Maggi Mee with a Twist

My brother, for all his healthy ways, has a few unhealthy snacks that he finds hard to resist. He effortlessly resists french fries, but he can't say no to a good curry puff. No chicken skin goes into his stomach, but roast duck skin goes straight in, even better if there is some fat stuck to the skin (and I confess, I have the same soft spot for roast duck skin. mmmmmm....).

Recently, he's been eating maggi mee for supper. Not just any maggi mee--only the Korean spicy ramen type maggi mee will do. This time, he adds something traditional and healthy in to tweak the flavours. Have you ever heard of "hong2 zao1", a.k.a. Hockchew red wine? It's a Hockchew traditional flavouring that is crimson red and has a strong wine taste to it. It goes wonderfully well when you stir-fry chicken, mushroom and ginger with a few tablespoons of that stuff, making the chicken look all bloody (but darn, it tastes so good). The Hockchews also eat it with meesua by adding it to the soup base. My aunty loves to add it to anything that she's cooking, especially if it's a soup.

It's from the hongzao meesua that my brother got his inspiration to add the hongzao to the maggi-mee. I tried it myself one evening and I must say that it's pretty good! Doesn't it look droolworthy from the picture? This hongzao supposedly has some health properties, so I'm sure it has magically made maggi-mee a healthy dinner. Yet another reason to indulge!