Mie goreng

Mie goreng

Mie goreng in a restaurant in Jakarta.
Alternative names	Mee goreng or Mi goreng
Course	Main course
Place of origin	Indonesia,[1][2] Malaysia and Singapore
Region or state	Nationwide
Created by	Chinese Indonesian and Peranakan
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Fried noodles with chicken, meat or prawn
Cookbook: Mie goreng  Media: Mie goreng

Mie goreng (Indonesian: mie goreng or mi goreng; Malay: mee goreng or mi goreng; both meaning "fried noodles"^[3]), also known as bakmi goreng,^[4] is a flavorful and spicy fried noodle dish common in Indonesia,^[1][5] Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore. It is made with thin yellow noodles fried in cooking oil with garlic, onion or shallots, fried prawn, chicken, beef, or sliced bakso (meatballs), chili, Chinese cabbage, cabbages, tomatoes, egg, and other vegetables. Ubiquitous in Indonesia, it can be found everywhere in the country, sold by all food vendors from street-hawkers, warungs, to high-end restaurants. It is an Indonesian one-dish meal favorite, although street food hawkers commonly sell it together with nasi goreng (fried rice).^[6] It is commonly available at Mamak stalls in Singapore, Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia and is often spicy.

Origin

Chinese influences are evident in Indonesian food, such as bakmi, mie ayam, pangsit, bakso, lumpia, kwetiau goreng and mie goreng.^[7] The dish is derived from Chinese chow mein and believed to have been introduced by Chinese immigrants in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.^[5] Mie goreng is also similar to Japanese yakisoba. However mie goreng has been more heavily integrated into Indonesian cuisine; for example the application of popular sweet soy sauce that add mild sweetness,^[8] sprinkle of fried shallots, addition of spicy sambal and the absence of pork and lard in favour for shrimp, chicken, or beef; to cater for the Muslim majority.

Variations

Mie goreng are traditionally made with yellow wheat noodles, stir fried with chopped shallots, onion and garlic with soy sauce seasoning, egg, vegetables, chicken, meat or seafood. However, other versions might use dried instant noodle instead of fresh yellow wheat noodle. The powdered instant noodle seasonings are usually included in the dish, added with egg and vegetables, they are common in Indonesia and Malaysia. Authentic mie goreng uses fresh ingredients and spices, however, bottled instant spice paste might be used for practical reason.^[9]

The almost identical recipe is often used to create another dish. For example bihun goreng is made by replacing yellow wheat noodle with bihun or rice vermicelli, while kwetiau goreng uses shahe fen or thick flat rice noodles instead.

Indonesia

Mie goreng Aceh.

A number of mie goreng variants exist. In Indonesia mie goreng variants are usually named after the ingredients, while some might be named after the region of origin.

• Mie goreng ayam or common mie goreng usually uses chicken, shallots, garlic, leek, sweet soy sauce, egg, and vegetables.
• Mie goreng sapi, similar to common traditional mie goreng, but uses beef instead.
• Mie goreng kambing uses goat meat or mutton.
• Mie goreng udang uses shrimp.^[5]
• Mie goreng seafood uses seafood which includes mixture of fish, squid and shrimp.
• Mie Goreng Aceh a mie goreng variant from Aceh province, which uses thicker noodle similar to that of spaghetti, and employ curry-like rich spicy paste.^[10]
• Mie goreng Jawa from Central Java, employ sweet soy sauce, egg, chicken and vegetables. In restaurant, warung or travelling food vendor, it usually sold and offered together with mie rebus (lit. "boiled noodle") or mie Jawa.^[11]
• Mie goreng tek-tek refer to mie goreng sold by travelling street hawkers that hitting the wok making "tek-tek" sounds to announce their wares. The seller with his food cart frequenting the residence areas, usually also offers nasi goreng and mie rebus. It is common in Jakarta and some large cities in Java.
• Mie goreng dhog-dhog also known as Mie goreng Surabaya from Surabaya city. Refer to travelling food cart vendor selling mie goreng Surabaya that uses large wooden slit drum instead to announce his presence in the neighbourhood, thus creates "dhog-dhog" sounds.^[12]

Instant version of mie goreng

• Indomie Mi goreng the instant version of mie goreng, Indomie Mi goreng is also popular in Indonesia and other countries, notably Netherlands, Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, United States and several Middle Eastern countries.^[13] This instant version however, is not technically goreng (stir-fried), but boiled instead and seasoned after discarding the water used for boiling. Nevertheless, it tries to closely resemble the authentic mie goreng by adding sweet soy sauce and crispy fried shallot. It is commonly found in warung Indomie stalls that sell instant noodles, grilled sandwiches and hot drinks in Indonesian urban areas.

Indonesians tend to name similar foreign dishes as mie goreng, for example in Indonesia, chow mein is often called mie goreng Tionghoa and yakisoba is called mie goreng Jepang.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, mie goreng is associated with Malaysian Indian cuisine and is famous for being prepared and sold at Mamak stalls around the country. The dish has spawned unique variations found in Malaysia and neighbouring Singapore.^[14][15][16]

• Mee goreng mamak. A common variation of mie goreng is mee goreng mamak which is sold at Mamak stalls run by Indian Muslims in Malaysia. This variation is distinguished from others through the use of spices, tomato sauce, potatoes, sweet soy sauce and curry spice. Chilli is another common ingredient used in this dish.^{[17][18][19][20]}
• Maggi goreng is a variation originating from the Indian Muslim community and sold in Mamak stalls around Malaysia. It uses Maggi instant noodles instead of standard yellow noodles.^[21]

Singapore

In Singapore, the availability of mie goreng is largely similar to that found in Malaysia, including the Mamak version. Singapore is also home of the Punggol mie goreng, so called due to its origins at the Punggol End bus station. It is closely related to the Peranakan Chinese-style mie goreng, and includes stir-fried rempah, yellow Chinese noodles, seafood (typically prawns). Some versions include the addition of fake crab, cabbage and bean sprouts.

Gallery

References

External links

• Indonesian Mie Goreng Recipe
• Mie Goreng (Indonesian Fried Noodle) Recipe
• Mee Goreng Recipe
• Mi Goreng Jawa recipe (in Indonesian)
• Mie Goreng Ayam cooking instructions (from YouTube)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mie goreng.