00:00Wheat vermicelli, also known as mee sua, is a popular Malaysian ingredient.
00:05The Chinese community here often call it longevity noodles, as their length is said to represent
00:10long life.
00:12While mee sua is often made by machines these days, here in Sibu Sarawak, a couple has been
00:17making these noodles by hand for over 30 years.
00:22Meet Ting Cheng Hsien and his wife, Tang Swee Nyok.
00:26According to the 72-year-old noodle master, he has been making mee sua since he was 35,
00:32having learned the craft from a Sifu from China.
00:35The process starts with mixing the noodle ingredients into a dough, which is kneaded
00:39and cut into strips.
00:42These are then wound around two sticks to maintain their chewiness.
00:47Ting and Tang, veterans of their craft, do this with swift and dexterous movements.
00:52Watching them can be quite mesmerizing.
00:55The tricky part is when the noodles are hung to dry under the sun.
00:59If the weather turns bad and the noodles do not dry in time, the day's batch is wasted.
01:04Ting usually stretches the noodles to make them longer.
01:07This too can be challenging, as the noodles will break if too much force is applied.
01:13Making noodles the traditional way is rare nowadays, but Ting and Tang wish for this
01:17time-honored craft to be practiced well into the future.
01:21They hope their son will eventually take over their business and pass it on to future generations.
01:26Hopefully, there will be a long life ahead for these longevity noodles.
01:32For the full story on Ah Sieng Mee Sua and more, visit FMT and follow our socials.
Comments