When you come to Xiamen city in Fujian province, you are bound to encounter a noodle dish with a fiery red spicy looking soup known as sha cha mian. It is delicious and unique to Xiamen, so it is definitely worth a try before you leave Xiamen.
Sha cha mian shops are everywhere in Xiamen, catering to curious tourists and also locals. It is ubiquitous like nasi lemak in Malaysia and chicken rice in Singapore.
Why does Xiamen have an iconic dish that looks so much like the curry laksa or curry mee of Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia?
Ask any Xiamen local and most will tell you with certainty that sha cha mian originated in Nanyang, the South Sea region referring to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (though this was not documented).
Sha cha 沙茶 is the Hokkien transliteration of satay 沙爹. Satay sounds exactly like sha teh (cha) in Hokkien. Mian is noodle, so sha cha mian is satay noodle i.e. noodle with satay sauce.
Though there is no documentary evidence, it is believed that emigre returning from Nanyang brought home the art of making satay sauce.
The 88 year old (as at 2024) second generation owner of Sha Cha Lin 沙茶林 sha cha mian shop said it was his father who started the first sha cha mian business in Xiamen after returning from Indonesia in 1935.
Sha cha mian has evolved a long way from original satay sauce and has taken on many local characteristics. I love the unique satay sauce inspired dish that sha cha mian has become ❤️
The sha cha sauce is subtly nutty reminiscent of satay sauce but it also reminds me of mee rebus with turmeric notes, and curry laksa / mee broth.
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| Commercial sha cha sauce |
Depending on the shop, the stock base can be prawn, pork or chicken stock, or just plain water. Different base gives the soup different body and taste profile. Many places add milk which gives it more body and sweetness.
Sha cha mian is served topped with parsley and given a dash of minced garlic same as those used with lor mee in Singapore.
There's also fried chopped garlic, chopped scallion, and chili oil.
I love the Xiamen twist to the Nanyang satay sauce and another thing that blew my mind was the wide range of toppings.
They are just everyday things in Xiamen but these are what made sha cha mian uniquely Xiamen and a must try.
You can add blanched seafood. The basic are prawn, squid and oyster. There's also options of fish ball, pork filled Fuzhou fish ball, fish cake, clams, mussels, etc.
Blanched pork innards and various pork cuts including my favourite pork collar. Innards are the usual suspects of liver, kidney, stomach, large and small intestine, etc. There's also pork blood curd, pork ball. Tofu and tau pok (fried tofu) are also commonly added. Ngoh heong fried pork rolls are popular toppings too.
The yellow noodles are blanched and done soft tender without much, if any spring to the bite at all. But, the fat strands are good at catching the clingy spicy soup and all its flavours.
All these condiments and ingredients add their flavours to the spicy soup - the dish is deep with complementary rich spice, umami savoury and sweet flavours. I love it a lot and am craving for it as I write this.
Sha cha mian is one of the most memorable foodie experiences for visits to Xiamen. Worth a try.
Written by Tony Boey on 5 Nov 2024
Reference
Sha cha sauce (rempah) recipe.
White sesame seeds, deep fried flat fish (tee poh), fried dried shrimps, peanuts, shredded coconut, garlic, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, red chili pepper, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, fennel, cinnamon seeds, basil leaves, shallots, white sugar, walnut kernels, galangal, white pepper, vanilla, curry powder, belacan, asam.
Boil the spicy sha cha soup into a thick sauce. Pour the bright red spicy sauce on the blanched noodles.
Many people use the "satay sauce" (that same commercial kind that you show here), as a dipping sauce for their steamboat (hot pot) in N.America. This was never the practice when I was a kid in S.E.Asia! It was odd to me at first but I've grown to like the taste of it.
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