The Foochows in Sibu make their own traditional red wine or what they all ang chiew which is very fragrant, not really sourish and not really sweet either – ideal for cooking meat and often added to soups to enhance the taste. Sometime ago, however, a friend of mine gave me some ang chiew from Kuching. As you can see in the background in the photo below, it is not as red as the ones made in Sibu but it looks like whisky and smells good.
Well, the other day, I decided to use it to cook ginseng chicken and these were the ingredients I used…
…a few slices of ginger, some ginseng and wolfberries.
I just put everything with the chicken in a bowl, poured in around four tablespoons of the wine, sprinkled a pinch of salt and msg and filled up the bowl with water. Then I steamed it for about half an hour or so. Of course, the longer you Β steam, the nicer it will taste…
Then I boiled some mee sua (Foochow longevity/strong noodles) and added that Β to the soup…
It was nice but I found the wine a bit too sweet for my liking. I think the next time, I should use the Chinese white wine that people use to cook kacangma chicken. That would probably be more compatible with ginseng chicken…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Waa looks good and healthy. Yum Seng! xD
Actually! I was feeling lethargic that day but after eating that, I felt very much revived! π
mmmmmm … mum used to make this… super yummy to slurp up all the soup .. Setiawan I think is famous for Chinese red wine and mee suah. Comfort food indeed π
And ginseng for vitality! Students should take regularly – keeps them alert.
You know what kids these days use to keep them alert? Starbucks. Or the free flow coffee at McD. *pengsan* My time oso tarak Starbucks and McD liddat! I’m not a fan of coffee… can’t take coffee…so opt for tea to keep me alert instead.
It all boils down to one thing… Upbringing. My daughter will go to some of these places once in a while to eat…but not to loiter around like many young people today – to see and be seen and maybe to pick up or be picked up!
Yes, so very true. I don’t make it a habit to lurk at fast food joints or cafe either. But I see these days, teenagers do that… as if money grows on tree. I really wonder how much is their pocket money for just one day.
I prefer to think these fast food places as treats… once in a while… ok la… or belanja budak eat when they’re good and deserves it, it’s all right to me. Yesterday oni my son ask me for McD. I told him cannot… cuz these few days… his tantrums ah, drive me mad. So I told him, wait until he behave, den oni see how. Plus… he not really want to eat the food la… just want the damn toys oni. π¦ I think I’m quite old fashion in regards to this…but… kenot make it a habit to eat out too much. Later, abit things he want to go out and eat, habislah… I sure pokai! Plus… I think, sitting down and eat together quietly at home is time well spent.
Oooo…I spent a fortune on those giveaways for my daughter last time. Even had to bribe my students to go and queue for the Hello Kitty dolls. I wonder where they are now.. Gone! Sigh!!! I’m glad my daughter actually prefers to eat home-cooked food at home and will go out occasionally with me or her mum for certain things that she loves – very seldom goes out with friends…and much less, lepak at some place…like many of them seem to do these days.
Never tried the red red wine local made before, have only heard of white wine or. Pek chew Tao
Yes, we use pek chiew tao for this dish called kacang ma (chicken) – other Chinese dialects, not Foochow serve this to women in confinement after childbirth. May cook one of these days and post…
i think that one is not red wine from sitiawan.. bec of the colour, i feel it is the ones made from Lor Mai (glutinous rice) and some (wine biscuit).. I love this more than the foochow red wine.. cos it is sweeter…anything sweet, i m in.. π I cook a lot of this sweet wine during my confinement and now they are selling almost RM20 per bottle …
No, it’s not like our Sibu Foochow red wine either… I got it from my friend from Kuching. It’s sweet and I’m not accustomed to the sweetness. But it was ok after a while…and I thought it tasted quite good. But I prefer our own Foochow ones. RM20 a bottle? *faints!!! The Foochow ones here used to cost RM2 a bottle…but it has gone up to RM8 or more…
Foochow wine so cheap meh? Here all wine oso cost more than that. Even cooking/table wine costs Rm20. π¦
Hah? Hey! I can buy many bottles and bring to sell in KL – make a profit of RM10 a bottle, 50 bottles more than enough to pay for airfare already. Hehehehehehe!!!!
You do that, can kaya lorr. LOL.
KIV! When I can no longer teach, this is one thing I can venture into. Maybe I should learn to make my own – then I can reap even more profit. LOL!!! π
Sibu makes the best Foochow red wine.
Mom buys truckloads every time she’s here!
haha~~
I agree. How come you never buy to take home? Next time I get a bottle or two for you. π
Ohhh, no… no…no… this is not for me. I’m scared of herbs. Taste so awful and makes my body so heaty!
Ginger is heaty…but ginseng is supposed to be cooling. You can leave out the ginger then. Nice…very very nice! LOL!!!
I think I can oredi hear someone out there asking me to eat more ginger to buang all my angins. Ish ish ish!
If heaty, how to get so much angin? Heaty…cannot eat beef, lamb. Angin…cannot eat beans and cold stuff like kangkong, bamboo shoots, paku…and ginger can help but you’re heaty… Haiz! Serba salah!
Yalah.. that day heaty and feverish until got rashes all over my legs… ish… but at the same time, tummy bloated with angin like mad and the angin kenot come out! Dono apa kena. Keep sapu those ointment. *pengsan* Thank God now no more liao…
Oh dear… Maybe you should try detoxification. But initially, may fall quite sick as the toxins all come out…and then you get better. Or try foot reflexology or those plasters that you stick to your soles? I hear they may help…but not really sure about that.
very healthy one!! π i like mee sua!!
Can get in KK? Should be, I guess…considering that there are many Sibu Foochows there now – like in Kuching. Mee sua from Sibu or the factory-made ones from West Malaysia…
ang chiew from Kuching – you just have to cook with chicken n ginger -it will be vv nice. Anyway I still prefer the foochow angchiew. Stella make good angchiew.
Yes, I think generally we prefer our own Foochow red wine – tastebuds conditioned already… π Wah! She can sell…and very soon be so very rich. Oops! She’s already rich! Sorry! π
GOSH! Looks so good!! Ginseng and wine, not heaty ar? π
Ginseng’s supposed to be cooling…and good for blood circulation? It’s the ginger that’s heaty…and anyway, those few strands of ginseng and a couple of tablespoons of wine – not too bad, I’m sure.
what a healthy dish! But I can’t take wine well. I go mabuk very fast. Therefore, during my confinement period, I actually took the wine for a few days only. All my other dishes are without wine.
Hah! These days, I think they discourage women in confinement from taking wine…and encourage them to breastfeed. No wonder we were so good, sleeping all the time when we were babies – we were breastfed…and all stoned drunk! Muahahahahaha!!! π
If got next kid… I’ll be sure to drink kao kao… save me the hassle… biar anak mabuk kao kao. LOL… last time ppl din turn out bad oso wud… correct anot, Cikgu? Bebudak sekarang more worst oso… degil… etc etc….
Yalor…we were such angels. LOL!!! π
Yea…. these days.. the kids… mutated liao. LOL…not like last time anymore. Even my time, we’re not that horrible. I notice these days… the kids, becoming more and more… how to say ah… spoiled and pampered rotten.LOL…
Most of the time, the parents start it all – bringing them to such places from young… I did too. Let my daughter have fun in the play area and I could relax a bit. LOL!!! She loves those burgers and stuff – just that she’s not the type to go there with friends and loiter all day…
War…be careful o. Too much alcohol consumption is not good. :p
Two spoonfuls o.k. lah… Your missus still in confinement? Full month already, I think. Btw, what do you people eat – I mean mothers in confinement? Here, they eat mee sua in chicken soup (with lots of ginger and red wine) and in Kuching, kacang ma – chicken cooked with some herbs called “kacang ma” and lots of ginger and white wine…
I ate pizza and kfc, orange juice during confinement. Enuff said… will make old people pengsan if they hear this! LOL.
ps: I also took wine… red wine… but it made my milk turn sour. My baby rejects breast-milk each time I breastfeed after drink wine, so stopped after that.
*PENGSAN!!! But how come I’m not surprised? Hehehehehehe!!! π
I was really good oredi lorr… you know Mommyling? She’s worst. More dahsyat than me. She drank coke after 1st day of confinement. What’s worst, she went for C-section… not the normal childbirth. Lagi hebat. At least i dun dare to drink coke on the first day. LMAO.
Gosh! These modern-day women! But I hear the problems will only come when old. You should see some of those from the ethnic races. They would tie up their legs…like a mummy all throughout confinement month!
Becareful, too much ginseng can nose bleed XD
You’re the 2nd one to say this. Somebody made the same remark on Facebook. I thought ginseng is cooling and nose bleeds are caused by excessive heatiness in the body? I wouldn;t know – never had nose bleeds all my life… I’m sure those few strands wouldn’t be so bad – not like the steamed cling-wrap wrapped chicken in the restaurants – at least half a kilo of ginseng hairs in those.
Aiyo! Pollie,now lazy to make ‘angchiew’,so mostly buy from a Sibu foochow woman. Actually self-made ones are always better…. Speaking of which,m going to cook the ‘kachar ma ‘ which Pollie gave me,nowadays I use sweet sherry n dry white wine combo to cook. Ya… STP, the ‘por sup’ u boiled must be rejuvenating!!
Missus cooked kacang-ma the other day. Really nice – kau-kau…eat sampai sweating plus-plus! LOL!!! Rejuvenating? I guess so…but if you’re hinting at something, no lah! One kilo also no use now… Hahahahahaha!!! π
YUMMY!!!! I still prefer Sibu foochow red rice wine, taste a lot better, not the sweet taste. π
Looking at your bowl of red wine mee suah, make me hungry!!! Lucky i still got one bottle red wine, i am going to cook again this week! HAHAHAHHAHA
Only one left? Thought your mum took a few bottles over? You use so much kah? LOL!!! Hope I get to go to KL one of these days – then I can bring you some more. I guess we are conditioned already – eating that since small…and now nothing can ever be better than that.
Oh gosh! Send some over!
I have BKT boiling int the pot and yet am drooling at your mee suah liao
Ooooo…BKT! I have the Penang CKC one but I have not got down to cooking yet. Must go and buy some pork ribs one of these days and cook. Was it you who said CKC is the best? Better than the A1 one that I usually used before?
Ceh.. the BKT not she cook wan. Kakakaka… her kawan send it over to her.LOL…
Hahahahahaha!!! Bocor rahsia!! So nice to have such nice friends. How come nobody sending me anything one? Sulk! Sulk! LOL!!! π
Aiya.. you live so far… DHL to you oredi oso oredi basi la. LMAO….:P
Never mind. I’ll cook my own – one of these days, I’ll post on it. Maybe I’ll do it this Saturday…
wei…me cook one la…friend bagi the packet of BKT rempah. Also KT rempah from Penang wor. Taste very good. THat’s why I ask Claire if she goes Penang to hunt for me that rempah la
From Penang? CKC? Watch out for my post sometime next week…and drool! Hehehehehehe!!!!
When I was in my confinement month, my mom in-law ordered some homemade wine made from dong kwai, black dates and some other herbs I cannot recall the names now. It was simply delicious!
Gosh! That sound very nutritious. I don’t drink…wine or whatever liquor but I do use a bit for cooking.
Red wine….i smell the fragrance, i m the first to run away first…no wonder i m always not healthy….sobs**
Nice when used for cooking. Old people said must drink red wine or other wines to replace blood loss during child delivery – but I hear doctors say that’s a myth…and mothers must not drink especially when breast feeding.
Red wine… will make mother’s milk sour… I drank red wine during confinement and breastfeeding, but stopped after the boy rejects my milk each time I breastfeed after drinking wine. I wouldn’t recommend red wine for people during confinement. better go for those chicken essence and whatnot. Better for babies.
Yakah? I thought babies will just suckle happily and get drunk and sleep all day…
I think not all babies. Some babies are really sensitive to mother’s milk quality. I know a few friends who experienced the same. So there’s no DOM or any sort of wine for them too.
Well, doctors say cannot…and they insist on breastfeeding which many mums do not like for all kinds of reasons.
Speaking of wine,
I’m eating a small bowl of grapes freshly picked off our grapevine. These grapes have a sweet/sour taste to them. I’m loving them. I haven’t had wine in a bit; it tends to make me sleepy.
I never had wolfberries, what do they taste like? As usual, you’re sharing some lovely photos. I keep forgetting that you cook too; you share so many delightful posts of your restaurant ventures.
Wolfberries are those little red berries in the soup. We buy them dried and wrinkled…but in the process of cooking, they will become hydrated and look like that. They’re sweet and will make the soup sweet too. Supposedly good for the eyes, plus other health benefits. I enjoy good food and love sharing with everybody…and it seems that everybody prefers reading my food posts too. Glad you find them delightful as well, thanks.
Wow… it looks tastier than DOM or Yomeishu!!!Must try!
Have a nice day!
Never tried DOM…but I’ve tried Yomeishu. Didn’t taste good…and didn’t feel more energetic after that. LOL!!!
i have heard that red wine is good to our health as it prevents certain kind of diseases…
however,. i never drink any wines haha so i don’t have any idea how does it taste
That’s the red wine that people drink at clubs and fancy restaurants. I don;t quite like the taste – like the skin of red grapes. Those wines, I prefer white – but nobody has said anything about it being good for health. π¦
stp, i need this. i’ve been so tired lately.. i look like a walking ghost.. pls.. i need some nutrition in my life.. my body.. π¦
Yes, you do! It works wonders. Just add a few strands to your instant noodles and you can feel the difference. π
Yam Seng, yam seng, drink ang chiew……very high level of alcohol in it!
Bootleg! But I checked one legally commercially produced “Foochow red yeast wine” – 15% alcohol…but that one wasn’t nice – not the same as the homemade ones. π
next time you must label your “red wines” with vintages! maybe can sell for loads of money after years later… hehe
Yahor! Actually my friend gave me a couple of years ago… Should have matured and increased in value.π
Wow so perfectly done, I must need a bowl to taste such exquisite and refine recipe of yours! π
Thank you, thank you. Come…I can cook for you, or you can do it yourself. It’s so simple, so easy… π
I love Sibu red wine more than kuching red wine cos the later one very sweet. Always ask my friend send few bottles to me, hehehehehe…….
Yalor…so very sweet. Was not used to it at first…but after a while, I thought it tasted ok. Still, can’t beat the Sibu ones…
what a healthy treat, I never had this soup!
You can try cooking it – I’m sure they have the ginseng and wolf berries in the Chinese shops, where you are…or in Chinatown.
tis reminds me of the red wine chicken Annie’s mom cooked. So classic.. no salt added and yet the soup is sweet. Very nourishing. I really wish Annie’s mom is in KL.. I’ll surely pally pally w her π
Oh? You’re Annie’s friend? Ya…no need for salt, sweet enough with the chicken and the wine and with wolfberries, even sweeter. Well, her mum is in Sibu…and guess what she cooked for me today. Hehehehehe….I’m not telling! Watch out for the post! Coming soon! LOL!!! π
That looks really good. I grew up eating mee sua – mom’s hokkien. She can make ang chiew you know and it’s usually very red because they use red pulut rice. Mmm……missing my mom’s ang chiew mee sua now!
Oh? The Hokkien ang chiew here is different – very sweet and we do not like it as much as our Foochow ones.