Vegan Mie Goreng (Fried Noodle)

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Most people probably know about Indonesian mie goreng from the instant brand of “Indomie”. This recipe is the classic version of that noodle. Vegan mie goreng is a dish that will please everyone in the family. Crunchy vegetables, chewy noodles, sweet sticky sauce, what’s not to like? It’s easy to make on a weeknight and delicious enough to serve anyone.

So what exactly is mie goreng?

“Mie” in Indonesia is noodle, and “goreng” means fried, so “mie goreng” is a fried noodle. This Indonesian food is heavily influenced by Chinese cuisine but has a definite Indonesian taste. One key differentiator is the incorporation of Indonesian sweet sauce, which has a sweet, savory taste.

If you visit Indonesia, you will probably find it easily in street vendors or high-end Indonesian restaurants. Sometimes, each region has its specialty, such as:

• Mie Goreng Aceh (Aceh is a region in the western side of Indonesia) uses thick noodles and a curry seasoning in their sauce,
• Mie Goreng Jogja (Jogja is one of the regions in Central Java island) uses overcooked (until soft) noodles and has a slightly watery sauce,

You can modify the vegan mie goreng in this recipe. As long as it contains noodles and is fried, you can add any protein, vegetables, and condiment you prefer. The famous version of this dish probably uses egg noodles, egg, chicken, and chye-sim / bok-choy. Since we want to make it vegan, we will replace the egg noodles with vegan noodles and omit all the meat and eggs.

Longevity Noodle

I have to share one superstition among Indonesian Chinese. It concerns the “longevity noodles” usually served on one’s birthday. I’m not referring to any anti-aging chemical or something similar.

“When It’s Your Birthday, Eat Noodles for a Long Life!” they say. The basic reasoning behind that phrase is that if you eat long noodles on your birthday, it indirectly wishes you a long life. Because of that, the noodles served during a person’s birthday are called longevity noodles. They are made up of unbroken strains of noodles as long as possible. When eating, one has to put the noodles in the mouth without biting them off, representing an unbroken long life.

If it is your birthday today or if you know someone who has a birthday, give the gift of vegan mie goreng so the celebrant will have a long life <3 and at the same time, save animals, the planet, and people!

The Ingredients for Vegan Mie Goreng!

Let’s split the ingredients into 3 parts: The noodles, protein, and vegetables

I will explain each individually, and please pay attention to how to prepare/cook them!

What type of noodles should be used for this Vegan Mie Goreng?

Ideally, you should use yellow wheat noodles for this recipe. The recipe will still work if you use rice noodles, but we will call them vegan “bihun goreng” instead of vegan mie goreng. However, I understand that sometimes it can be hard to find a plant-based yellow wheat noodle since most usually contain eggs. Here are some of the plant-based noodles that I can find on Amazon (link, link, link)

One replacement that you can probably use is shirataki noodles. Shirataki noodles are high in fiber and low in calories. They may provide health benefits, including for your digestive system. If you have never heard of this type of noodle, you should check out this blog post, which contains everything you need to know about it.

Luckily, in Singapore, getting eggless yellow wheat noodles is not difficult. I am using Swan Tai Ann, a local Singaporean brand. They come in a dry form, so I have to boil them until they become softer (roughly 2 minutes). Occasionally, stir them and break them with your chopsticks. After that, strain the noodles from the hot water and put them immediately into the cold water to stop the cooking process. Then, sieve out the noodles and spread them on a large plate in one later. Add a swirl of oil and rub it with chopsticks or your hand. This step is to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other.

What kind of protein should be used?

You don’t have any fake meat in your pantry? no worries! You can use any other protein that you like! Here are some of them:

• Tofu: I recommend using the firmer type, cutting it into cubes 1cm x 1cm, and pan-frying until golden brown to make them crunchy.
• Tempe: same with tofu, you should cut them into cubes and pan-fried them!
• Mushroom: This is a great option, as I LOVE mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms, Shimeji, and portobello will be a great choice! If you use king oyster mushrooms, you should slice them up to make them look like a sliced fish ball! I am not so sure about Shiitake. You can try it and let me know in the comments section below 🙂
• Any other fake meat that you have in your kitchen!

In this recipe, I am trying plant-based Korean BBQ meat from Unlimeat. I got it from one of the vegan stores in Singapore, and you can also get it from here. The reviews said this “meat” is tender and tastes like real beef. It’s also packed with protein (26 grams per 100 grams). Even though I prefer using unprocessed food in my day-to-day food, sometimes it is also fun to experience a new product to enrich my knowledge of certain products.

What vegetable should be used?

Most Indonesian mie goreng recipes online suggest using cabbage and bok-choy or chye sim, and yes, you can do that. I use carrots and broccoli in this recipe since they are more nutrient-packed.

However, there are several other vegetables that you can consider:

• Chye-sim / Bok-choy — If you use this, cut them for around 1 – 2 cm long.
• Cabbage — I love the crunchiness of this vegetable! If you have the whole round of cabbage, you might want to keep most of it in the fridge since, for this recipe, you probably only need a quarter wedge. Continue to slice the cabbage pieces through the core until the wedges are your desired thickness. I think 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick is a great size.
• Bean sprouts — the easiest of all since you just need to wash them! Some people will remove the root, but I won’t do that since it’s time-consuming!
• Carrot — This vegetable is rich in Vitamin A and will give the mie goreng an additional sweet taste. I usually cut carrots into smaller julienne cuts (using a mandoline) so they will sneakily blend into the noodles. Having them in smaller cuts will also make them faster to cook.
• broccoli — cut them into smaller pieces. I don’t cut the stems because I like them!
• Other vegetables I have never used that I think will be great are onion, capsicum, asparagus, and spinach.

Let’s Start Making the Vegan Mie Goreng!

1. Blend the garlic and shallot until it is smooth. To help the blending process, you can add 1 tbsp of cooking oil.

One characteristic of Indonesian cooking is that garlic and shallot go together. Rarely do Indonesian recipes ask for one ingredient without the other. While garlic adds an important pungent flavor, shallots help sweeten a dish, generating the sweet and savory taste profile characteristic of most Indonesian recipes.

Optional: I usually air-fry (or sauté with very light oil) the garlic before I blend them. This is my personal preference since I don’t like the taste of raw garlic. Hence, cooking them beforehand makes me sure that all of the garlic will not be raw throughout the process. You can follow the same method if you have the same preference as I do. Otherwise, you can blend the raw garlic directly

I am using my immersion blender (here is the Amazon link for the type I use). If you don’t have the immersion blender, you can use any other spice blender (generally any blender that you can use to blend a small amount of the ingredients), or you can do it the traditional way by using the mortal and pestle. Anything that will make the garlic and shallot smooth.

2. Sauté the fake meat. If you are using other protein, please refer to the section “What protein should be used” in the post above.

Put 2 tbsp oil into the pan with medium heat. When the oil is hot, add your protein and saute it. I am using the Unlimeat “Beef” KBBQ meat in this recipe, so I need to sauté it for 1-2 minutes. This step caramelizes the surface of the “meat” to make them more flavorful. After that, spoon the fake meat into a bowl and set it aside. Keep the leftover oil in the pan.

3. Sauté the blended onion and garlic until brown.

Using the leftover oil from the previous step, add 1 tbsp oil, then put the blended ingredients into the same pan. Keep the stove on the medium heat setting. Continue mixing them until all of them are evenly cooked (brown color). Try not to leave it for too long until it burns because it will make the mie goreng bitter.

It would be great if you had a non-stick pan. In my case, I’m using the Greenpan ceramic frying pan, which becomes sticky. I continuously stir it until it’s no longer sticky anymore.

4. Add the noodles and the sauce together, then mix well until the sauce and the blended ingredients are even.

Put the noodles in with all the sauce (kecap manis, sesame oil, vegan oyster sauce, and soy sauce), then mix well together. Put in the salt, pepper, and mushroom stock to taste. Adjust it to your preference.

5. It’s veggie time!

Put all of your vegetables inside and stir them well. I usually bury it / put it below my noodles; hence, the noodles will help to trap the heat and make the vegetables cook faster while at the same time not overcooking the noodles.

Tips: If you use vegetables that are harder / will take longer to cook, you can stir-fry them in advance so it will be faster for you to cook during this step

6. Final step: add your protein!

Add your cooked protein into the vegan mie goreng by keeping the same heat level.

7. Voila 🙂

Your vegan mie goreng is to serve! I usually sprinkle it with some fried shallot before I eat it 🙂

Other recipes that you might love

• Vegan Mushroom Satay with Peanut Sauce 
• Indonesian Sambal (Chili Paste)