Misua Soup is a popular Fujianese dish enjoyed at birthday parties in China to celebrate a healthy and long life.
The soup is prepared with Miswa noodles, hair-thin salted wheat vermicelli that cook incredibly fast in boiling water.
Our homemade Misua Noodles recipe features the traditional Fujianese noodles served in a steaming chicken broth topped with plump pork meatballs, poached eggs, crispy fried shallots, sliced scallions and spicy chili crisp.
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What Is Misua Soup?
Misua (also known as Mee Sua, Mee Suah and Miswa) is a Chinese soup made with wheat vermicelli noodles.
The noodles themselves are referred to as Miswa. They are unique in that they are a very thin variety of salted noodles made with wheat flour.
The noodles differ from mifen (rice vermicelli) and cellophane noodles in that those varieties are made from rice and mung beans.
The dish has its origins in Fujian and is now popular across mainland China and countries with large Chinese diaspora. Misua Soup is cooked during important festivities, and eaten in mainland China as well in Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and particularly in both Taiwan and the Philippines, which have the highest populations of Fujianese.
Misua Soup signifies long life in Chinese culture, and as such is a traditional birthday food. Because of this, it is often discouraged to chew or cut misua noodles. The comforting soup is usually served with ingredients like poached eggs, meatballs, tofu, shiitake mushroom, beef, shallots, or scallions, roasted nuts or fried fish.
Travel to Hong Kong by Cooking Misua Noodle Soup at Home
I love traveling through Asia.
My first visit to Asia had me living in South Korea for a year as a teacher and it’s where I was first introduced to fermented vegetables like kimchi.
After my contract ended in Seoul I travelled throughout southeast Asia for 6 months, visiting the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
Growing up in Markham, home to Canada’s largest community of Hong Kongers, helped me fall in love with Misua Soup at a young age. The popular noodle dish is served at many Chinese restaurants, especially those with a specialty in Fujianese cuisine, of which there are a plethora in Vancouver, Mississaugua, Scarborough, Markham and Montreal.
I’ve eaten my way through some of Hong Kong’s best restaurants during my 5 visits to the bustling East Asian city. After slurping a bowl of Misua Soup in the iconic dishes birthplace, it became one of my favourite Chinese dishes.
Whether you’ve slurped Misua Noodles in Hong Kong or your local neighbourhood restaurant, it’s no wonder the delicious soup is revered around the world as one of the best Asian comfort foods!
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My Family Loves Chinese Misua Noodles
My family has always loved ordering Chinese takeout. It helped that we lived in Markham with so many Cantonese restaurant options at our doorstep.
We typically order Chinese takeout on Christmas Eve as my mom likes to avoid having to do a lot of dishes around the holidays. Christmas dinner takes an entire day for us to prepare so enjoying take out the night before the big day is a yummy tradition, which involves very little clean up!
I love asking friends what their families favourite Thai, Indian or Chinese takeout orders were growing up. So much of our love for food is passed down by our parents. When a friend mentions a family-favourite Chinese takeout dish I’ve ever tried I always add it to my to do list!
My family’s classic Chinese takeout order always includes Egg Rolls, Crispy Ginger Beef, Cong You Bing Green Onion Cakes, Chinese Cucumber Salad, Singapore Chow Mei Fun and Misua Noodle Soup.
On a cold day in the winter I made this easy Misua Noodles recipe. It’s the perfect comforting soup to warm you up on a chilly day.
The thin noodles are tender and offer the perfect slurp when eaten with chopsticks. The plump meatballs and tender poached egg offer plenty of protein while crunchy fried shallots and chili crisp offer drool-worthy textural contrast.
Where To Eat A Traditional Mee Sua Recipe
If you live in a large North American city you’ll likely have access to a local Chinese restaurant that serves authentic Misua Soup.
Haven’t traveled to China before? It may be helpful to first sample Misua Noodles at a local restaurant to better understand how the soup is served. You can determine the ideal Miswa noodle to broth ratio, number of meatballs to serve in each bowl and your favourite garnishes to serve on the side.
In Toronto, popular Chinese restaurants that may serve Mee Sua include Not Just Noodles, Rol San, Chop Chop, Swatow, Hutaoli, Yueh Tung Hakka Restaurant and Crown Princess.
Misua Soup Recipe Health Benefits
Our Misua Soup recipe is packed full of healthy ingredients!
Pork is an excellent source of protein and provides several important vitamins and minerals. It’s an excellent source of thiamin, selenium, niacin, vitamin B-6 and phosphorus, zinc, riboflavin and potassium.
It is only recently that scientists have begun to identify the components responsible for garlic’s myriad health benefits. Rich in phytochemicals and potassium, garlic helps boost your immune system, fight cancer and protect your heart.
Eggs contain two vital nutrients that are not present in many foods: iodine and vitamin D. Eggs are also rich in tissue-building protein and vitamin B12, which helps your body manufacture blood cells.
A useful source of copper, calcium, manganese, and phosphorus, sesame seeds help support circulatory, digestive and skeletal health.
Whole wheat flour is rich in vitamins B-1, B-3, and B-5, along with riboflavin and folate. It also has more iron, calcium, protein, and other nutrients than white flour.
Scallions are a humble vegetable packed with vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Regular consumption of onions can help boost digestive health and reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
Misua Noodles Recipe Cooking Tips
This restaurant-style Misua Noodles recipe is quick and easy to make at home. We’ve included a few tips and tricks to get you started.
- You can purchase dried Miswa noodles at a Chinese supermarket or online.
- Miswa are usually sold in small bundles. Dried mee sua noodles are extremely brittle. They break into small pieces easily, so make sure you store them properly so they don’t get broken into tiny pieces.
- We’ve used Chinese Shaoxing wine in this recipe but you can substitute with dry sherry if you can’t find it at your local grocery store or Asian market.
- We’ve used ground pork because it is traditional in this soup but you can get use a mixture of minced chicken and beef if you prefer.
- Since the noodles are “hair-thin” cooking Miswa usually takes less than 1 minute in boiling water. Do not over cook or they will get sticky and clump together.
- We like to poach the eggs in the soup broth but you can also fry them in a pan if you prefer.
What To Serve with Misua Soup
There’s nothing more comforting on a cold day then cozying up to a bowl of Misua Noodle Soup.
We like to make these Chinese noodles as a hearty lunch or dinner accompanied by a selection of sauces like rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and hot sauce.
If you’re hosting a multi-course Chinese dinner serve Miswa with your favourite entrees featuring pork, chicken, beef or seafood. You may like serving Misua Soup with these other popular Chinese recipes:
- Chinese Pan Fried Pork Buns Sheng Jian Bao
- Easy Frozen Air Fryer Dumplings, Potstickers, Gyoza
- Chicken Yuk Sung Chinese Lettuce Wraps
- Singapore Chow Mei Fun Noodles
- Spicy Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup
- Chinese Wonton Egg Drop Soup
- Chinese Ginger Garlic Soup Recipe for Colds
- Green Onion Cake Cong You Bing
- Chinese Cucumber Salad
- Sweet and Sour Pork Meatball
You May Also Enjoy These Soup Recipes…
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- Romanian Soup Ciorba de Perisoare
- Veg Thukpa Recipe: Healthy Tibetan Noodle Soup
- Penang Prawn Noodle Soup Hokkien Mee
How To Make Authentic Chinese Misua Noodle Soup
Misua Chinese Meatball Wheat Vermicelli Noodle Soup
Equipment
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- French knife
- saucepan
- Mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 250 g Ground Pork
- 1 tsp Soy Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 2 tbsp Canola Oil
- 3 Garlic Cloves minced
- 750 ml Chicken Stock
- 100 g Dried Wheat Vermicelli Mee Sua
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Fish Sauce
- 0.5 tsp Sesame Oil
- 2 tsp Chinese Cooking Wine
- 1 tbsp Fried Shallots garnish
- 1 tbsp Spicy Chili Crisp sliced
- 1/4 cup Scallions sliced
Instructions
- Combine the ground pork, soy sauce, and pepper in a small bowl, then shape into small meatballs, approximately the size of a walnut.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. When hot, add the garlic and saute until golden and fragrant. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a gentle boil.
- Drop the meatballs into the stock, then add the vermicelli. Simmer until the noodles are soft and the meatballs are cooked through, around 6-8 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one by one, to poach gently, then season with fish sauce, sesame oil,
- Garnish with crispy fried shallots, spicy chili crisp and sliced scallions. Serve immediately while hot as the vermicelli absorb liquid quickly.
Nutrition
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