'Indonesia's Happiest Noodles' 'The Global Pantry Cookbook'

November 11, 2023

This recipe is their homage to the noodle classic, mie goreng—sweet, spicy and filling. It uses kecap manis, a soy sauce syrup of Indonesia, which is soy sauce thickened with lots of palm sugar. It pours like molasses and has a deeply savory quality. Kids will gobble this dish up and demand more, more, more.

Active time: 25 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Serves 4

[Excerpted from The Global Pantry Cookbook: Transform Your Everyday Cooking With Tahini, Gochujang, Miso, and Other Irresistible Ingredients by Ann Taylor Pittman and Scott Mowbray. Workman Publishing © 2023.]

Ingredients

1 teaspoonshrimp paste

2large shallots, peeled

2large cloves garlic, peeled

1/4 cupneutral oil (such as canola)

14 ouncesdried Chinese wheat noodles

1 poundlarge or jumbo peeled and deveined U.S.-caught shrimp, thawed or fresh, cut into large chunks and dried with paper towels

1 cupfinely chopped green or napa cabbage

1Fresno red chile or small hot red chile, seeded and cut into very thin rings

5 tablespoonskecap manis

2 teaspoonssoy sauce

2 teaspoonssambal oelek (optional)

1 bunchscallions, greens thinly sliced

Preparation

1. Place shrimp paste, shallots and garlic in a mini food processor (or mortar and pestle) and process to a uniform paste, about 30 seconds on high. You may need to add some neutral oil, a teaspoon at a time, to bring it together into a paste.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the noodles are almost done, still a bit al dente. (Note that cooking time will vary widely by the type of noodle; use the package directions as a loose guide and cook until almost done but still chewy and a bit starchy.) Drain the noodles and toss them in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon neutral oil to prevent sticking.

3. Turn the vent fan on high. Heat a wok over medium-high heat until the air above the wok shimmers, then add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and fry the shallot paste for 1–2 minutes, breaking it up with a spatula. It will turn toasty brown and smell, well, fishy-fragrant; don’t let it burn. Add the shrimp and stir-fry, stirring constantly, until the shrimp are almost cooked, about 2 minutes. Increase the heat to high, add the cabbage and chile, and stir-fry 1 minute more. Add 4 tablespoons kecap manis, the soy sauce, sambal (if desired) and noodles; stir-fry, constantly tossing, until noodles are evenly brown and glossy from the kecap manis, 1–2 minutes. Remove to a serving platter, drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon kecap manis and garnish with scallions. Serve immediately.