Chinese egg noodles (Recipe: mee goreng/fried noodles)
When Bee invited me to write a guest post for Rasa Malaysia, one of my favorite Asian cooking blogs, I knew I had to tell the tale of my relationship to mee goreng, one of Malaysia's favorite street foods. Please visit Rasa Malaysia for the story and recipe.
There are, I think, two secrets to making great Asian food. One, use a hot hot hot wok. Two, cook with authentic ingredients.
Chinese egg noodles, fresh and dried, are one of the authentic Asian ingredients that have a permanent home in The Perfect Pantry.
Made from wheat flour and egg, and sometimes a few other ingredients (including food coloring, so watch out for that on the label), fresh egg noodles are sold in the refrigerated aisle of most Asian markets, near the tofu and miso. Whether the package says steamed noodles, or Hong Kong noodles, or Hokkien noodles, what you want to buy are round yellow noodles.
If they're very fresh when you buy them, egg noodles will keep for two weeks in the refrigerator; I store mine in the vegetable crisper drawer. Dry egg noodles, an acceptable substitute, will keep for months in your cupboard.
To prepare fresh egg noodles, bring a large pot of water to a full boil. Cook the noodles for one minute, then rinse and drain under cold water. You want them a bit undercooked, as they will be cooked again in a stir-fry or soup.
To prepare dry noodles, bring a large pot of water to a full boil. Cook noodles for 3-4 minutes, until flexible but al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water, then proceed with your recipe.
Without Chinese egg noodles, there would be no lo mein, no chow mein, no dan dan mian, no sesame noodles, no wonton noodle soup, and, for me, no mee goreng. According to Terry Durack, author of the wonderfully encyclopedic Noodle, "This is the closest any noodle gets to taking over the world."
I'll slurp to that.
You'll find my recipe for mee goreng (Indian stir-fried noodles) on Rasa Malaysia.
More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Chicken lo mein
Pad Thai
Rotini with spicy meat sauce
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Your favorite Asian Food Blog?? I must check it out!! But the links don't seem to work...
I love mee goreng! I've only had the Balinese version, not Malaysian, but I think they are similar. Great breakfast food.
Everyone: there seems to be a bit of technical trouble over at Rasa Malaysia this morning. Please check back later today if the links don't take you there.
I remember that mee goreng very well. It was such a surprise to turn around a see Lydia behind the counter cooking!
Ted
Love the lo mein...thanks for sharing!
Great info on asian cooking. I will keep this recipe. It looks like a delicious one. I agree it is always best to use good ingredients in anything. With the increase in the cost of food these days, I prefer to buy fewer ingredients with better quality than a bunch of cheap zero tasting foods.
great story and great recipe. I must honestly say that this is the first asian recipe that I actually think I could attempt -simple, no super-crazy exotic ingredients - Thanks for giving me the courage!
Do you think this would work with non-Chinese egg noodles?
Lydia—We always keep a host of Asian ingredients in our pantry. Glad to hear that you do too. Of course, I should have totally expected that, with your seemingly endless pantry!
Julia, everything should be working for you now, so please head over to RM for the recipe. Let's compare the two versions some day -- a mee goreng cook-off, perhaps?
Ted, that was one of my favorite of all of our travel experiences!
StuffCooksWant, hope you enjoy it.
Treehouse Chef, one of the best ways to save money is to use great ingredients, so nothing goes to waste.
Carol, you can do it -- all of the ingredients came from the supermarket or from 88 Market in Boston.
Sandra, absolutely -- but spaghetti is a better substitute.
Terry, my pantry looks like an aisle at the Asian grocery. Perhaps I was Asian in a former life -- it's my absolute favorite cuisine. And I'm not surprised to hear that your pantry is filled with Asian ingredients, either!
I love big bowls of Asian noodles!
I love those noodles, but only get them out. Guess I can have them in now!
I have to get some of these noodles - there is no substitute for the real thing.
Pam, me too. In fact, I won't even tell you how quickly Ted and I demolished a wok full of these noodles....
Peabody, most of the ingredients in this dish are available at supermarkets or gourmet shops, and of course at Asian groceries.
TW, there really isn't, although if you absolutely had to make these noodles, spaghetti would be a fair substitute. But the texture is just not the same.
Thanks for the sharing. I enjoyed your blog.. Mee Goreng seems delicious :)
I usually don't believe my dad everytime he says that it's made of egg, lol. You are right, asian food especially noodles is their specialty and my dad really love the taste. I'm going to prepare this recipe and give to my dad and ask for money in exchange ;D