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!
Loved this recipe. I used different veg and as a vegetarian I used tofu and egg instead of the meats. Next time I’d make extra sauce because I like my noodles saucy. Thank you for being such a reliable source of tasty, easy recipes which just have something extra xx
Very happy with this recipe! I’m Indonesian and this is very close to my memory of my mom’s version when I was growing up. Using instant noodles (I used Indomie Goreng) definitely helped make it more authentic looking. I didn’t have cabbage so I subbed carrot and to the sauce I added white pepper & Thai chilli pepper for an extra kick. Delicious and a keeper!
I made this and it was delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe👍
Filled my craving for mie goreng at home! Made veggie only version with carrot, green bean, mushroom, and crinkly egg noodles and it was delicious. Not exactly like eating it in a little warung, maybe because of the fresh veggies and missing krupuk!
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make!!
So tasty. Like all of Nagi’s recipes it has gone in the make again column.
Wow and I have all the ingredients; that rarely happens! I’ll be making this tonight! Thanks (again and again) for sharing! I truly enjoy your recipes!
Another winner on my meal’s rotation. I have never thought to use instant noodles like this – thank you for all your hard work. I had leftovers for work lunch the next day and it was so yummy!
Hello Nagi, just wondering, do we need to add belacan on it?
Hi Grace, no I don’t use it in this recipe – N x
Haven’t made this yet, will tonight but just want to say every recipe of yours that i have tried has been outstanding!
Thanks so much Carmen – I hope you love it! N x
I agree! Everything Nagi makes is soooo good!! Have everything except the sweet soy sauce but I’m getting ready to rectify that!
How can I make this in advance? I want to bring it over to my MILs for their family to try. Would you recommend cooking at home and bringing? Or bringing all the ingredients to make it there?
Hi Stacey, that’s totally up to you although these do reheat well 🙂 N x
I think part of the fun of cooking is showing the next generation how easy some recipes can come together. So I would pack up all the ingredients and teach them how easy it really is . This also gets the rest of the family acquainted with some ingredients they may not know of and makes It so the don’t feel overwhelmed
Can we replace chicken by pork
Hi Rita, yes 100%! I’d love to know what you think once you try it! N x
Do you have a cookbook Nagi? I always love your recipes, would be great to have them all in one place on the bench!
I don’t just yet Ellie, but I do have one on the cards! N x
The Mei Goreng is absolutely delicious. So easy. I doubles the ingredients because I have teenage boys that eat a lot. One of the nicest meals I have cooked. Family loved it.
ABSOLUTELY WOW!! ….. This recipe was a winner with my partner and 2 boys. They all came back for seconds and it is now one of their top 10 favourites😁
This dish was delectable to say the least, thank you Nagi for your fabulous recipes.
Lana😀
Wahoo!!! That’s the best compliment Lana!! N x
I cooked up the nasi goreng last night and it was wonderful.
Suggestion: mix the prawn paste with a little water so that it disperses better thru the mix.
Delicious!!!! Flavours are well balanced! Great for kids, the cabbage and beansprouts ‘disappear’. My son didn’t know he was eating a lot of veggies.
This was delicious as well! Im working my way through this site and not one has been a failure, all keepers. Super excited to have some more easy noodle dishes too. Was always rotating between pad thai or satay so its awesome to have some more to add. Thank you so much
Nagi, I am relatively new to this site and since covid I have been finding time to cook more, after many failures I found you. Everything I have cooked is wonderful, your hints helpful, and recipes a blessing. Thanks to you I have a happy hubby and a happy me xxx