KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 — If you are hankering for a bowl of comforting chicken soup, try it laced with sweet-tasting rice wine and you may end up slurping it down to the last drop. Usually served as a one-bowl meal with silky wheat flour noodles known as mee sua, the Foochow version comes in a fiery red hue. Don’t worry, it’s not an indication of its spiciness, but the Foochows prefer to use red yeast rice, which is believed to be rich with iron and good for lowering cholesterol levels. Usually, this item is often found in Foochow strongholds, like Sitiawan, Yong Peng, Sarikei or Sibu.
It was originally concocted as a confinement dish to fortify the health of women who have just given birth. Some families also eat it for birthdays since the long smooth thin strands of mee sua are said to signify longevity. It’s also eaten for Chinese New Year. Nowadays, you can find the noodles served in a few places in the Klang Valley throughout the year.
It’s not hard to slurp down a whole bowl of the soup with its appetising sweet and savoury taste. The sweetness is attributed to the home brewed ang chow or rice wine made by fermenting a mixture of cooked glutinous rice and red yeast rice with water and wine cakes. Usually, the rice wine is filtered and bottled separately from the red rice wine lees, which is reserved for cooking.
The dish is always served with chicken pieces, fresh ginger slices, crunchy wood ear fungus and mee sua, which is often made in Foochow areas where the thin strands are hand pulled and strung on wooden frames to dry.
The white coloured strands are silky smooth when paired with the rich tasting soup. Eat it fast, as the noodles tend to absorb the broth quickly and expand.
When you are served a bowl of red rice wine mee sua, taste the soup first. If you prefer a stronger taste, you can request for additional rice wine to be added. Some stalls offer it free while others charge a nominal fee.
Taste of Foochow, 14, Jalan Gajah, Off Jalan Yew, Pudu, KL. Open daily: 8am to 4pm
Located in a quiet spot just off the busy Pudu market strip, this place is famous for its Foochow specialties like the red rice wine mee sua and Foochow fishballs stuffed with minced meat. During the weekends, they make the unusual Foochow fried pancake. Their version of red rice wine is a stronger one with tender chicken pieces and crunchy wood ear fungus.
Restoran Kah Ping, Lot 5, Lot 205, Jalan Gelugor, Off Jalan Meru, Klang. Open: 8am to 2pm. Closed on Thursdays.
Every Friday, this stall more famous for their mee hoon kueh serves up their red rice wine mee sua, which is true to their Foochow roots. Be patient and wait for your bowl, as they tend to be rather busy during lunch time.
Their version is filled with chunks of tender chicken and is served with a huge amount of mee sua. The couple who run the stall will oblige if you ask for an extra bowl of the soup, if you need more to slurp down your noodles. Other goodies around this stall include chicken rice and Penang style char kway teow.
No name shop, 21, Lintang Gangsa, Klang. Open: 8am to 3pm. Closed on Tuesdays.
Popular with the Klang folks, this shop is located in a quiet neighbourhood that also includes the famous Melawis char kway teow. The broth here tends to be a bit milder though with a light red hue. If you prefer, they also serve mee hoon kueh and curry noodles.
SRK Noodle House, 84, Jalan SS15/4B, Subang Jaya, PJ. Open:10am to 3pm, 5pm to 9pm. Closed every second Tuesday.
This Sarawak noodle specialist serves up an extensive list of noodles from East Malaysia to satisfy those who are homesick for a taste of their home, like kolo mee, tomato kway teow, kway chap and the list goes on. On a daily basis, you get the red rice wine noodles served with a choice of beehoon, kway teow or thin egg noodles. It’s topped with their homemade char siew. For the weekends only, they serve their red rice wine with mee sua, a piece of chicken leg and hard boiled egg. Even though the colour is not evidently red, the dish is a comforting one with the smooth chicken and an abundance of ginger slices.
Old Fuzhou Restaurant, 81, Jalan SS20/11, Damansara Kim, PJ. Open:11am to 3pm, 6pm to 9pm.
This restaurant specialises in Foochow dishes. Their red rice wine mee sua has a nice robust taste with the right amount of rice wine and crunchy wood ear fungus. If you can’t get enough of the fermented red rice wine, they also use the red wine lees or the residue to fry rice and even pork slices with it. This corner restaurant also serves noodle dishes like wantan mee and Hakka stewed pork noodles. They also do a la carte dishes you can enjoy with rice.
