Ang Chiu Mee Suah

Hi all, I know I’ve said before that the recipe for this dish would remain secret but I plan to submit this post to Heritage Food Trail. So for the sake of this reason, hope y’all would be okay with this repeated post and pictures.

The ingredients are not so much a secret but it’s the method of cooking that’s a bit complex. Even if you have a literal step-by-step recipe laid out…it takes a few practises to get the taste right. And this method is distinctively our family’s own, I don’t think ang chiu mee suah purists would approve. 😛

Ang Chiu Mee Suah is a Foochow dish. You’ll find this very common among the folks in Sitiawan and Sarawak. Oh, did I mention that I’m a Foochow from Sarawak and my husband’s a Foochow from Sitiawan? 🙂 It’s funny how worlds’ apart can collide in fated coincidences. When we got married, my husband was just ecstatic when he found out I could make mee suah because if there are few things a typical Sitiawan man loves, it’s mee suah, ko ro (fish maw soup) and kong piah (Foochow savoury biscuits).

Ang Chiu Mee Suah means Mee Suah in Red Rice Wine. Mee Suah are long, thin noodles that is usually sold in dried form. Handling them can be very tricky because they’re rather brittle. Making mee suah by hand is a rare art nowadays but you’ll occasionally find those mee suah masters still stretching out the long noodles in their backyard.

This recipe is a merger of the Sarawak version, the way I remember my mother and my grandmother makes it, with the Sitiawan blood red version. The main important ingredient is this red rice wine (ang chiu) (pic below). You might not be able to get this anywhere else but Sarawak and Sitiawan….as fas as I know. It’s easier to get the noodles but not the wine.

I shall not give out exact portions for this recipe, but I have to say, it’s best to just make a big batch with a whole chicken than to make small portions. So be sure to invite your friends and family members to come help you EAT!

ANG CHIU MEE SUAH

Ingredients;

A whole chicken, cut into about 16 pieces preferably with skins removed except for the thighs and drums
A whole, big ginger, cut into slices
Dried shitake mushrooms, about a handful, soaked in hot water till soft
Gojiberries (kei chi), about 1/2 cup
A whole bottle and a 1/2 of ang chiu, shaken to get the sediments
Mee Suah noodles
Sesame oil
Salt
Pepper
Pre-made fresh Chicken stock , about 4 litres
Water
Hard-boiled eggs (for special occasions!)

Steps;

1. Pour a little sesame oil in a deep pot with the heat on, before it gets too smoky, add your ginger quickly and stir-fry for few minutes.
2. Throw in all your chicken pieces and semi-cook them. Then empty the entire bottle and a 1/2 of ang chiu. Stir the chicken around in the wine and let it simmer for maybe 10 mins.
3. Pour in all the chicken stock. Throw the soft shitake into the soup. Add your gojiberries as well.
4. Let everything come to a boil and let it simmer in low heat for 2 and a half hours. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper after that.
5. After 2 and a half hours, skim off the oil floating on top.
6. To cook mee suah, heat a pot of water and boil the mee suah till it’s soft and tender. Place in a deep bowl and ladle soup on top with meat, mushrooms and egg. Eat IMMEDIATELY! Do not wait or the mee suah will suck up the soup making it bloated.

IMPORTANT Notes; If you have to cook the noodles in several batches, change to fresh water eveytime because the water will get starchy and gluey. What I like to do with the eggs is soak them in the ang chiu soup just before cooking the noddles so it would get that red colour to match with everything else.

For the previous post on this, click here.