This Mie Goreng recipe is easy and quick to make but offers a big flavor. It’s the only stir-fry noodle recipe you want to keep. Promise.

Mie Goreng

Mie Goreng which literally means stir-fried noodles is one of the most popular foods in Indonesian cuisine. And it is one of the most sought-after street foods as well.

Historically, noodles are the influence of Indonesian Chinese culture that has been adapted over time. Now, in every region of Indonesia, you will find local versions of mie goreng/ mee Goreng.

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Some use thin egg noodles, and some use thick ones. While others use curly noodles. But, interestingly, all of them use sweet soy sauce for flavoring. No surprise. 

Maybe because this sauce is originally from Indonesia that it has become one of the staples in Indonesian cooking.

The other ingredients for the stir-fry can be varied. 

The basic one will be scrambled eggs and shredded chicken. Other varieties will be slices of bakso (beef meatballs), chicken pieces, prawns, and cuttlefish. 

And the most common vegetables put in the noodles are bean sprouts, cabbage, and/or choy sum. 

The recipe that I’m sharing here is based on the street food style. So, it’s a straightforward recipe without any secret ingredients. But, it definitely gives you a flavourful dish of stir-fried noodles. I promise.

You can enjoy your Mie Goreng as it is, or you can have it with a squirt or two of chili sauce. And if you don’t have it in your pantry, just sprinkle some chili flakes or chili powder for a little bit of kick.

And if you need more recipe ideas for stir-fried noodles, you can try this Chinese shrimp lo mein.

Simple ingredients for Mie Goreng 

The original street-food stir-fried noodles in Indonesia only use simple ingredients. The key to making tasty Mie Goreng lies in the proportion of each item and flavoring. 

So here is the list of main ingredients that you need:

1. Egg noodles.
2. Chicken.
3. Vegetables.
4. Onion.
5. Garlic.
6. Sweet soy sauce.
7. Light soy sauce.
8. Salt and ground white pepper.

Additionally, you can add spring onion slices and fried onion as a garnish at serving time.

When it comes to vegetables, there is no strict rule about what you can choose. However, Indonesians tend to choose cabbage or Choi sum. Maybe because these two are very common and easily available.

As for the sweet soy sauce, I strongly recommend using Indonesian sweet soy sauce. Because it gives a better flavor to our Mie Goreng recipe. 

I did try several brands of non-Indonesian sweet soy sauce. I ended up with regrets. 

If for some reason, you can not get the Indonesian sweet soy sauce, the best way to substitute is by making your own sweet soy sauce. Here’s how to make it.

How to make a substitute for Indonesian sweet soy sauce:

1. In a small pan, place ¼ cup/ 60 ml/ 2.03 fl. oz of dark soy sauce with 3.5 tablespoons/ 52 ml/ 1.83 fl. oz of dark brown sugar, preferably dark muscovado sugar.
2. Warm it up and stir the soy sauce mixture until the sugar dissolves, and the liquid becomes slightly thicker and sticky. Set aside.

How to make Indonesian stir-fried noodles

Get all the ingredients ready beforehand. Cut your chicken into small thin pieces. Slice the onion and cabbage. Crush the garlic. And put all the seasoning and flavouring within your reach. 

Then start boiling enough water in a large pot for the noodles. Boil the noodles according to the instructions on their packets, drain and set aside. 

As you boil the noodles, fry the onion slices until fragrant then add the crushed garlic, pepper, and salt. Cook for a minute or two until it releases an aroma, then put the chicken pieces in. Continue frying at moderate-high heat as you keep stirring the poultry around. Once the chicken looks opaque and thoroughly cooked, place the cabbage and the bean sprouts in the chicken.

By now, your noodles should be ready and drained. So put the noodles in the wok together with light soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, salt, and pepper. And carefully stir and mix the noodles and veggies until all are coated evenly with the sauce.

Try and taste the noodles. Add more flavoring if needed. 

Top tips for delicious stir-fried noodles

And before you go to your kitchen and take out your wok to make these Indonesian stir-fried noodles, allow me to suggest a few things:

1. Choose good quality egg noodles. I tried several different brands before I now become loyal to a few. My favorite ones are thin egg noodles.
2. Prepare all your ingredients beforehand. You want them nearby and ready when you start cooking. Because it doesn’t take long to make this stir-fry.
3. When it comes to cooking any stir-fry with vegetables, my family and I prefer to have them crunchy. Not only do we think the stir-fry tastes better with undercooked crunchy vegetables, but we find it’s healthier as well.
4. As for the sweet soy sauce, please try to get hold of Indonesian products. Because I did try using a few non-Indonesian sweet soy sauces, but all resulted in a totally different from what I expected. 
5. Using a skewer or a fork, try to pierce your chicken pieces after you season them with pepper and salt. This way, your chicken pieces will be tasty too, and not bland.

More recipes from the Indonesian kitchen

Thank you for checking out this mie goreng recipe. I hope you’re intrigued to try it by now. Let me know if you do and leave in the comments below what you think of this recipe. I’ll really appreciate it.

And please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Pinterest. To sneak a peek at what’s cooking in my kitchen. 

Last but not least, don’t forget to check my other Indonesian food recipes that you may like.

• The real Indonesian beef rendang – is simply authentic.
• Ayam kecap manis – chicken in sweet soy sauce.
• Lontong sayur Betawi: hard-boiled rice cakes with vegetable curry.
• Gado-gado Jakarta
• Ketoprak Jakarta: beansprouts, vermicelli, and tofu salad with garlicky peanut sauce.
• Tuna fried-rice: nasi goreng tuna.
• Soto Ayam: Indonesian clear chicken soup.

Thank you and all the best.