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Kwetiaw Goreng (Fried Flat Rice Noodles)

Posting Date: 04/19/16

Kwetiaw Goreng (Fried Flat Rice Noodles)

Kwetiaw Goreng/Kwetiau Goreng (Fried Flat Rice Noodles) is another popular dish in Indonesia. It was brought by the Chinese immigrants in Indonesia long time ago. It is similar to Bakmi Goreng (Stir Fried Noodles), except it uses flat rice noodles (rice stick noodles). The size of rice stick noodles used is normally wide (XL size). If you cannot find XL size in your Asian store, you can use L size. The dish is also similar to Beef Chow Fun you can find in Chinese restaurants in US or Char Kway Teow you can find in Malaysia or Singapore. The difference is Kwetiaw Goreng/Kwetiau Goreng uses sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) which is an Indonesian ingredient. The meat used in Kwetiaw Goreng can be beef, chicken, or shrimp. Beef Meatballs is also common to be used as the meat ingredient. To make it vegetarian, use tofu instead of the meat. In addition, use Vegetarian oyster sauce instead of regular oyster sauce. In Indonesia Kwetiaw Goreng is normally served with pickled cucumber and carrot on the side. The crunchiness of the pickles adds texture and depth of flavor since it brings freshness to the dish. In addition, chili sauce or chili paste is normally served on the side as well since Indonesians like their food hot.

For this recipe, I marinate the rice stick noodles for 30 min before stir frying them on the pan. I learned in the past that marinating the noodles in sweet soy sauce, soy sauce, and oyster sauce made the noodles more flavorful. I add more soy sauce during cooking as well to make sure the other ingredients (meat, egg, and vegetables) will have some flavors. However, in Indonesia, the noodles are not marinated. The sauces are added during stir frying. This recipe serves for 4 people.



Ingredients:

  • 3/4 of 14 oz package of rice stick noodle
  • 2 tablespoons sweet soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce for marinating rice stick noodles + 1 tablespoon soy sauce for cooking
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce. To make it vegetarian, use vegetarian oyster sauce or you can omit oyster sauce altogether.
  • Vegetable oil
  • 2 small shallots, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 carrot, cut diagonally
  • 1 cup chopped bok choy
  • 1 cup sliced cabbage
  • 16 large shrimp, peeled and deveined or 1 skinless and boneless chicken breast. To make it vegetarian, you can substitute it with tofu.
  • 1 cup bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
  • 1 green onion, chopped
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste

Methods:

  1. Cook rice stick noodles according to package instructions. While cooking it, make sure you stir the pot once a while. Rice stick noodles have a lot of starches. Stirring them while cooking will prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Do not overcook it since they will finish cooking with the other ingredients. Drain the noodles and rinse them with cold water to make sure they won't stick with each other. Drain them again on a strainer and shake the strainer to make sure excess water is removed. Set them aside on a strainer for at least 15 min to make sure it gets rid of more water. We don't want them too wet when we cook them with the other ingredients. So, removing excess water is an important step.
  2. As mentioned in the introduction, I prefer to marinate rice noodles with sauces prior to cooking them since they soak up the flavor better. So, combine 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce, and 2 tablespoons of sweet soy sauce in a bowl big enough to hold rice noodles. Mix the sauces well. Add rice noodles and toss them so that the sauces cover the noodles evenly.
  3. Heat up vegetable oil on a skillet. It is better to use non-stick skillet since rice vermicelli might stick to the pan. Saute shallots and garlic until fragrant, about 1 min. Do not burn it.
  4. Add chicken or shrimp and cook until shrimp changes color or chicken is cooked. If using tofu, cook it until golden brown on each side.
  5. Push the chicken or shrimp to the side of the pan to give space to cook the egg. Add egg and scramble it until it is fully cooked. Make sure you break out the egg so that there is no very big chunk of egg.
  6. Add carrot, bok choy, and cabbage to the pan. Cook them until they are tender crisp.
  7. Add rice vermicelli to the pan and toss it with the other ingredients. Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to make sure the vegetables and egg have flavor. Add more soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, and oyster sauce if needed.
  8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  9. Add bean sprouts and green onion. Toss them well with the other ingredients.
  10. Turn off the heat. Serve it while it is still warm. You can serve it with fresh cucumber or pickled cucumber and carrot on the side. If you like it hot, add sambal oelek or sriracha on the side.

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