I love a quick noodle stir fry dish, and this Mee Goreng comes packed with flavour from lashings of soy sauce, kecap manis, oyster sauce and sweet chilli sauce. A great go-to for a spicy 20-minute Friday night dinner.
This spicy Asian noodles recipe was inspired by my dad, who spent part of his childhood in Singapore. His time over there gave him a real taste for the spicy, saucy noodle/rice dishes Singapore is famous for, and he came back with a repertoire of lip smackingly good dishes that he passed on to me.
I used to love hearing my dad’s tall tales of life in Singapore some 60+ years ago. One of my favourites is about him walking through the jungle with his friend, when a lizard jumped out from the trees to grab him by the throat. His buddy saved him by striking the killer lizard in mid-air with the machete he happened to be carrying.
I always used to listen to that one with a raised skeptical eyebrow - but my uncle confirmed it to me recently too!
He made recipes like this mee goreng, along with mee siam, kway teow and nasi goreng a lot when I was growing up, and I loved his confidence with the wok, which probably looked a little out of place on our little gas hob in our very British kitchen!
So what is Mee Goreng?
Mee Goreng is a spicy fried noodle dish that originated in Indonesia (but is popular in Singapore and Malaysia too). It's made with fresh yellow noodles, soy sauce, garlic, fried vegetables and usually some kind of meat or prawns. It's served spicy - from the addition of chillies or sambal - which is an Indonesian spice paste (my friend Mike from Chili Pepper Madness has a great recipe for sambal).
There are lots of variations, depending on the region or the additional ingredients used. Mine is a basic Mee Goreng - or Mie Goreng as it's sometimes known.
Here's what you'll need:
You can be pretty inventive with what you add into this dish. I opted for some leftover cooked chicken, mushrooms and crispy onions. I also like to serve with sliced hard boiled eggs. That's what my dad did, so I'm sticking with it! I've listed lots of ingredient swaps further down in the post too.
How do you make it? (full ingredients and quantities in the recipe card below)
- First we fry the shallots until lightly browned, then remove from the wok and put to one side to use as a topping later.
- Fry the mushrooms in the wok, then add garlic and white cabbage and fry together before adding cooked chicken and fresh yellow noodles.
- Cook for a few minutes, tossing everything together in tongs, then add beansprouts and spring onions. After that we add in kecap manis, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sweet chilli sauce and white pepper and toss it all together again until heated through.
Serve the mee goreng topped with wedges of hard boiled egg, fresh coriander (cilantro), sliced chillies, chilli flakes and slices of lime.
I could eat these fried noodles all day long!
More delicious noodle dishes
Beef Chow Fun (Beef Stir Fry with Noodles)
Vegetarian Kway Teow (Asian Noodles)
Spicy Pork Ramen Noodle Soup
Crispy Chilli Beef Noodles
Winter Noodle Salad
Got a taste for heat? How about some of these spicy dishes?
- Healthier Slow Cooked Spicy Beef Curry
- Spicy Ginger Beef Stir Fry
- Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken Curry
- Spicy Beef Rendang
- Easy Chicken Satay with Peanut Chilli Sauce
The Recipe Video:
Saucy Asian Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 shallots - peeled and sliced thinly
- 5 mushrooms - sliced
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- ½ white cabbage - thinly sliced
- 2 cooked chicken breasts - roughly shredded/sliced
- 17.5 oz (500g) cooked yellow noodles
- 1.5 cups (150g) fresh bean sprouts (mung bean sprouts)
- 1 large bunch of spring onions (scallions) - chopped into 1 inch (2.5cm) pieces
For the sauce:
- 4 tbsp kecap manis
- 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce
- ¼ tsp white pepper
Garnishings:
- 2 hard boiled eggs - peeled and sliced into halves or quarters
- Small bunch fresh coriander (cilantro) - cilantro, roughly torn
- 1 red chilli - I use mild fresno chillies, sliced
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 lime - sliced
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the oil in a large wok until hot. Add the sliced shallots, and fry for a 2-3 minutes until browned. Remove from the work with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
- Turn down the heat to medium and add the mushrooms to the remaining oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring often.
- Add the white cabbage and cook for 3 minutes, until starting to soften.
- Add in the chicken and noodles and cook for 3-4 minutes, tossing everything together using a set of tongs, until hot. You can add an extra splash of oil or a splash of water if it’s starting to look a little dry.
- Add the beansprouts and spring onions and toss together.
- Add the kecap manis, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sweet chilli sauce and white pepper. Toss everything together and cook for a 2-3 minutes until the chicken and noodles are hot throughout.
- Serve the mee goreng topped with the fried shallots, wedges of hard boiled egg, fresh coriander (cilantro), sliced chillies, chilli flakes and slices of lime.
Video
✎ Notes
Can I make it ahead?
Yes! You can make the mee goreng (without the garnishes), then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to a day.Reheat in a wok with a splash of oil of a medium-high heat until piping hot throughout. Add in a good splash of water to loosen it up if the noodles are sticking. Serve with fresh garnishings.
Can I make it vegetarian?
Yes, leave out the chicken or swap for a suitable vegetarian alternative such as tofu.Replace the oyster sauce with vegetarian oyster sauce (available in most large supermarkets).
Ingredient swaps/additions
I sometimes like to add in fried chorizo, crispy bacon or some tiny garlicky prawns.Leftover cooked beef or pork also work great instead of chicken.
Want to up the heat?
Add some freshly chopped chillies or dried chilli flakes when you add in the cabbage, or you can add in a spoonful of Sambal Oelek or sriracha instead. Nutritional Information is per serving (6 servings for this recipe) including listed garnishes.Nutrition
This post was first published in June 2014. Updated in February 2020 with new photos, tips, video, step-by-step photos and recipe improvements.
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Bob Tyghe says
Hi Nicky,
Made this last night (cooked too much but the leftovers were even yummier than yesterday!). Rather than the traditional Indonesian fried/HB egg, I made a thin omelette before frying the onions/mushrooms and sliced into ribbons and tossed thru at the end. I also whisked all the sauces (added a splash of Sriracha sauce also for extra heat) together before adding to the dish which made it easier - and quicker - to toss through the mix. The only other change I made to this otherwise great recipe was to add the spring onions with the mushrooms so they fried off more (not keen on the taste of raw onion) and used store-bought deep-fried shallots to garnish.
Nicky Corbishley says
Sounds fab Bob 🙂
Olivia says
I’ve made this recipe several times and I love the sauce. I’ve tried it with pepper and carrots in it and they go very well
Amanda says
We loved this, very delicious! I doubled the sauce which was perfect since I always like extra sauce. Thanks for a great recipe!
Sue Painter says
I made this last night and we really enjoyed it!
Unfortunately, didn’t have any bamboo shoots so substituted with red pepper!!
Everything else as per recipe. Quick and easy and very tasty - as are all your recipes, Nicky.
Tonight I’m doing chicken and pasta in a tomato sauce. Yummy!! 😀. Thanks Nicky for your lovely recipes.
SC says
Love how dad has passed on the love of food and cooking to you. I adore Asian flavours and this looks like another perfect midweek dinner.
Sarah says
Yes I remember dad's stories too sis, but not as much as his great cooking when it came to the spicy stuff, glad to see you are carrying on the family recipes, I will definitely be trying this again soon.....can't believe I left it for so long, it looks so good.
Nicky Corbishley says
Absolutely sis! Looking forward to doing his not-so-Singaporean corned beef hash when the weather the weather gets colder too 🙂
Elaine @ foodbod says
Hi Nicky, nice to meet you, thank you for joining this weeks Fiesta Friday ☺️ I love that have made something to honour your Dads food memory
Nicky Corbishley says
Thanks Elaine. I'm loving Fiesta Friday 🙂 Just been having a look at your blog too, and spotted your pitta bread recipe. I was just talking to my husband about trying to make some a few hours ago! Will give your recipe a go!
lapetitepaniere says
It looks delicious, Nicky 🙂
Nicky Corbishley says
Thanks 🙂
Nicky Corbishley says
Thanks 🙂 It was pretty tasty!!