Nothing takes me home quite like mie goreng. Indonesians will eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It's sold in street carts all the way to 5 star hotels. On my last trip to Bali, I literally ate at least one plate of mie goreng every day. Slightly charred noodles with an assortment of toppings and condiments, meant to be eaten the second it comes out of the wok onto your plate. I've burned my mouth on plenty of these but totally would do them again, not sorry.
The variations are endless. From mild to make-you-cry spicy, from vegetarian to seafood, from the plain-ish broke college student version to fully loaded, it's a meal for all tastes and budget. It can be served with an assortment of sambal (chili sauce), a side of kerupuk (chips), sprinkled with fried shallots, anything goes. For me, nothing beats sitting on a curb while watching someone cook my mie goreng on a flaming hot wok in a street cart while watching city traffic go by. Ah, home!
I love recipes that can work with whatever you have in your kitchen. I've made this with just noodles and eggs and was equally happy as when I put the whole kitchen sink in. You will need a wok and some specialty items (most can be found in an Asian specialty store or Amazon). The wok will give you more surface area to toss the noddles and will get piping hot. Pro: you get to crank the flame on your stove to as high as it will go! Yay, let's play with fire! Con: I always get insanely sweaty after making one of these and my wrist gets tired from constantly tossing the wok. BUT, I get rewarded with slurpy noodles at the end so I can definitely endure whatever it takes to get mie goreng in my belly.
The sauce requires kecap manis, which is a sweet and think soy sauce with the consistency similar to molasses. You will also want to use white pepper (in a pinch, you can use black pepper but it's not nearly as fragrant). If you can find fresh egg noodles, great. Otherwise you can use the dried kind, just cook it per package instructions and rinse under cold water before frying. You will also be making egg ribbons, which is pretty much a thin omelet shaped into a role and sliced into ribbons. Easy, right?
This time, I didn't have any beansprouts or bok choy to toss into the mix but I added some lap cheong (Chinese sausage) and fried fish cakes. Chicken can also be used but I didn't have any handy, but we work with what we have! The process regardless of which toppings you decide to use is to start by frying your raw ingredients in the VERY hot wok, followed by the vegetables, then the noodles and sauce. Pro tip: I found the easiest way to get the noodles well coated is to use kitchen tongs.
Ingredients
12 oz egg noodles (if using dried, cook according to package instructions and rinse with cold water after straining)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs, whisked
8 oz raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
3 links Chinese sausage
Handful of fried fish cakes, sliced in half
2 scallions, sliced thin
3 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
1 tbsp regular soy sauce (like Kikkoman brand)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp sesame oil
A pinch of white pepper
Directions
In a frying pan over medium low heat, warm up 1 tbsp vegetable oil and pour in the whisked eggs. Swirl the egg mixture around the pan until it forms a thin even layer. Scrape the side using a spatula. When fully cooked, turn off the heat. While still in the pan, roll the omelet over itself until it forms a tube. Slide rolled omelet onto a cutting board. Let cool and slice into half inch ribbons.
In a mixing bowl, combine kecap manis, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, sesame oil, and white pepper. Mix well.
Heat the wok along with 2 tbsp vegetable oil over high heat. Once oil is almost smoking, toss in the shrimp, Chinese sausage, and fish cakes. Stir/toss frequently until fully cooked and slightly charred.
Mix the noodles in and cook for another 3-4 minutes until noodle is dry, tossing frequently.
Drizzle the premixed sauce on top of noodles and using kitchen tongs, make sure the noodles are well coated with sauce. Add in egg ribbons.Cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Serve the noodles immediately with desired toppings.
Recipe adapted from: I Am A Food Blog
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