Home > Mie Tek Tek Kuah (Javanese Noodle Soup)

Mie Tek Tek Kuah (Javanese Noodle Soup)

Posting Date: 05/18/16

Mie Tek Tek Kuah (Javanese Noodle Soup) can be easily found in Jakarta and some other cities in Java. It 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. It is that convenient!

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 Kuah (Javanese Noodle Soup).

Mie Tek Tek Kuah is more like a Japanese Ramen dish but of course, it tastes very different. It tastes more on the sweet side since it uses sweet soy sauce. It also tastes slightly tart because of the tomato used. It is normally a vegetarian dish and served with some kind of scrambled egg, bok choy, cabbage, and tomato. In addition, it is also served with pickled cucumber, pickled Thai chili pepper, and shrimp chips on the side. Some people may add chicken to it, making it non-vegetarian dish. If you want to make this dish completely vegetarian, skip shrimp chips.

To make this dish, I use dried egg noodles which can be bought in Asian stores. They are normally sold in several bundles per package. Each bundle is already portioned for 1 person. Since this recipe is for 2 people, it needs 2 bundles. You can also use fresh egg noodles sold in Asian stores. They are also sold in several bundles per package. I noticed that the size of shallots sold in regular US grocery stores are normally larger than what you find in Asian stores. So, 2 small size shallots you buy in Asian stores equal to about 1 big size shallot you buy in regular grocery stores. In the recipe, I list pickled cucumber as optional. If you don't like cucumber, you can skip it. You can make the pickled cucumber a day ahead and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to serve the dish.

This recipe serves for 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
2 bundles of dried egg noodles. You can also use 2 bundles of fresh egg noodles if preferred.
2 small shallots, quartered. It will be processed in food processor later. If the shallots you buy are big in size as what happens when you buy it in regular grocery stores, use 1 shallot only.
2 cloves garlic, halved. It will be processed in food processor later.
2 pieces of candlenuts, roughly chopped. It will be processed in food processor later.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg, whisked
4 leaves of baby bok choy, chopped
1 Roma tomato, sliced
1 cup of chopped cabbage
2 cup water
2.5 tablespoons sweet soy sauce or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
pepper to taste
1 green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon fried onions
Optional: shrimp chips. Skip it if you want to make the dish vegetarian.

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 fridge until ready to eat.
Cook egg noodles according to the package directions. Make sure you don't overcook them since we will finish cooking them when we cook the vegetables. Once cooked, drain the liquid and rinse them in cold water so that noodles will not stick with each other. Once rinsed, let them drain on colander to remove excess water and set them aside.
Process shallots, garlic, and candlenuts in food processor. Grind them until they become paste.
Heat vegetable oil on a wok. Saute the seasoning paste until it is cooked. Set it aside on the wok. Whisk the egg and pour it on the wok. Scramble the egg until it is cooked.
Add baby bok choy, tomato, and cabbage. Stir fry them for 1 min.
Add water, salt, pepper, and sweet soy sauce. Stir it to mix the seasoning. Taste it and add more salt, pepper, or sweet soy sace if needed.
Let the liquid boil. Once it is boiling, add noodles and green onion and stir them well to make sure they are coated with the liquid. Let the liquid boiling for another minute. Turn off the heat.
Divide it into 2 bowls. Top each bowl with 1/2 tablespoon of fried onion and shrimp chips (if used). Serve pickled cucumber on the side.

All images, materials, and recipes on Indonesiancooking101.com are protected by copyright. Please do not use or republish the recipes, materials, or images without prior written permission from Indonesian Cooking 101. If you want to share this recipe, please share the link rather than the whole recipe.