Mie Goreng is one of the ultimate Asian comfort foods, something whipped up in households across Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Singapore. In fact, you’ll find the ubiquitous noodle dish popping up everywhere from street stalls to swanky restaurants.
Each of those countries has its own take on Mie Goreng, though the dish is traditionally made with Hokkein (egg) noodles stir fried with shallots, garlic, soy sauce, egg, vegetables, and a variety of proteins. And while we’ve tasted many variations of the dish across Asia, it was as we ate our way through Bali’s many delicious street snacks, that we fell in love with the luscious noodles.
Good job too, because the oh-so-silky Indonesian Mie Goreng appears to be served for breakfast, lunch and tea… and who are we to say no to that? For us, it is near impossible to bypass the brightly coloured street carts hawking the irresistibly sweet, salty, spicy noodles, studded as they are with juicy strips of chicken, pork or beef and a smattering of prawns, and served accompanied with hot sambal. OK, I admit that that may be because we have zero self-control around food, but still…
Our own Indonesian Mie Goreng recipe has evolved from the many variations we’ve tried in Bali and we use both chicken and pork variations. It must be noted that in much of Indonesia Islamic halal dietary law forbids the consumption of pork but in majority Hindu Bali, pork is a staple, hence the use of it in our recipe, but you can substitute the meat of your choice.
This recipe is so simple, 12-year old Raff whips it up in our wok weekly, like a boss! Enjoy.
Ingredients
- Mee goreng
- Peanut oil
- 2 eggs whisked
- 1 tbsp sambal oelek
- 1 tsp shrimp paste
- 2 tbsp kecap manis
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 thumb of ginger, finely julienned.
- 300g sliced pork belly (skin off)
- 12 peeled green prawns
- 1 cup sliced cabbage
- 1 cup bean shoots
- 440g fresh Chinese egg noodles
- 1/2 cup sliced spring onions
- Birdseye chilli sliced
- 1 lime
Instructions
- Combine shrimp paste, sambal oelek, sesame oil, kecap manis and light soy sauce in a bowl and set aside.
- Heat a splash of oil in a seasoned wok over medium-high heat. Add the egg and swirl around the hot wok to form a thin omelette. Cook until just set, transfer to a chopping board. Roll omelette and slice into 5mm ribbons and set aside.
- Heat a little more oil to the wok and add pork, tossing until almost cooked.
- Add peeled prawns and cook for a minute each side or until opaque.
- Add cabbage and bean shoots and toss lightly
- Add noodles and sauce mix and stir fry until evenly coated.
- Add spring onions (reserving a tbsp full), and egg noodles and toss lightly.
- Serve topped with slices of birdseye chilli, spring onions and a wedge of lime
An award-winning travel writer and photographer, Aleney de Winter was fresh from school when she first set off to explore the far reaches of Australia with a two-man tent and a beaten-up Kingswood for company. Three decades, and two kids later, and she's still on the go, with her itchy-footed offspring in tow. 