Warm and nostalgic, Misua Soup is a soft and smooth noodle soup dish that evokes many special memories for my family. It’s the kind of food that grandma would make when one is ill – the ultimate comfort food! Not to mention, it’s also very simple, fast and appetising to make.
Ingredients
Misua, which is also spelt as “mee sua(h)” or “miswa”, refers to wheat vermicelli. It’s known for its super soft, thin, smooth velvet-like texture as it goes down the throat. Not to be confused with glass noodles, which are made from mung beans.
For this recipe, I used a thicker type that withstood heat from boiling water for over 5 minutes. If using the thin version, add the misua in at the 2nd last minute of cooking.
Thin slices of pork and fishballs accompanied my misua soup this time around, which can be substituted with chicken and/ or egg. Any thinly sliced or minced meat is preferred as the cooking time for the misua noodles is quite short.
For the soup base, any stock will do. Chicken/ pork/ anchovy stock works wonders; but if unavailable, plain water with oyster sauce works well too. Be sure to adjust the salt and other seasonings to taste.
Lastly, I love pairing any soup dish with luffa, which is also known as “angled gourd”. It’s sweet and very soft once cooked – in fact, they release so much sweetness into the soup, you’d think at least some sugar was added (nope, not at all!) Other sweet vegetables work well here too: hairy gourd, winter melon, bok choy, and even choy sum!
Steps
Here are the brief steps of cooking the Misua Soup:
- Skin, wash and cut the luffa into bite-sized pieces.
- Marinate the meat with salt.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combined chicken stock, pepper and oyster sauce.
- Once boiling, add marinated meat.
- Add misua, fishballs and luffa.
- Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Taste and adjust.
- Dish out and garnish with chopped spring onions, crispy fried garlic and cut red chillies.
Tips
- If using thin misua, or Japanese somen noodles, add it in the last 2 minutes of cooking.
- The amount of fishballs can be adjusted.
- Other ingredients such as fu chok (tofu skin), minced meat, and sesame oil can be added as preferred.
- Omit cut chillies for a non-spicy misua soup dish.
- Make sure to watch the full video to see how I made it exactly!
Storage Instructions
As misua noodles absorb the soup and turn into a starchy mush fairly quickly, it’s not recommended to store this dish. It’s best to consume immediately after cooking.
Let’s Eat!
Very delicious! The soup has a distinct sweetness that only comes from boiling luffa, while the pork meat is very tender and tasty. The generous toppings are very aromatic, and the crispy garlic bits release a burst of earthy, caramelized flavour throughout the meal.
The luffa melts in the mouth and the misua noodles slide so smoothly through the throat. This is one satisfying meal indeed!
If you have enjoyed this recipe, why not give Chicken Soup with Luffa a try? Happy cooking 😀
