Sesame Oil Chicken Misua

In my memory, my family didn’t actually cook sesame oil chicken very often, but I have a fairly strong impression of the dish. When I was a child, one of our neighbors loved to cook it; the fragrance would often waft out in broad daylight—it was truly a case of “one family cooks chicken, and the whole neighborhood smells the aroma.”¹

During my university years, I always loved going to the street behind the back gate of the college with good friends in the winter to eat sesame oil chicken misua (noodles). The restaurant was within walking distance, just a bit far, but chatting with friends made walking in the cold wind feel like less of a chore. I recall that the noodles and the soup had to be ordered separately. We would also add an order of blanched vegetables—it was Taiwanese cabbage soaked in sesame oil soup, and it was incredibly good. After eating, our bodies would be all warm and cozy. The road back to the dorm was uphill, so by the time we got back, we weren’t just full; we were sweating, which helped us withstand the damp, cold weather of northern Taiwan.

After moving to the U. S., I met an auntie at church who used to work in restaurants. One day, she wanted to share her cooking skills with us kids, so she opened up requests: “Just tell me what dish you want to learn!” Thus, one afternoon we gathered together to learn how to make crystal dumplings, sesame oil chicken, moon shrimp cakes, and more. We had a wonderful time cooking.

It was extremely cold a while ago, probably around minus ten degrees Celsius. Suddenly, on a whim, I craved sesame oil chicken misua and remembered that I still had the recipe I learned from the auntie. So, Sam and I went to the supermarket, bought the ingredients, and came back to cook. We adjusted the recipe slightly, removing the goji berries and red dates that we don’t like and adding Taiwanese cabbage. We were very satisfied with the final result! It’s quite moving to eat a dish full of Taiwanese flavor while in a foreign country.

Super Yummy！

Cooking Steps for Sesame Oil Chicken

• Sauté ginger slices in vegetable oil starting with cold oil.
• Once the ginger turns golden brown, add sesame oil and continue to sauté.
• After the aroma is released, sear the chicken with the skin side down.
• Once the chicken skin is golden brown, add rice wine and hot water directly (at a ratio of approximately 1:1) and simmer for one hour.
• Add cabbage and cook until it becomes slightly translucent.
• Season with salt and it’s ready to serve.

Adding Misua

The noodles we bought were Wu-Mu “Tomoshiraga” noodles, which are a bit thinner than the noodles in my memory. We used a separate pot to boil the noodles; they can be scooped into a bowl after about two minutes. Then, just add the prepared sesame oil chicken soup and ingredients, and it’s ready for the table.

NB: This article was first published in Chinese on 01/03/26. It was later translated with assistance from AI tools, edited by me, and published in English on 01/08/26.