Chinese flour vermicelli noodles (mee suah) is cooked with meat, veggies, and then packed into a pan and steamed. The result is a savory cake that you can slice up and serve as is with some savory topping, coated with bread crumbs to make crispy mee suah kueh, or pan fry without crumbs. They are simple to make and can be a complete meal, snacks, or appetizers.
This depends on the brand you have. The one I bought wasn't excessively salty versus other brand I have tried before. So I did not blanch mine and I also didn't include any salt or soy sauce in the seasonings. If you feel like the mee suah you have is very salty, you can blanch the mee suah in boiling water for about 30 seconds and then discard the water and refresh mee suah with fresh water to stop the cooking process
300 gr mee suah
Marinate the chicken:
Marinate the chicken and set it aside while you prepare other things
200 gr boneless skinless chicken breast
Prepare other things:
Soak mushrooms in warm water until soften and then thinly sliced or you can dice them too
4 large dried shiitake mushrooms
Mix all ingredients for seasonings in a bowl and set aside
Preheat a large wok or skillet. Add oil and saute the garlic and shallots until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the marinated minced chicken and stir fry until it turns opaque. Add the mushrooms, pumpkin, and carrot and stir fry for about 1-2 minutes
200 gr boneless skinless chicken breast, 4 large dried shiitake mushrooms, 100 gr pumpkin, 3 Tbsp cooking oil, 3 cloves garlic, 3 shallots, 100 gr carrot
Pour the chicken broth in followed by the seasonings. Bring it to a simmer. Break mee suah noodles into smaller pieces and add them in. Stir to combine and let it continue to simmer until the broth is absorbed by the mee suah. If you feel like the mixture is a bit dry, you can add a bit more chicken broth. The mee suah should be soft and moist but not soupy. Have a taste and adjust as necessary as you won't be able to do so anymore later. Turn off the heat
200 ml chicken broth, 300 gr mee suah
Steaming:
Bring water in the steamer to a boil. Oil 8 x 8 inch square pan. Line the bottom with a parchment paper for easy removal. Transfer the mee sua into the pan. Spread the mixture out and pack it down and make it flat and even as much as you can
Lower the heat to medium and steam over medium heat for 30-40 minutes. Remove from the steamer and let it cools down completely in the pan for about an hour or so. The cake may still appear to be soft but will firm up once it cools down completely
To serve with topping:
You can serve this with topping. Instead of adding the topping on top of the cake before slicing, which you will end up with toppings falling off here and there, I suggest slicing the cake into the size you want first, and then add the topping on individual slice
Red chilis, green onion, Fried shallots
You can also pan fry this with a bit of oil until it has a slightly crispy crust on the outside too
For crispy mee suah kueh:
Preheat the oil in a pan. When you put a skewer or chopstick inside the oil, there should be bubbles around it. The oil is ready
1/2 cup cooking oil
Coat the mee suah kueh in flour and then shake off any excess. Coat with beaten egg and then roll in panko bread crumb
1 large egg, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup panko bread crumb
Fry over medium heat until golden brown in small batches. Watch the heat so the bread crumb won't get burnt. Remove from the heat and put on absorbent paper towel. Fry the next batch until you are done
To pan fry mee suah:
Heat about 3 Tbsp of oil on a pan over medium heat. Pan fry the mee suah kueh until lightly golden brown on both sides and serve
3 Tbsp cooking oil
Video
Notes
If you substitute mee suah with somen noodles, you may need a bit more broth. You will have to observe and add as needed