Potato Vermicelli is used then boil them in the hot water for about 15-20 minutes since they take more time to get soft from soaking into the water.

2. Prepare the following ingredients for 1/6 pound of ground pork

• Mince 3 cloves of garlic
• Mince about 1/2 inch of ginger
• Chop 2-3 Thai chili (Skip this if you don't like it to be hot)
• Set aside 1.5 tsp of spicy soy bean paste (豆瓣酱)
• Alternatively, if you only have the regular/non-spicy black or yellow salty bean at home then you can make it spicy as follows: Add 2 tsp of oil in the wok and add chili powder and 1.5 tsp of black or yellow salty bean.  Mix thoroughly for about 30 seconds and remove
• Set aside 1/2 tsp of Sichuan pepper
• 2-3 dried chili

3. Also, prepare the following additional ingredients for the dish:

• 1 stalk of green onion.  Cut it into half to separate the white part and green part.  For the white part, further divide it into half and shred them into vertical strips. Mince the green part.
• Shred one stalk of celery into strips.  Alternatively, half of the yellow bell pepper or bell pepper of your color choice could be used.
• 3/4 cup of chicken stock or water
• 1 tsp of Shoa Xing cooking Wine
• 1 tsp of light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp of dark soy sauce (for the color)
• 1 tsp of oyster sauce

4. Add 2-3 tsp of oil into the wok.  Follow these steps:

• Add Sichuan pepper and dried chili to the oil.  Stir fry for about 30 seconds til fragrant.  Remove them from the wok.  
• Add minced garlic and ginger. 
• Add the ground pork and stir fry on low heat until it is thoroughly cooked.
• Add chopped Thai chili (skip this step if you don't want the dish to be hot)
• Add spicy soy bean paste (豆瓣酱) and stir fry them together
• Add chicken stock or water
• Add Vermicelli
• Add Shoa Xing cooking wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce
• Stir all ingredients thoroughly.  Then, cover the wok with the lid and let them cook for about 2-3 minutes
• Add shredded celery/yellow bell pepper and stir fry them about another minute
• Add shredded green onion and minced green onion and stir fry briefly 

5. Transfer to the plate and serve.