Indomie mee goreng has been a staple in the diets of uni students and the cash-poor for decades – and for good reason. It’s tasty, can be jazzed up in a multitude of ways and is incredibly quick to make. But once you’ve graduated from the instant version, there’s a whole world of mee goreng varieties awaiting you.
In Diana Chan’s vibrant new cookbook, The Golden Wok, the Masterchef Australia 2017 winner shares a recipe for Malaysian-style mee goreng. It sits alongside other recipes that celebrate the versatility of the wok, plus instructions for buying, seasoning and cleaning a wok, and the tools you need to make the most of the wok. Her mee goreng recipe is approachable and ready in around 30 minutes.
“There are many variations of this dish throughout Southeast Asia,” Chan writes. “Some regions prefer them sweeter, some more savoury and spicy. This is a Malaysian version using fresh thin egg noodles tossed through a rich, dark and slightly spicy sauce.”
Diana Chan’s mee goreng
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
60ml neutral-flavoured cooking oil
30g garlic, crushed
200g raw prawns, peeled and deveined, leaving the tails intact
20g long red chillies, thinly sliced, plus extra, chopped, to garnish
30g tomato, cut into wedges
60g bok choy, leaves separated from stems, cut into 8cm lengths
50g fish cake, very thinly sliced
500g fresh Hokkien noodles
50g bean sprouts
500ml chicken stock
60ml kecap manis
60ml chilli sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
Pinch of ground white pepper
Lime cheeks, to serve
Method
Heat a wok over a high heat then add the oil. Fry the garlic for 30 seconds to flavour the oil. Add the prawns and cook for 2 minutes then add the chillies, tomato, bok choy stems and fish cake. Cook and toss for a further minute.
Add the noodles and cook for 3 minutes. Add the bok choy leaves and bean sprouts and cook until just softened.
Add the stock and sauces. Season with pepper. Toss until the noodles are thoroughly coated and heated through.
Divide among serving bowls, garnish with extra chillies and serve with lime cheeks.
This is an edited extract from The Golden Wok by Diana Chan (Hardback, RRP $50) published by Hardie Grant Books. Available in stores nationally now.
Want more Diana Chan noodles? Check out her quick char kway teow for one recipe.
