Taiwanese Oyster Mian Xian Recipe (Orh Ah Mee Sua)

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Taiwanese oyster vermicelli (full recipe on Nomlist.com) ##taiwanesefood ##learnontiktok

♬ Pieces (Solo Piano Version) – Danilo Stankovic

Orh Ah Mee Sua was one of my favorite street foods when visiting Taipei in the summertime. It’s a thick gloopy delicious soup serving piping hot with fresh oysters. I really love the contrast of the sour black vinegar. 

It’s also known as oyster vermicelli or oyster mian xian and it was super cheap back then. I remember it costing no more than an American dollar. It’s popularly made with large intestines also.

The best part is that it’s relatively easy to make a home and seriously, it tastes damn good, almost as good as the street version! 

So let’s get started!

First grab your dried squid and reconstitute in water for at least 15 minutes. You can find this at the Asian supermarket. I was too lazy to make the drive all the way to San Gabriel Valley so I just bought it off Amazon and it came in a day or two. 

Here’s the one that I bought. 

Then they turn all soft and squishy like this!

Next you’re going to make the stock to get the rich base flavor for the soup. First the liquids: add the water and the chicken stock. Add your ginger, reconstituted squid/cuttlefish and the garlic. You can just leave the skin on the garlic since you are going to drain it all after it’s cooked. 

Bring it to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Remove from heat and drain via strainer or cheesecloth. Set aside.

Next you’re going to work on the oysters. First wash them and then drain and pat try. Grab a medium sized bowl, add the oyster and top with the sweet potato starch. Use your hands to mix and coat the oysters. 

Next grab your mee sua, which I bought at the Chinese supermarket. I couldn’t find the noodles on Amazon but you could just use any kind of thin noodles as a replacement. It wouldn’t taste authentically like orh ah mee sua, but it would still be damn good!

Here’s what the Taiwanese vermicelli looks like. 

Bring the stock back up to medium heat.

Now you’re going to add the fried shallots. I bought these off Amazon and they arrived in two days. 

Add your shallots, rice wine, soy sauce, and dark soy sauce.

Bring it to a boil and add the noodles. Cook until the noodles are softened.

Finally add in the oysters and cook for 60 seconds. Scoop it into a bowl and serve immediately. 

Garnish with black vinegar and parsley or coriander.