This packet of Chinese herbs is called Pek Tin Io or Ubat Pek Tin, which I got from Sarikei. You can get these any where there in the shops or drugs store. I love using herbs to add spice to my food. Don’t ask me what’s the picture of the deer doing there or what part it has in the medicine! I don’t know…anyway, this medicinal herbs is popular amongst the Foochow in Sarikei, they like to cook it with Kampung Chicken, chicken that grew up in the village he he. Supposedly this kind of chicken has more value, beats me again why. I can’t taste much difference in them, as Kampung chicken are more skinny.
This dish is normally cooked and eaten with Mee Suah. Mee Suah is a very traditional dish with special meaning. The noodle apparently is very very long, therefore causing the Chinese to believe that as you eat the noodles, you get a longer life. Superstitions eh…anyways, mee suah is quite occasionally eaten in my home when I was growing up, especially during festive seasons, sometimes during birthdays. Apparently, Foochows eat a lot of Mee Suah too during birth of children, Chinese New Year and occasions like that when families gather.
So, I cooked some chicken with a bit of salt, put in the herbs and had them in the slow cooker over night. I suddenly decided to have lunch at home one day, so had to cook this the night before so I can come back for lunch the next day.
The noodles is prepared by dunking them in boiled water in a separate pot for a couple of minutes, much like how you would cook instant noodles. After taking it out, just put them in a bowl and pour the soup over it. I added additional Shiitake mushrooms and some vegetables.
