Lunar New Year Longevity Noodles: Misua Soup

By
Connie Veneracion
Connie Veneracion
Connie Veneracion
Food writer and blogger living in the Philippines and specializing in Southeast Asian home cooking and travel.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 09/13/21
Tested by
Diana Andrews
Diana Andrews
Tested by Diana Andrews
Diana has served as head recipe developer and editor for the Emmy-nominated PBS series Moveable Feast, food editor and test kitchen manager at Fine Cooking Magazine, and recipe developer and product tester at Food Network. 
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Lunar New Year Longevity Noodles: Misua Soup

The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 25 mins
Servings: 2 servings
Yield: 2 cups
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
518 Calories
22g Fat
58g Carbs
31g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 2
Amount per serving
Calories 518
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 22g 28%
Saturated Fat 5g 23%
Cholesterol 123mg 41%
Sodium 3557mg 155%
Total Carbohydrate 58g 21%
Dietary Fiber 19g 69%
Total Sugars 20g
Protein 31g
Vitamin C 104mg 520%
Calcium 527mg 41%
Iron 8mg 43%
Potassium 1793mg 38%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

The Lunar New Year longevity noodle dish, misua (miswa or mee swa) is served during festivities (including the Lunar New Year) and special occasions (like birthdays) in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

What is misua? It is a thin wheat noodle that takes around five minutes to cook. Cook the misua longer and the starch will thicken the soup while the noodles turn soggy. As sold in Asian groceries, misua comes in coiled bundles. The noodles swell tremendously during cooking so, as a guide, use one bundle to serve two.

The misua soup is a comforting mixture of garlic, shallots, diced tomato, dried mushrooms, baby bok choy, misua, and seasonings cooked in chicken broth. When you're eating the noodles, try to eat them all in one length, as in China, eating these long noodles in this way is believed to be a sign of good luck and the key to a long life.

Enjoy this soup with spring rolls or Jiaozi (Chinese dumplings). Other popular dishes for the Chinese New Year include fried rice, fish, stir fry, and Nian Gao (lunar new year cake)

“This soup was pure comfort in a bowl and extremely soothing. I was only able to find fresh buckwheat noodles at my local Asian market. If you can’t find misua, which is a thin variety of salted wheat flour noodles, you may need to add salt and additional fish sauce to your liking.” —Diana Andrews

Lunar New Year Longevity Noodles: Misua Soup/Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil

  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

  • 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced

  • 1 medium tomato, diced

  • 2 to 3 dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked in half a cup of hot water until softened then thinly sliced

  • 4 cups chicken broth

  • 1 bundle misua, about 7 ounces

  • 3 cups coarsely chopped greens, such as baby bok choy or wom bok

  • Fish sauce, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • 1 teaspoon oyster sauce

  • Salt, to taste, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Lunar New Year Longevity Noodles: Misua Soup ingredients

    The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar

  2. Heat the peanut oil in a pot over medium heat. Saute the minced garlic, sliced shallots and diced tomato just until softened. 

    Saute the minced garlic, sliced shallots and diced tomato in a pot

    The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar

  3. Add the sliced wood ear mushrooms to the pot and saute for a few minutes.

    Add the sliced wood ear mushrooms to the pot

    The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar

  4. Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil.

    add stock to the vegetables in the pot

    The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar

  5. Add the misua and greens. Season with fish sauce, black pepper, and oyster sauce. Let boil for two to three minutes or until the noodles and greens go limp.

    Add the misua, spices and greens to the soup in the pot

    The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar

  6. Turn off the heat. Cover the pot and allow everything to finish cooking in the residual heat for another two to three minutes. Taste the broth. If needed, add salt to taste and adjust the other seasonings.

    Lunar New Year Longevity Noodles: Misua Soup in a covered pot

    The Spruce / Madhumita Sathishkumar

Tips

  • If you cannot find misua noodles, you can subsitute somen noodles in their place.

How to Store

  • After it has cooled down, Misua soup can be placed in an airtight container and stored in the refrigerator for three to four days.
  • It can also be frozen for up to three months.