Mie Goreng (or Mee Goreng) is an Indonesian noodle dish that’s also found in Malaysia and other parts of South East Asia. With a sticky, savoury sweet sauce, noodles are tossed with chicken, prawns, vegetables and signature egg ribbons. A street food favourite!
Mie Goreng (or Mee Goreng)
I’m a sucker for good noodles. It’s one of the greatest joys of travelling around Asian – noodles galore! (And often dirt cheap, at that)
This one originates from Indonesia – called Mie Goreng or Mee Goreng. It’s also pretty common in Malaysia though you’ll find the Malaysian version often has a hint of curry powder added.
The unique thing about Mie Goreng is the sweet sticky sauce, and that there’s a good variety of “stuff” in the noodles. Though there’s no exact rules about what goes in it, the combination I’ve used in this recipe is pretty common – chicken, prawns, cabbage, bean sprouts, green onion and the signature “egg ribbons” which is simply a thin egg omelette rolled up and sliced into strips (it seriously takes less than 2 minutes to make).
What goes in Mie Goreng
Here’s what you need to make Mie Goreng. Feel free to switch around the protein and vegetables – just follow the quantities in the recipe so you don’t dilute the flavour!
Kecap Manis – sweet dark soy sauce
The key ingredient in the signature sticky noodle sauce is Kecap Manis which is a syrupy sweet soy sauce that adds both flavour and sweetness into the sauce as well as thickening it.
Nowadays you’ll find it in the Asian section of large supermarkets in Australia, such as Woolworths and Coles.
Noodles for Mie Goreng
In both Indonesia and Malaysia, Mie Goreng is made with all sorts of noodles. Thick, thin, crinkly, smooth.
What might surprise you though is that Mie Goreng is actually commonly made by street vendors using instant noodles! Literally, the noodles you get in ramen and other instant noodles packets (just toss the seasoning packet).
I like using instant noodles for Mie Goreng because you get that signature crinkly look just like you get from street food vendors!
How to make Mie Goreng
This is made like any stir fried noodles, with the addition of an extra step to make egg ribbons first. Just simply make a thin egg omelette, roll it up and slice.
Then we toss this back into the dish right at the very end.
You’ll notice that the sauce is quite thick and sticky, so once you start tossing the noodles, the sauce will reduce quite quickly.
This is what we want to happen! The sauce sort of caramelises on the noodles which adds extra flavour – trust me, you will know when the noodles are ready to come off the stove.
What to serve with Mie Goreng
There’s a decent amount of vegetables in this, so I think it’s ok to serve as a meal without a side of vegetables. But if you do want to add something to the menu, try one of these – they are refreshing sides so will be a nice contrast to the strong flavour in this noodle dish.
This recipe serves 2 to 3 people which I know is an odd number. But it’s one of those dishes that’s hard to make in big batches because you need to toss enthusiastically to mix everything up and get things browning and caramelising
So even with a large wok or skillet, there’s only so much you can make in one go.
Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Mie Goreng (Mee Goreng)
Ingredients
Noodles - use ONE (Note 1):
- 3 instant noodle cakes (I use this)
- 250g/8oz fresh egg noodles , thin to medium
- 150g / 5oz dried egg noodles , thin to medium
Sauce:
- 2 tbsp kecap manis (or dark sweet soy sauce) (Note 2)
- 2 tsp light soy sauce (or normal soy, Note 3)
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce , or more light soy sauce (Note 3)
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 4)
- 2 tbsp ketchup (yes really!)
- 1 tsp sambal oelak, chilli paste or Sriracha (adjust spiciness to taste)
- 2 tsp sesame oil
Stir Fried Noodles:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 eggs , lightly whisked
- 3 garlic cloves , finely chopped
- 120g/4oz chicken breast or thigh , sliced thinly into small bite size pieces
- 100g/3.5oz prawns/shrimp , raw, peeled and deveined (smaller are better)
- 2 cups cabbage , finely sliced (any green or white cabbage)
- 1 cup beansprouts
- 3 green onions , cut into 5cm/2" lengths (green and white part)
Instructions
- Mix the Sauce in a bowl.
- Prepare noodles per packet directions just before cooking.
Egg Ribbons:
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in egg, swirl to coat base. Cook 1 minute until mostly set, then flip (do your best!).
- Slide onto cutting board, roll up into loose "wrap". Slice into 1cm/ 1/3" thick pieces - you now have egg ribbons!
Cooking:
- Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in same skillet over HIGH heat.
- Add garlic and chicken, cook until half surface turns white.
- Add prawns and cook for 1 minute until chicken is mostly cooked.
- Add cabbage and bean sprouts, toss for 1 minute until a bit wilted.
- Add noodles, green onions and Sauce, toss for 1 - 2 minutes until Sauce reduces and noodles caramelise a bit.
- Toss through egg ribbons and serve immediately!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Your Noodle Life
Life of Dozer
My lovely new neighbours left some fresh bread by my front door – and Dozer was quick to check it out, thinking it was for HIM!!!
Paws off Dozer, that’s for ME!
Hi Nagi, made this and added extra chilies and some tofu. My wife and I scoffed the lot after a hard days work.
Excellent.
Hi Nagi
I love this recipe. IS there something else I can use instead of cabbage. it is a no go in my house.
Made this for dinner tonight. So good! But I only had 2 noodle cakes and can’t see adding a 3rd. I also didn’t have bean sprouts and I did miss them. So when I make this again I will have them for sure. The sauce was delicious. I enjoyed this so much!
Hi Nagi. I have a question. Can I use ketjap manis instead of kecap manis? I see that the consistency is different and my rice/noodles become soggy in the end. Please suggest me what to do.
Greetings from Germany.
To avoid overcooking the noodles which makes them soggy, once they are cooked I rinse them with cold water to stop them from continuing to cook. They heat up quickly when you add them back to the pan.
Love the sauce!! A little different from the usual stir-fried noodles. It slightly spicy but just the right amount. Thank you for the recipe.
Delicious! Fairly easy to make as well once you get organized. Hope to make it for my Malaysian father in law now that we’ve tested it. One recipe also makes a surprisingly decent portion for two. Yum!
I used the sauce and stir fried just noodles with garlic and no other ingredients and topped with a fried egg – was so yum! Thanks Nagi 🥰
Can I ask the nutrition side of things is the 696 cal for the whole amount or per serving?
Dear Nagi , the link to the brand of noodles you use no longer works. Do you have a specific brand you like to use? What is the weight of dry noodles i should use?
Hi Aike – I just use whatever brand of instant noodles my grocery has (I throw the seasoning packet away). Maggi is a common brand here. N x
Do you pre cook (boil) the instant noodles first ? I did and ended up with a gluggy mess .
amazing recipe! its on my easy dinner rotation now
The whole family loved this delicious meal and said it was restaurant quality !
YUM Nagi!!! This was amazing!!! And so easy to make!
I am happy that you enjoyed it Freya! N x
Greetings/ How can I get a container load of your products to Lagos, Nigeria. How much would it cost. Thanks/ Kingsley
Wow, absolutely blown away at how delicious this Mie Goreng was. So full and already cant wait to make it again. Thank you Nagi =)
Another new favourite- thank you for this!
Wow. I made it and kids loved it so much.
This was EXCELLENT! Didn’t have kecap manis, used 3 parts brown sugar to one part soy sauce and used the sriracha option. Hot, sour, sweet and spicy, leaves a lovely tingle on the tongue. Absolutely delish Nagi, as usual. You are the best! x
Thanks! N x
This is now almost a fortnightly thing in my house. It’s so quick and delicious! I add capsicum, carrots, cabbage and chicken as the veggies & protein. We don’t get Indonesian/Malaysian where I am and this the fix! 10/10 loved by all.
I’m so excited to try this! We ate so much mee goreng when we visited Malaysia. If you wanted to try the Malaysian style, how much curry powder would you add?