Flour Vermicelli (Mee Suah)

A bag of mee suah bought in Sitiawan, Malaysia, which is famous for its hand-made mee suah

Flour vermicelli (mee suah/面线), as its name suggests, is vermicelli (a type of noodles) that is made of wheat. The ingredients in this type of noodles are mainly wheat flour, salt and water.

See Also: Birthday Mee Sua Recipe

Names
Simplified Chinese: 面线
Traditional Chinese: 麵線
Mandarin Pinyin: Mian Xian
Hokkein: Mee Suah
Cantonese: Min seen

In Singapore, it is quite commonly referred to as “Mee Suah” (Hokkein dialect).

Uses
These noodles are commonly used in classic Chinese dishes like “longevity noodles” (eaten on birthdays) and “ang zao mee suah” (mee suah cooked in red glutinuous wine). They are often arranged in small bundles before being packed in a box or bag. The noodles cook really fast (like about 2 minutes in boiling water).

A common way to cook the mee suah is to first rinse them in cold water to remove the starch, then cook in a wok or pot of boiling water with a bit of oil added for about 2-3 minutes, separating the strands with chopsticks. The water is drained and the noodles are then set in a serving bowl with added ingredients and soup stock. Because of the noodles ability to absorb water and clump together, they are best eaten immediately after cooking. They can also be used in noodles stir-fries.

Storage
Store mee suah (sealed) in a cool and dry place.

Recipes
Check out recipes with mee suah as a key ingredient.

Further Reading

• Wiki-Misua