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The red glutinous rice wine chicken mee sua (红糟鸡面线) is a Foo Chow (福州) traditional dish that is typically served during Chinese New Year or birthdays. Thou I am not a Foo Chow, my family is not new to this rich flavourful dish. So when Jessie, my good friend from long time ago gifted me with her homemade red glutinous rice wine and lees, I have to make this dish.

The steps to making the red glutinous rice wine chicken dish mee sua is similar to that of making the chicken dish (without mee sua). You basically add a bit more broth to the gravy and serve it with mee sua. It’s ultra delicious, even though I am not a big fan of mee sua but the taste is fantastic and I find myself scooping for more.
What is red glutinous rice wine?
You can make red glutinous rice wine by fermenting cooked white glutinous rice mixed with red yeast rice, and Chinese red yeast for about 30 days. Gas bubbles will be released during the fermentation process and then, the wine will be produced over time.
Housewives of yesteryears used to make glutinous rice wine in the secrecy of their home. They need to make sure they make it in a good mood and only say things that are auspicious and positive, as it’s believed that any negative vibes will spoil the wine they make. And secrecy because making alcohol at home is not a very legal thing to do in those days.

Are there health benefits to red glutinous rice wine mee sua?
One of the most common health benefits goes to recovery for women who are undergoing confinement, the important one-month period right after giving birth to a child. The confinement diet focused on supporting the new mummy’s recovery while protecting both mummy and baby from falling ill. This red glutinous rice wine chicken mee sua recipe is made with sesame oil, chicken, and ginger, when combined in cooking delivers ‘heaty’ properties that a confinement mummy will need.
Even people who didn’t give birth and men (the guys in our family) love this dish. We have cooked it many times and my family guys and girls all enjoyed it.
Speaking of confinement food, do check out my mummy’s recipe on Pig’s Trotter Vinegar 猪脚醋, our family (guys too) would sometimes indulge in this rich flavourful dish.

Watch how to make Red Glutinous Rice Wine Chicken Mee Sua on YouTube
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Red Glutinous Rice Wine Chicken Mee Sua 红糟鸡面线
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken cleaned and chopped
- 3 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 100 g old ginger
- 250 g red glutinous wine lees (红糟) and more to add to gravy
- 500 ml red glutinous rice wine
- Parsley optional as garnish
- Mee sua
- 100-200 ml water
- Salt optional, season to taste
- White pepper powder optional, season to taste
Instructions
- Peel and crush 4 cloves garlic . Peel and julienne 100 g old ginger into strips.4 cloves garlic, 100 g old ginger
- Warm 3 tbsp sesame oil over medium heat in a deep pot. Add half of the ginger strips and fry until slightly brown and crisp. Set aside to use as garnish later. Leave the oil in the pot.3 tbsp sesame oil
- In the same pot, add crushed garlic and the other half of the ginger strips and sauté till aromatic.
- Add 1 kg chicken and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occassionally.1 kg chicken
- Add 250 g red glutinous wine lees (红糟) and stir fry to mix evenly with the chicken.250 g red glutinous wine lees (红糟)
- Add 500 ml red glutinous rice wine and stir to mix well. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and cover with lid to simmer for about 20 minutes. The chicken will release moisture while cooking.500 ml red glutinous rice wine
- Add more red glutinous rice wine (optional if you would like more gravy) and 100-200 ml water to the gravy to cover the chicken. Mix to cook evenly for about 1 minute. Turn off heat. Note: optional to add seasoning such as Salt and White pepper powder, the dish is already quite flavourful without.500 ml red glutinous rice wine, 100-200 ml water, Salt, White pepper powder
- Boil water in a separate pot. Once boiled, add a portion of Mee sua and loosen the mee sua with chopsticks or a fork. Let it boil for about 30-45 minutes until the mee sua turns soft.Mee sua
- Remove mee sua from water and serve with the red glutinous rice wine chicken and gravy.Garnish with fried ginger strips and Parsley.Parsley
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe is shared with Fiesta Friday and Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.
I remembered my mother used to cook this during the colder seasons and me and my sister will finish this off with a big portion of the mee suah. It is a very nostalgic dish to me.
Awww that is so nice to hear that 😀
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I was looking for rice wine chicken recipe and saw this. Will definitely try this out for sure.
HI Selina, thanks for visiting. Hope you like it.
It sounds and looks so intriguing, Pauline! I don’t think I’ve ever heard of wine lees before. I hope I can source the ingredients because I would like to give this a try.
Thanks for dropping by, Angie. You might want to check out the Asian grocery stores for this. Hope you get to try it out 😀
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Thank you Bob!