Misua (also spelled mee sua or miswa; Chinese: 麵線; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: mī-sòaⁿ), also known as wheat vermicelli, is a very thin variety of salted noodles made from wheat flour.[1] It originated in Fujian, China.[1] The noodles differ from mifen (rice vermicelli) and cellophane noodles in that those varieties are made from rice and mung beans, respectively.
Misua is made from wheat flour.[2] Cooking misua usually takes less than two minutes in boiling water, and sometimes significantly less.[citation needed]
In Taiwan, there are two forms of misua. The first is plain, while the second has been steamed at high heat, caramelizing it to a light brown colour. For birthdays, plain misua is usually served plain with pork hocks (猪腳麵線) in stewed broth as a Taiwanese birthday tradition. Brown misua can be cooked for prolonged periods without disintegrating in the cooking broth and is used in oyster vermicelli (蚵仔麵線), a dish popular in Taiwan.[citation needed]
Misua is cooked during important festivities, and eaten in China as well in Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, Thailand, Myanmar, and particularly in both Taiwan and the Philippines.[citation needed]
Misua signifies long life in Chinese culture, and as such is a traditional birthday food. Because of this, it is often discouraged to chew or cut misua noodles.[3] It is usually served with ingredients such as eggs, tofu, bell peppers,[3] oysters, pig's large intestine,[2] shiitake mushroom, beef, shallots, or scallions, roasted nuts or fried fish.[citation needed]