longevity noodles in soup

Longevity noodles (commonly known as "mee sua" are long strands of noodles made from flour. The Chinese believe that longevity noodle represent a long and healthy life. Although these noodles are traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year, nowadays it is common to eat them at any time of the year.

In my mother's hometown of Muar in Malaysia, longevity noodles are not only served in soup. Longevity noodles fried with gravy is also a popular dish.

According to traditional custom, one should not break the long strands of the noodles when eating them and should instead consume the noodles whole. The belief is that breaking the noodles is bad luck and would break one's long and healthy life.

For me, when the noodles are well cooked, they are so delicious that you would tend to slurp up the noodles and hence, chances are that the noodles do not get broken when you consume them anyway.

I have set out in this post my mother's recipe for longevity noodles in soup. I have not included the proportion for each ingredient because it is up to your personal preference. (Actually, the real reason is that as usual, my mother would say "if it is not salty enough, add more salt", etc. *grin*)

Ingredients

longevity noodles (one stack per person)
sesame oil
dried Chinese mushrooms (soaked and sliced)
button mushrooms (sliced)
minced pork (marinated with salt, pepper, sesame oil and corn flour)

Method

1. In a bowl, mix some cool water and sesame oil. Set aside.

2. Boil some water in a pot. When the water has boiled, add the longevity noodles and stir them around until they have loosened. Remove them immediately and drain off the water. Place the noodles in the bowl and mix with the cool water and sesame oil. Set aside.

3. Cook the rest of the ingredients with water in a pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. When the soup has boiled and the ingredients have been cooked, add the soup to the noodles.