Hong Zao Chicken Mee Sua (红糟鸡面线)

Last night, I made hóng zāo chicken mee sua (红糟鸡面线), a dish I grew up with. But since it's for a birthday, I added an egg as per Fuzhounese tradition. Been wanting to make this dish for a long while, especially following the reflections I had on some family history and heritage last year; a rare occasion when I wrote about something family-related without the baggage.

In Singapore, this dish is more widely known as a postpartum confinement dish of Hokkien origins. But to the Fuzhounese (Hokchew), it is a traditional Fuzhounese dish. For this dish, the key ingredients are the hóng zāo (red yeast rice lees) and the hóng zāo wine (red yeast rice wine, called qinghong in Fuzhou), both of which are specialities of Minhou county in eastern Fujian, where my paternal ancestors were from. In Singapore, the hóng zāo wine isn't as readily available (at least, up until recently), so it is usually substituted with Shaoxing wine. But recently, I came across 2 local brands that brew it in small batches, Ye Traditions and W Rice Wine.

For my rendition, I used the hóng zāo lees and wine from Ye Traditions. And remembering what my Yé Ye said about the wine being drinkable on its own, I also toasted myself with a glass. And it was good — round, earthy, fruity, tart but with subtle sweetness and a depth that isn't present in Shaoxing wine. I wasn't able to get Fuzhou mee sua, so I settled for Xiamen mee sua instead. As for the egg, I made jammy eggs, per this Minimalist Baker recipe, but at 7 minutes. The jammy egg turned out nicely, though a little runny in the centre.

Hóng zāo chicken mee sua, with shiitake, wood ear fungus, a jammy egg.

Can't say it's as good as the versions made by my Second Aunt SH or Third Aunt SS. But I think it's good enough for a first effort. I did, however, mess up the ratio; I forgot I halved the recipe and added the full portion of hong zao wine plus a little extra for kick. Oops.

Third Aunt's hóng zāo chicken for CNY 2026

It is a Fuzhou custom to eat this dish with mee sua on festive occasions, particularly the first day of Chinese New Year, as well as celebratory events such as birthdays and weddings. For Fuzhounese, the dish symbolises a wish for blessings, vitality (or good health), auspiciousness, and the mee sua symbolises longevity. For birthdays or celebratory events, boiled eggs are traditionally included, symbolising completeness, joy and renewal.

During my childhood, I would often have hóng zāo chicken mee sua when we visited my Yé Ye (my paternal grandfather) on the first day of Chinese New Year. The dish would also be there on the second day, when my other paternal aunts made their new year visits to their niáng jiā (maiden home). But since my Yé Ye's passing, the dish is only served on the second day now.

But my family doesn't have (continue?) the tradition of having hóng zāo chicken mee sua on birthdays. Nonetheless, I've decided to do so for my kitchen from this year on. It's my first birthday in a kitchen I can call wholly my own; so it's like I'm making (or continuing) a tradition from here.

(Parts of this post were originally posted on the little world of yotsuba & clan on 25 July 2026.)