Sapasui

Ingredients

Noodles

• 400 gglass noodles, mung bean vermicelli

Meat

• 700 gminced beef or pork
• or a mix of both

Aromatics

• 2onions, sliced
• 6 clovesgarlic
• 4cm ginger, grated
• 3 tbspoil

Sauce

• 150 mlsoy sauce
• 2 tbspoyster sauce
• 1 tbspsugar
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 500 mlbeef stock or water

Vegetables

• 2carrots, julienned
• 150 ggreen beans, sliced
• 4spring onions
• 1celery stick, optional

To serve

• steamed rice
• a wedge of lemon
• tomato ketchup, which Samoans genuinely add

Directions

1. Soak the glass noodles in warm water for about 20 minutes until pliable. Soak them in warm water rather than boiling them. Drain them and cut them roughly into shorter lengths with scissors. Cut them, because full-length glass noodles are unmanageable once they are in the pan and impossible to serve.
2. Heat the oil in a very large pot and fry the onions until soft and golden. Add the garlic and ginger and cook a minute. Add the mince and cook it hard, breaking it up, until browned and the liquid has gone.
3. Brown the meat properly rather than stewing it grey, because that colour is much of the flavour of a simple dish. Add the stock and bring it to a simmer. Add the carrots and beans and cook 5 minutes.
4. Cook them for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring, until they have absorbed most of the liquid and turned translucent. The noodles should drink the sauce rather than swim in it, which is what makes the dish rather than a soup.
5. Add more hot stock if it goes dry before the noodles are done. Judge it by the noodles rather than the clock: they should be soft and slippery with a slight spring, and never falling apart.
6. Stir in the spring onions at the end. Taste and adjust the soy and pepper. It should be savoury, faintly sweet and clearly gingery, and mild rather than hot. Rest it off the heat for 10 minutes, during which the noodles absorb the last of the sauce.
7. Serve it with steamed rice, which surprises people who think of it as a noodle dish. It reheats well and it keeps a few days, which is part of why it suits feeding a crowd.

Technique

• It is made in enormous quantities for gatherings and rarely for two people.
• Chicken and mixed meats are both used and beef is the most common.
• The Samoan diaspora in New Zealand, Australia and California made it familiar well beyond Samoa.

Substitutions

• Any glass or cellophane noodle.
• Chicken in place of beef, which is lighter.

Variations

• Made with chicken.
• With cabbage and beansprouts added.
• With more vegetables and less meat.

History

Chinese labourers recruited for German-era plantations from 1903 brought chop suey, which Samoa adopted as its own party dish.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sapasui?

Sapasui is a main from Samoa: samoan chop suey of glass noodles simmered with soy and meat. Chinese labourers recruited for German-era plantations from 1903 brought chop suey, which Samoa adopted as its own party dish.

How long does Sapasui take to make?

Sapasui takes 25 min plus 30 min soaking of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Sapasui?

Yes, within limits. Any glass or cellophane noodle. Chicken in place of beef, which is lighter.

What is the most important thing to get right in Sapasui?

Soak the glass noodles in warm water for about 20 minutes until pliable. Soak them in warm water rather than boiling them. Drain them and cut them roughly into shorter lengths with scissors. Cut them, because full-length glass noodles are unmanageable once they are in the pan and impossible to serve.