Monday 19 April 2010

mee goreng/rambles about things

So Johanna at Green Gourmet Giraffe blogged about cooking some mee goreng, and I thought longingly of mee goreng, which is my favourite instant food. So fast, so easy, and can be as ridiculous or as fresh and healthy as you want it to be. And then I was writing my vegan contribution to Being Vegetarian in Malaysia at Eurasian Sensation (more on this later), and then I was going out to see a band and needed something quick to eat, and of course it was obvious what I was going to be eating.

misc mee for quick dinner

Maggi mee, which I've blogged about previously, is a stir-fried noodle made using Maggi noodles, and the flavouring packet. This is not Maggi mee - it is sort of an odd amalgam of Maggi mee and mee goreng. I don't buy Maggi anymore, because it's owned by Nestle.

It occurs to me writing this how many of my favourite foods from Malaysia are Nestle-inspired. Milo Ais and Milo Dinosaur are both made using Milo, which is also a Nestle product. Sadface!* (also not vegan, just an FYI for connoisseurs of Malaysian drinks).

Anyway: mee goreng. It's delicious! It's pretty flexible, as you can see from my attempts to write out a recipe. There are different regional variations, and I just use what I feel like and make the variation I feel like. (I vary rarely make the Penang-Malay variation because it has potato, and I am a bit lazy!)

super fast mee goreng

ingredients
1 serving of yellow mee (I use two cakes of yellow noodles, but you may prefer to use just one)
1 tomato (in thin wedges)
1 fresh red chilli
half a carrot (julienned)
some snow peas or cabbage or bok choy
some dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, and some tomato sauce
some kecap manis, or some sugar
crushed garlic (approx one clove)

method
Soak the noodles in hot water until soft, then drain and set aside.

In a wok, heat up and add some oil (I use peanut oil for this). Throw in the chillis (sliced, seeded or deseeded as your preference), and the carrot. Fry for a minute, then add a little water and put the lid on, and leave to steam for a few minutes. After it softens, throw in the tomato, , and any other longer cooking vegetables such as snow peas, cabbage, or stems of bok choy. A little extra water, then lid on again to steam. Finally, throw in the noodles, sauces, and any last-minute vegetables. Fry again for a little bit longer, and hooray!

I can get this done and served in about fifteen minutes, if I dawdle. Delicious good times!



Vegies I don't recommend you add to this (that you might be tempted to add), because it changes the texture and/or taste: snake beans, english cabbage, eggplant, spinach. Not that I'm prescriptivist or anything! (this is a lie, I totally am.)



* I don't use Nestle products, a luxury I am grateful to have. Here is a link to the Wiki article for some brief info if you have no idea what the Nestle Boycott is about. and the list (includes links to info about the boycott).

6 comments:

Theresa said...

Those noodles look amazing. We get maggi style noodles, sans seasoning packet, from the asian grocery. Nestle baby-killing aside, I like it because it's cheaper and they are not individually wrapped, which feels more eco-friendly.

steph said...

Ahh, but Theresa, are they actual Maggi noodles, or just Maggi style noodles? Because I buy the yellow noodle cakes in bulk too (ten packs) without flavouring, and I usually by Ayam brand. No baby-killing!

I love noodles.

Johanna GGG said...

I wish I could make mee goreng as quickly as you do - quick is good for comfort - as is ethically sound noodles!

Theresa said...

Yes Steph, that's what I meant! They are not nestle, they are some generic non-brand. No baby killing, and eco-friendly packaging to boot :)

steph said...

@Johanna, it's interesting, I didn't realise how fast I chop! But I was talking to someone the other day that made me realise that I do my food prep really fast. I guess it is just years of chores in the kitchen!

Also the wok helps, with the speed of cooking. I am sad that you don't have room for one! I think I'd sacrifice almost everything else to have room for my wok, but I'm grateful I don't have to make that decision.

Johanna GGG said...

I have loved having a wok in the past but just haven't made enough foods lately to justify having one again - if I do keep making more of the these noodle dishes I might try and squeeze one in - and I need more quick dishes in my life