On my the list of comfort foods, this one sits pretty much at the top of the list. It’s soupy, gingery, and boozy. And when you’re sick or feeling down, being able to slurp down these noodles makes you quite literally warm inside. Which also makes it perfect for the cooler, rainier days ahead.
Even though it’s not something my mother cooked, I still associate it with home-food. And like many of those types of dishes in Australia, very few restaurants actually serve it. I only know of one restaurant that makes this, but since the munchkin was born, it’s not been as easy as it used to be to head there on a whim for dinner, and we’re not in their delivery catchment area.
There was nothing for it. I would have to try to reproduce it myself.
Surprisingly (or not), I can’t even find a recipe for this online. Surprising, because I figured this was common home-style food. Unsurprising, because home-style food execution will vary from home to home, let alone region. I found a few similar things, but none of the specific variation I know.
Fair warning, this recipe is a little rough, so add more or less of the items to suit your tastes. I personally would go hard on the ginger and Chinese cooking wine, but that’s just me. I’ve also seen substitutions for mee sua or wheat vermicelli, but I don’t think the texture ends up quite right. If you really can’t find it (Asian grocers), Japanese somen is probably the closest.
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4 people
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- 500 g chicken wings cut into three segments, or just get a pack of wing nibble pieces which omits the wing tips
- sesame oil
- thumb ginger julienned
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1.5 cups Shaoxing Chinese cooking wine divided, plus extra
- 1 handful rehydrated black fungus thinly sliced
- 1/2 can quail eggs optional, see notes
- salt and white pepper to taste
- 4 bundles mee sua see notes
Ingredients
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- Heat 2-3 tablespoons of sesame oil (more or less depending on how strong you want the sesame oil flavour) in a medium-large pot.
- Fry the ginger until it starts to brown and becomes fragrant. This won’t take long. Remove the ginger and set aside.
- Brown the chicken pieces. In batches depending on the size of your pot.
- Return the ginger and chicken to the pot, and add the stock, 1 cup wine, fungus.
- Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
- Add 1/2 cup of wine and the quail eggs (if using), and simmer for a few more minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Cook the mee sua according to instructions.
- Divide the mee sua into bowls, top with the soup. Finish with a little sesame oil and more wine if you want it stronger.
Mee sua tends to come in bundles that roughly work out to be one per person. Otherwise, check the serving sizes on the label and go with that.
The images included this post include chicken hearts, giblets, and quail eggs because I felt like adding them in. They’re not usually part of this dish. If you’re not an offal person, skip the offal bits, but I would recommend at least adding in the quail eggs because they’re delicious.
The recipe was pretty conservative with the sesame oil, ginger, and wine. Add more as you like.