Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Prawns Misua (Flour Noodles)


Misua or Mee Sua is the Chinese name for this thin type of noodles. I am not sure if they have equivalent English name. The word literally means "Flour Threads." Wikipedia said they are made from wheat flour. Probably with salt too, because if you add misua to any dish, it will become salty.

So far, I am familiar with two kinds of misua. The first one is the one pictured below, the one used for this recipe. It is white, super thin, very thread-like, fragile, and is always used for soups. It softens and is cooked immediately when added to boiling liquids. The second one is a bit thicker than the one in the picture, sometimes white or off-white, or yellow; and is usually used for stir-fry (guisado). Although some cooks would use the thicker one in soups as well, if they are not used to cooking the thread-like ones.

I prefer to use the thread-like ones. Primarily because of the taste - it is cleaner, purer. Also because of the texture, it is softer. Especially for the kids.


Misua is a celebration dish for the Chinese. It signifies long life, thus you will find this dish on every table during the New Year or the Chinese New Year. And of course on every birthdays. This dish is always served with boiled eggs, which symbolizes new beginnings.

This dish is so easy to cook, and is a comfort food for the family. I cook this dish even when there is no occasion at all. :) These past few days have been damp and wet (It's the typhoon season here) and having a steaming hot bowl of misua made everybody feel warm and good.





To make four bowls, you need:

2 bunches of misua (flour thread noodles)
8 C broth (you can use chicken or pork or shrimp)
some minced garlic
1 chopped onion
a few slices of ginger
4 T canola or any cooking oil
4 pcs shiitake mushrooms, sliced
a handful of black seaweed ZiCai, optional
4 large prawns, steamed
4 eggs, boiled and shelled
spring onions, chopped


1. Heat up the cooking oil in a wok or a deep cooking pan. Saute the ginger until golden brown. Add in the onions and saute until softened. Add in the garlic and saute until fragrant but not burnt.

2. Add in the broth. Let boil, then add in the mushrooms and the seaweed.

3. When the soup boils, add in the misua, slowly dispersing each strand by mixing the misua in the soup. You have to disperse the strands or they will form a lump, which is not good... in texture and taste. The misua will cook very fast. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. When the pot boils again, you can ladle into soup bowls.

4. Top with one egg and one large prawn for each bowl. Sprinke with chopped spring onions. Serve immediately.




This misua is very versatile. You can use different meat and flavors for the misua. I used prawn broth and used the prawn meat as the topping. You can use chicken broth and use the chicken meat as topping. You can use various seafood, or pork or mutton or whatever ingredients you have. I think there is even a vegetarian version with tofu and mushrooms and various veggies.


Sharing this thin flour noodles dish with the Presto Pasta Nights food event, created and hosted this week by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. To see last week's delicious pasta recipes, please check out Kitchenetta's dairy-free zone Got No Milk.

10 comments:

ICook4Fun said...

Ning, thanks for stopping by at my blog. My mom used to cook this misua for us on our birthday with two hard boil eggs in it. Been a long while since I had this. Not sure if i am able to get misua here.

Ruth Daniels said...

Misua with Prawns seems perfect for the cold and rainy day we're having. Thanks for sharing with presto Pasta Nights.

Ruy said...

Hi! I love misua myself although I've never had it with prawns. Usually just meatballs and upo I think. This recipe looks aweome and very easy. Thanks!
-Hopped over from Oggi's =)

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

Misua is so comforting and perfect for the weather we've been having here too. It's supposedly summer here but it's been raining very hard the past few days. Feels like November around here these days.

Unknown said...

i absolutely love misua! but it is more challenging to find, compared to beehoon (thin rice noodles) or hor fun (thick rice noodles) or egg noodles...

i want i want i want

tigerfish said...

Cooking misua needs more attention than other noodles coz if cooked too long, it becomes mushy and sticky.

Now, I'm going to tuck into your misua :)

Soli Deo Gloria said...

icook4fun, you can substitute other thin noodles for misua, like angel hair pasta? but then of course, the taste would be different. have you tried the Asian groceries in your area?

Ruth, I am looking forward to joining more Presto Pasta Nights!

Ruy, I just hopped over your blog too! :)

Eating Club Vancouver, it is raining in summer over there? and I thought only the weather here is wierd... :)

Mochachocolatarita, I heard that hor fun is more popular than misua in HK. Misua is more popular in the Fujian province of China where our ancestors came from, hence the popularity here...

I agree with you Tigerfish. We cannot overcook the misua. I was not able to mention that in my post. Thanks for the reminder! :)

Anonymous said...

I adore mee suah ... and I'm going to try cooking it some day ... and oh I lurrve the huge prawn you have there ;)

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