A thick, glossy Taipei-style oyster-and-intestine vermicelli soup, the broth starch-thickened until it clings to the thin noodles. The signature snack of Ximending, Taipei's youth-shopping district, famously sold by Ah-Chung since 1975.
Ximending oyster vermicelli, known colloquially as mian-xian, is the signature snack of Ximending, Taipei's historic youth and cinema district. The defining version has been sold by Ah-Chung Oyster Vermicelli since 1975 from a corner shop on Emei Street, where customers eat standing on the pavement, bowls in hand, a queue that has barely stopped for half a century. The dish is distinct from the thinner southern Taiwanese oyster vermicelli by its thickness and its inclusion of pork intestines alongside the oysters, the broth reduced and starch-thickened until it is almost a sauce, clinging to the thin wheat-flour vermicelli that is the base. Oysters, briefly blanched and coated in starch for protection, and cleaned pork intestines, braised until tender, are folded in, the bowl finished with garlic, vinegar, chili and cilantro, each diner seasoning their own. The starch-thickened, clinging texture is what makes it a Taipei dish, and the standing-up eating culture of the Ah-Chung corner is part of its identity.
A thick, clinging, glossy soup-thread of noodles with plump oysters and tender braised intestine, the broth almost a starch sauce, pungent with raw garlic and sharpened with black vinegar. Eaten standing, scalding hot, with a dab of chili.
The defining technique is the starch-thickening. Thin wheat-flour vermicelli, mian-xian, is cooked in a pork-bone and dried-shrimp broth until it softens and partly breaks down, the starches from the noodles themselves beginning to thicken the liquid. Then a slurry of sweet-potato starch and water is streamed in and the broth cooked briefly longer until it turns glossy and clings to the noodles, the texture halfway between soup and sauce. The oysters are coated in sweet-potato starch and blanched for only seconds, so they stay plump and soft, the coating protecting them from toughening. The pork intestines are cleaned with salt and starch, braised separately until tender, then added. The bowl is finished at the counter with raw garlic paste, black vinegar, chili sauce and chopped cilantro, the strong garlic being essential to cut the richness of the intestine and the clinging broth. The starch-thickened clinging quality is what distinguishes the Taipei style.
Variations
Some stalls serve only oysters, only intestines, or both. A white-pepper and garlic-heavy version is the Ximending style. Dried bonito flakes are sometimes added to the broth.
On the Palate
Where Ximending Oyster Vermicelli sits in the Taiwanese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
6 steps · 25 min
- 18 min
Clean 200g pork intestines with salt and starch, rinse well, then braise in water with ginger and rice wine for 1 hour until tender; slice into pieces.
- 26 min
Bring 1 litre pork-bone broth with a handful of dried shrimp to a simmer; add 150g thin wheat vermicelli and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
Watch outCook the vermicelli in the broth until it softens and starts breaking down — the noodle's own starch begins thickening the soup before the slurry even goes in.
- 34 min
Coat 200g fresh oysters in sweet-potato starch; blanch in boiling water for 15 seconds, drain.
Watch outBlanch the starch-coated oysters just 15 seconds — the coating shields them; any longer and they shrink and go rubbery.
- 45 min
Thicken the broth: stream in a slurry of 3 tbsp sweet-potato starch in 100ml water, stirring, until glossy and clinging.
Watch outStream the sweet-potato slurry in stirring until glossy and clinging — dumped in at once it clumps instead of turning the broth silky.
- 53 min
Fold in the intestine and oysters; warm through for 1 minute, no more.
- 63 min
Ladle into bowls; let each diner add raw garlic paste, black vinegar, chili sauce and cilantro to taste.
Archive tool suggestions — not reviewed
These legacy suggestions have not been evidence-reviewed and are not presented as required tools.
