STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
Sliced Fish Mee Sua is a healthy lunch option using simple and common ingredients like Batang fish, Mee Sua and Chye Sim. Mee Sua actually originates from Fujian province. It is a very thin white noodle made of wheat flour which breaks easily. Most Chinese, especially the Hokkien and Foochow, like to eat mee sua on their birthdays as it is also known as Longevity Noodle (Chang Shou Mian). It is also a must-eat food during the Chinese Lunar New Year or ‘Pai Ta So’ celebration for older folk above 80 years of old.
TRICK OF THE TRADE
Mee Sua is usually sold in a box of 6 individual bundles. To preserve mee sua, lots of salt is added to it. Hence, during cooking, it is best to use a big pot of water to reduce the salt content.
Sliced Fish Mee Sua can be prepared in an hour, but if you are like me and keep extra soup stock in the freezer, this dish can be prepared in just 35 minutes! Quick, simple and delicious!
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WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DISH
- It’s a healthy and simple dish to make and eat. Who can say no to healthy fish and soup?
- It’s fast to prepare if you have extra stock in your freezer! A tip is to save some stock for the future.
HOW TO MAKE SLICED FISH MEE SUA
Wash the batang fillet and cut into half cross-sectionally. Slice the fish cross-sectionally into thick slices (about 1/2 cm thick).
Add the marinade ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Add the fish slices into the marinade mixture and set aside.
Remove the skin from the ginger, then wash and cut into thin slices.
Wash the spring onion and cut into small pieces.
Rinse the yellow soya beans.
Set 2 litres of water to boil.
In a separate pot, heat 1 TBsp oil over high fire. Add in the sliced ginger and fry until fragrant but not burnt.
Quickly pour the 2 litres of boiling water into the pot and bring to a boil.
Add the yellow beans and allow to simmer over medium heat for about 25 mins until the beans are softened.
When the beans are softened, add in 1 tsp of salt. In the same pot, blanch the Chye Sim for 1-2 mins, then transfer the Chye Sim to a plate. Continue to cook the yellow soya bean soup over medium heat
Meanwhile, in a wok, add about 3 litres of water and bring to a boil. Then place one bundle of mee sua into the wok and use a chopstick to loosen the mee sua during the process of cooking. You can cook the mee sua for 2 mins or longer if you want it softer.
Transfer the mee sua to individual bowls and add the Chye Sim to each bowl.
Turn up the heat for the soup to high, until it is boiling (not just simmering) Then quickly add in all the fish slices (but not the marinade) into the soup, and give it a gentle stir with a ladle. Then turn off the heat immediately.
Scoop the soup and the fish into the individual bowls over the Mee Sua and Chye Sim.
Add a dash of pepper and garnish with spring onion and fried shallots and serve hot.
Add soya sauce and salt to taste.
MARKETING TIPS
- For tips on how to choose fresh Batang fish, see my tutorial on The 10 Things You MUST Know About Choosing the Freshest Fish.
- Here’s the recipe link to the Golden Crispy Shallots recipe.
COOKING TIPS
- Fry the ginger with oil over high heat until aromatic, then quickly pour hot boiling water into the wok. The sizzle that is created adds flavour to the soup. This is called ‘Wok Hei’ in Cantonese.
- Add Ginger to rid the soup of the fishy smell.
- Add cornflour to the fish marinade to give the fish a smoother texture and also prevents it from overcooking.
- Do not over cook the fish. The moment the fish slices are added to the soup, give the soup a quick stir and turn off the heat immediately. The fish will be just about cooked. Do not slice the fish too thin or too thick. The thickness will affect the cooking time.
HOW TO COOK MEE SUA
- Don’t wash the mee sua. As I explained in my tutorial for how not to cook sago, mee sua is coated with flour and salt to preserve it, so if you wash it, it will become very starchy and gluey. Instead, cook the mee sua separately in one big pot of water (not the broth, otherwise the broth will become starchy) and ensure that the water must be boiling before you put the mee sua bundle in, otherwise it will stick together and become lumpy.
- Cook mee sua one bundle at a time, spreading it out with chopsticks during the cooking process, otherwise it will stick together to form one big lump of flour.
- Use a lot of water or the mee sua will be very salty and gluey. If you notice the water turning starchy, add in more boiling water, otherwise it will be difficult for the heat to penetrate through the starchy water.
- Don’t cook the mee sua for too long, 2-3 minutes should suffice.
- Add the soup to the mee sua only when you are about to serve it, otherwise the mee sua will soak up all the soup and become soggy.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Vegetarian Bee Hoon (Zai Mi Fen) Recipe
Indonesian Fish Perkedel Recipe
The 10 Things You MUST Know About Choosing the Freshest Fish
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS
- Child-Friendly: No modifications needed.
- Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
- Gluten-Free: Use gluten free sauces instead
- Nut-Free: No modifications needed.
- Shellfish-Free: No modifications needed.
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Sliced Fish Mee Sua
Ingredients
- 400-450 g Batang Fish
- 5 bundles Mee Sua
- 100 g Soya Bean Yellow Coloured
- 150 g Chye Sim
- 4-6 slices Ginger
- 1 TBsp Oil
- 2 litre Boiling Water
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Light Soy Sauce
- A dash Pepper to taste
Marinade for Fish
- 150 ml Water
- 1/2 tsp Oil
- 1 TBsp Corn Flour
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Garnishing and Sauce
- 4 TBsp Crispy Shallots For garnishing
- 2 sprigs Spring Onion For garnishing
- 3-4 chilli padi For sauce
Instructions
PREPARATION METHOD
- Wash the batang fillet and cut into half cross-sectionally. Slice the fish cross-sectionally into thick slices (about 1/2 cm thick).
- Add the marinade ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Add the fish slices into the marinade mixture and set aside.
- Remove the skin from the ginger, then wash and cut into thin slices.
- Wash the spring onion and cut into small pieces.
- Rinse the yellow soya beans.
COOKING METHOD
- Set 2 litres of water to boil.
- In a separate pot, heat 1 TBsp oil over high fire. Add in the sliced ginger and fry until fragrant but not burnt.
- Quickly pour the 2 litres of boiling water into the pot and bring to a boil.
- Add the yellow beans and allow to simmer over medium heat for about 25 mins until the beans are softened.
- When the beans are softened, add in 1 tsp of salt. In the same pot, blanch the Chye Sim for 1-2 mins, then transfer the Chye Sim to a plate. Continue to cook the yellow soya bean soup over medium heat
- Meanwhile, in a wok, add about 3 litres of water and bring to a boil. Then place one bundle of mee sua into the wok and use a chopstick to loosen the mee sua during the process of cooking. You can cook the mee sua for 2 mins or longer if you want it softer.
- Transfer the mee sua to individual bowls and add the Chye Sim to each bowl.
- Turn up the heat for the soup to high, until it is boiling (not just simmering) Then quickly add in all the fish slices (but not the marinade) into the soup, and give it a gentle stir with a ladle. Then turn off the heat immediately.
- Scoop the soup and the fish into the individual bowls over the Mee Sua and Chye Sim.
- Add a dash of pepper and garnish with spring onion and fried shallots and serve hot.
- Add soya sauce and salt to taste.
Notes
MARKETING TIPS
- For tips on how to choose fresh Batang fish, see my tutorial on The 10 Things You MUST Know About Choosing the Freshest Fish.
- Here's the recipe link to the Golden Crispy Shallots recipe.
COOKING TIPS
- Fry the ginger with oil over high heat until aromatic, then quickly pour hot boiling water into the wok. The sizzle that is created adds flavour to the soup. This is called 'Wok Hei' in Cantonese.
- Add Ginger to rid the soup of the fishy smell.
- Add cornflour to the fish marinade to give the fish a smoother texture and also prevents it from overcooking.
- Do not over cook the fish. The moment the fish slices are added to the soup, give the soup a quick stir and turn off the heat immediately. The fish will be just about cooked. Do not slice the fish too thin or too thick. The thickness will affect the cooking time.
HOW TO COOK MEE SUA
- Don't wash the mee sua. As I explained in my tutorial for how not to cook sago, mee sua is coated with flour and salt to preserve it, so if you wash it, it will become very starchy and gluey. Instead, cook the mee sua separately in one big pot of water (not the broth, otherwise the broth will become starchy) and ensure that the water must be boiling before you put the mee sua bundle in, otherwise it will stick together and become lumpy.
- Cook mee sua one bundle at a time, spreading it out with chopsticks during the cooking process, otherwise it will stick together to form one big lump of flour.
- Use a lot of water or the mee sua will be very salty and gluey. If you notice the water turning starchy, add in more boiling water, otherwise it will be difficult for the heat to penetrate through the starchy water.
- Don't cook the mee sua for too long, 2-3 minutes should suffice.
- Add the soup to the mee sua only when you are about to serve it, otherwise the mee sua will soak up all the soup and become soggy.