Have you ever tried Lucky Long Life Noodles?

Jump to Recipe

When my husband celebrated his birthday recently I made this traditional auspicious dish – Lucky Long Life Noodles, or Longevity Noodles (Cháng Shòu Miàn 长寿面). These special noodles are typically served in Asia for happy events like birthdays and weddings. Why? Because of the belief that long noodle = long life. The longer the noodles the longer the life span.

This recipe is modified using ingredients that I can find in my local Asian grocery store or via Amazon. However, the taste is still true to the original intent of the dish.

When I was growing up, my Malaysian Chinese family would have this dish for celebrations. We called it “Cheong Sau Meen” in Cantonese. The dish was not the highlight of the event, but it was always expected to be on the menu simply because of its meaning and auspiciousness.

I loved eating these specific type of noodles when I was a kid and still do. As the chief meal maker for my family I love its versatility! I love that it is so easy to adapt based on what you want – you can add your favorite meat and veggies, or keep it all veggies. You can go heavy on the veggies or the meat, whatever you prefer. And add seafood or not. It is that easy! The key thing is getting the noodles right and then all the others are just icing on the cake, so to speak.

Ingredients for Lucky Long Life Noodles

Here are the items you will need to make this dish listed roughly in the order they are used.

Noodles
12 ounces Longevity Noodles, dry wheat flour noodles
water for pre-cooking

Fixings
8 dry shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, julienned
2 small carrot, julienned
1 green pepper, julienned
1 zucchini, cubed
6 sea scallops, sliced in half, butterfly style
8 large shrimp, peeled, deveined
6 green scallions, cut into 2″ pieces

Seasoning
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt or to taste
1 Tbs hot water
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
½ tsp sesame oil
2 Tbs oyster sauce
1 tsp white pepper, fresh ground
4 Tbs vegetable oil divided

You will need a wok or a large frying pan to cook the noodles.

Putting it together

Preparing

Let’s start by gathering all your ingredients. Put a large pot of water to boil. Then, prepare the veggies and seafood that go with the noodles. Set aside.

When the water is boiling, put in a pinch of salt. Next, add the prepared zucchini, carrots and red pepper then plunge in boiling water for about 30 seconds and remove from heat. Then, blanch the scallops for 30 seconds or until they turn opaque. Repeat with the shrimp and blanch until the shrimp turns pink, 1-2 minutes. Promptly remove from heat, drain and set aside.

After that, with the same water, pre-cook the noodles until it is a little firmer than an al dente pasta, per instructions on package. Next, test the noodles to make sure it is not too firm, or overcooked. Finally, drain and set aside.

• 

• 

• 

Next, prepare the seasoning. Start by mixing the sugar and salt with 1 tablespoon of hot water. Then, add in the rest of the seasoning – soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper. Stir until well combined.

• 

• 

Cooking

Now, we put it all together in a wok or a large frying pan. Heat your cooking vessel of choice, spread 2 tablespoons of oil around the perimeter and heat till smoking. Then, quickly add the mushrooms and stir fry for 30 seconds.

• 

• 

Then, add in the rest of the veggies except the green scallions. If it looks too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Stir for another 2 minutes until the veggies have softened.

At this point, add the still warm, well-drained precooked noodles to the pan. Stir fry everything together for another minute until well mixed and warmed up.

• 

• 

Then, drizzle the prepared seasoning on top of everything and stir-fry together for 1 minute, or until the soy sauce mixture is distributed evenly.

Be gentle as you are mixing the noodles – you want to minimize breakage. Add more oil around the perimeter of the pan if the noodles are sticking. If the noodles are too dry, add a bit of water to loosen things up. Finally, add in the green scallions and mix until the noodles are heated through, another 3-4 minutes.

Serving

Top with shrimp and scallops then serve immediately.

• 

• 

Your Lucky Long Life Noodles is ready for the table. Let’s feast!

Note on Lucky Long Life Noodles

1. You can make this dish vegetarian by omitting the seafood and use the vegetarian version of oyster sauce .
2. Other popular ingredients are slices of roasted pork, char siu, dried oysters, and any auspicious sounding items.
3. Are you new to the world of Asian noodles? Do you know your mai-fun from your lo mien? If not, I found a helpful guide here => https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/08/asian-noodle-shopping-guide.html

This recipe was inspired by =>https://thewoksoflife.com/long-life-noodles-yi-mein/

More Flavorful Ideas:

Check out how to make simple and flavorful dinner using the “en papillote” or foil packet method. See how I do it here =>Quick Sausage En Papillote: Awesome Recipe from Jacques Pepin

Craving for a quick snack that requires no cooking? Check out these => Quick Prosciutto Manchego Apple Stacks: Results of a Forage in the Fridge

Do you like fun whimsical snacks? Have you seen these fish-shaped filled pancakes call Taiyaki? They are fun to make and even better to eat! => How to make Fun Festive Japanese Fish-Shaped Pancakes!