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Mie Tek Tek Goreng (Javanese Stir Fried Noodles)

Posting Date: 03/22/18

Mie Tek Tek Goreng (Javanese Stir Fried Noodles) is normally sold by street hawkers. The street hawkers come to the residential neighborhood every evening. While they pass by the houses, they hit the wok making the sound tek tek and thus, the name is called Mie Tek Tek (Tek Tek Noodles). The sound lets people know that Mie Tek Tek street hawker is close by. If people want to buy it, they will get out of the house, call the vendor to stop by, and buy the food. It is a very common practice in Indonesia to have street hawkers making rounds in the residential neighborhood to sell food. It seems the street hawkers made an agreement among them long time ago that each dish sold by them has a different sound regardless of who sells it. By listening to the sound made, people inside the house can tell which type of dish is sold by the passing street hawkers. For example, Mie Bakso's vendor hits a block of wood when passing by and makes the sound of tok tok tok. When people hear it, they know Mie Bakso's vendor is passing by. Isn't that genius? This is one of the things that I miss living in Indonesia. The street hawkers are part of the convenience of living in Indonesia. If you are not in the mood to cook, you decide what kind of dish you want for dinner. Once you have decided, you just wait for the specific sound from the street hawkers. Once you hear it, you call him to stop by, and order the food. You don't even have to leave your house to get your food.

The Mie Tek Tek street hawkers normally sell 3 types of dishes: Mie Tek Tek Kuah (Javanese Noodle Soup), Mie Tek Tek Goreng (Javanese Stir Fried Noodles), and Nasi Goreng (Javanese Fried Rice). This recipe is based on Mie Tek Tek Goreng (Javanese Stir Fried Noodles).

Mie Tek Tek Goreng is more like Chow Mein you find in Chinese restaurants in US. However, it tastes sweeter. Indonesians also have another dish which is called Bakmi Goreng or Mie Goreng (Stir Fried Noodles). In Indonesia, Bakmi and Mie can be used interchangeably. They both means noodles. Bakmi Goreng or Mie Goreng is closer to Mie Tek Tek Goreng, except it is less sweet and uses more varieties of vegetables. For recipe of Bakmi Goreng, please click here.

I use 1/2 of chicken breast for Mie Tek Tek Goreng. However, when I bake the chicken, I use the entire chicken breast. This is because I can use the remaining half baked chicken breast to make chicken salad. If you like meat and want to have more meat in your Mie Tek Tek, you can use the entire breast, though. I personally think 1 chicken breast is too much. In Indonesia, the chicken is cooked by stir frying it with the other ingredients. So, if you prefer, you can stir fry the chicken after you saute the ground spices. I bake the chicken so that I can use the other half for the chicken salad and save the time cooking it together. In addition, I think baking it makes the chicken more flavorful. If you are a vegetarian, you can substitute the chicken with fried tofu and skip the shrimp crackers. In addition to pickled cucumber, it is common to serve it with pickled Thai chili peppers on the side.

This recipe serves 2 people.

Ingredients:

Optional: For pickled cucumber: 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
Optional: For pickled cucumber: 1/4 teaspoon salt
Optional: For pickled cucumber: 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Optional: For pickled cucumber: 3 tablespoons hot water
Optional: For pickled cucumbler: 1/2 small size cucumber, seed removed and cut into 1/4" cubes
For baked chicken: 1 chicken breast
For baked chicken: 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
For baked chicken: 1/4 teaspoon salt
For baked chicken: 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 bunches or personal servings of egg noodles
For ground spice mixture: 2 cloves of garlic, mashed
For ground spice mixture: 3 small shallots, sliced
For ground spice mixture: candlenuts, roughly chopped.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
5 baby bok choy leaves, sliced
3 tablespoons sweet soy sauce or to taste
1 teaspoon soy sauce or to taste
Optional: 1/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon or to taste
pinch of salt or to taste
pinch of black pepper or to taste
2 green onions, sliced
Optional: fried onions
Optional: shrimp crackers

Methods:

Mix vinegar, salt, sugar, and hot water well in a smal bowl until sugar dissolves. Add cucumber and stir it so that the vinegar mixture coat the cucumber. Leave it in the fridge until ready to eat.
Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
Place chicken on a baking sheet lined with Al foil for easy clean up. Drizzle the chicken with half of the olive oil. Sprinkle it with half of the salt and pepper. Flip the chicken over. Drizzle it with the other half of the olive oil and sprinkle evenly with the other half of salt and pepper.
Once the oven has reached the temperature, place the baking sheet with the chicken on it in the oven. Cook it for about 40-45 min or until it is fully cooked. Make sure halfway during cooking, the chicken is flipped over to the other side. Once the chicken is fully cooked, take it out of the oven and let it rest for about 15 min. You will only need half the chicken to make Mie Tek Tek Goreng. So, cut the chicken in half. Store half the chicken in the fridge. You can use it to make chicken salad. Dice the other half of the chicken into bite size.
While the chicken is cooking in the oven, cook the egg noodles according to package directions. Do not overcook the noodles since it will be stir fried with the other vegetables to complete the cooking. Once the noodles are cooked, drain the liquid on a colander. Using collander, rinse the noodles with cold water until they are cold to touch and not hot anymore. Rinsing the noodles will prevent the noodles from sticking to each other. Let the noodles sit on colander for 15 min to drain excess water. Set it aside.
While the chicken is cooking and after cooking the noodles, place shallots, garlic, and candlenut in a food processor. Grind the spices until they become smooth.
Once the chicken is fully cooked and has been diced, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium high heat on a pan. Add the ground spices to the pan. Saute them until shallots become soft. Push the spices to the side of the pan. Add lightly beaten egg into the center of the pan. Scramble the egg. Break the egg out with cooking spatula so that there is no big chunk of egg. Add cabbage and bok choy into the pan. Stir fry them for 1 min. Add chicken and noodles. Stir fry them for 1 min. Add sweet soy sauce, soy sauce, chicken bouillon, salt, and pepper. Stir the noodles to coat them with the sauces. Once they are coated with the sauces, add green onions. Stir fry them for a min. Take the pan off the heat.
Divide into 2 plates. Top each plate with fried onions, shrimp crackers, and pickled cucumber. Serve while it is still warm.

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