RED WINE AND SEDIMENTS

I have a bad reaction to wine and any alcoholic beverages.  If I happen to consume food or drinks with alcohol, I will break out in rashes and have to go get medical treatment.  That is why I have never tasted the famous Hockchiew Red Wine Chicken Vermicelli  (红酒鸡长寿面线) when I have lived in Sitiawan for 17 years.  When my Aunt May was alive, she would ask me to buy bottles of this red wine (Ang Chiew) for her so that she can make this dish for her family.  Since she is no longer with me, I have not bought it for a while.  

For your information, the Foochow or Hockchiew red wine is not the same as the western red wine.  It is a
unique blend of red wine which is a tradition among Foochow people. In the olden days, family of a pregnant woman will start to brew red wine months prior to the birth of the baby. The ingredients consist of rice, yeast and varieties of herbs. The red wine thus brewed is dense, and is kept in bottles stored in a dry and warm place. RED WINE is a vital ingredient to longevity noodles/rice vermicelli (chang shou mian)and pre-cooked chicken.  RED WINE is also consumed by a lady in confinement who has given birth.  It is believed that the wine will help her to recover her health in shorter period of time. 

In the first picture, you see bottles of Foochow red wine on sale at a stall in the grounds of the Tua Pek Kong temple in Pasir Panjang.  The reddish paste in the transparent containers in the first and second pictures are the sediments (Ang Zhao) from making the red wine.  What I have learnt it both the red wine and the sediments are used for cooking.

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