Chef Kar Delight

Indonesian Noodle Delights Part 1 Of 4 2024/6/15 Sat

Indonesian noodles are a significant aspect of Indonesian cuisine which is itself very diverse. Indonesian cuisine recognizes many types of noodles, with each region of the country often developing its own distinct recipes.

Mie，Mi，Mee or Kwetiau means noodle in Indonesian language.

I am preparing 12 Indonesian noodle dishes for 4 episodes.

4 Episodes exploring：

Part 1：Ifumi; Ketoprak; Kwetiau Ayam

Part 2：Betawi Laksa; Mie Aceh; Mie Ayam

Part 3：Mie Celor; Mie Goreng; Mie Kangkung

Part 4：Mie Kocok; Mee Rebus; Soto Mie

《 Assorted Noodles 》on the bottom page

Part 1：Ifumi; Ketoprak; Kwetiau Ayam

▲ 1. Ifumi

Ifumi is an Indonesian crispy deep fried thick noodle dish, popular in Maritime Southeast Asia, served in a thick savoury sauce with pieces of meat or seafood and vegetables. The dishes are to be served hot while the noodles are still crisp until the noodles are softened by the sauce and are ready to be eaten. The dish is one of the most popular noodle dishes in Chinese Indonesian cuisine. The type of noodle being used in this dish is the thick Yi Mian noodle, hence the origin of its name.

INGREDIENTS

· 1 lb Dried/Fresh E Fu Noodles (Yi Mian)
· cooking oil for frying the egg noodles
· 1 Tbsp cooking oil for stir-frying
· 1 small onion cut into 2x2 inch square
· 3 cloves garlic finely minced
· 4 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-size cubes
· 1 large carrots peeled and thinly sliced
· 1 cup snow peas
· 8 oz large shrimp deveined and shelled
· 8 Fish balls cut into 1/2-inch rounds
· 1 large tomatoes quartered
· 1 large egg beaten
· 2 Tbsp corn starch + 1 Tbsp water

GRAVY (MIXED EVERYTHING):

· 1 cup chicken stock
· 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
· Small pinch of sugar

GREEN CHILI SAUCE:

· 6 jalapeno peppers stemmed
· 2 cloves garlic
· 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
· Small pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS

PREPARING GREEN CHILI SAUCE :

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process into a smooth paste. Add a bit of water to help it goes if needed. Pour this into a small saucepan and cook for about 10 minutes. Store in a jar and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

PREPARING THE CRISPY NOODLE:

1. Cook the egg noodles according to the instruction on the package, about 45 seconds of blanching in boiling water. Remove and rinse with cold water. Roughly form the cooked noodle into 4 pieces of about 6-7 inch size of nest-like shape. Place this on serving plates and set aside

2. Preheat about 2-inches of oil in a medium size skillet. When the oil is hot, lower the heat to medium. You can place the noodle in a large slotted spoon (this will help to keep the round shape) or you can just gently put the nest-like shape noodles in the oil and fry until crispy on both side. Remove and place on an absorbent paper towel. Continue with the rest of the noodles

Making fish balls

1. Remove meat from a Mackerel fish; mince it with a knife

2. Add minced onion in the meat

3. Knead mince fish meat into balls

4 Cook the balls in boiling water until they float, about 10 minutes

PREPARING THE SEAFOOD GRAVY:

1. Preheat a large skillet or wok with 1 Tbsp of cooking oil. Add onion and cook until they are soft, about 3 minutes, add garlic and stir fry for another 10 seconds or so. Add chicken thigh pieces. Stir-fry until the chicken meat turns opaque. Add carrots and snow peas and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Now, it's time to add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink. Add tomato chunks. Cook until the tomatoes are softened. Lastly, add fish balls (these are usually already pre-cooked). Pour the gravy you have mixed earlier in. Bring it to a gentle simmer and then very slowly drizzle in the beaten in with one hand and another hand continues to stir (kinda like egg drop soup). Have a taste. Season with more salt to your taste if needed. Give the corn starch solution a stir and pour it in while one hand continue to stir. The gravy will start to thicken slightly. Turn off the heat

2. Ladle the seafood, veggies, and gravy generously over the crispy noodles. Serve immediately with green chili sauce

▲ 2. Ketoprak

Ketoprak is an Indonesian vegetarian dish from Jakarta, consisting of tofu, vegetables, rice cake, and rice vermicelli served in peanut sauce.

Ketoprak consists of sliced fried tofu, steamed rice cake (lontong or ketupat), sliced cabbage and cucumber, bihun (thin rice vermicelli), bean sprouts, served in peanut sauce, topped with krupuk (cracker) and fried shallots. The fried tofu can be considered as the centerpiece of the dish, since it is freshly fried directly after customer placed their order, to ensure its freshness and hotness.

The peanut sauce is made from ground peanut and palm sugar made into a thick paste, mixed with garlic, chili pepper, salt and also kecap manis (sweet soy sauce).

Ingredients

· 1 piece diced tofu
· Oil
· 1 handful rice vermicelli noodles

· 1 cup soybean sprouts, rinsed and drained
· 1 small cucumber, peeled and cut into pieces
· Sweet soy sauce to taste
· Optional: shrimp crackers or red crackers and fried onion

Lontong or ketupat Steamed Rice cake

For peanut sauce:

· 5 garlic cloves, sliced
· 1 teaspoon sambal or other hot sauce
· 1/4 cup peanut butter
· 3/4 cup boiling water
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 1 teaspoon brown sugar

Steps to take for its preparation

• Step 1:
Light the stove over medium high heat. Add oil to the pan. Allow the oil to heat up before adding diced tofu. Fry the diced tofu until golden brown all over the top. Once golden brown, take them out and drain them on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Turn off the stove. Put them aside.

• Step 2:
Soak the soybean sprouts. Drain and keep for later.

• Step 3:
Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a small frying pan. Fry the garlic until it becomes fragrant and cooked. Turn off the stove. Put the garlic in a food processor. Add peanut butter and sambal or hot sauce. Use the food processor until the garlic is finely chopped. Pour the peanut sauce into a small bowl. Add 2/4 cup boiling water, salt and sugar. Whisk the sauce until smooth. You may need to add more boiling water if the sauce is still too thick.

• Step 4:
To present the dish, divide the noodles once cooked into 2 dishes. Top each dish with cucumber slices, fried tofu, shrimp biscuits, soybean sprouts and peanut sauce. Drizz up with sweet soy sauce and sprinkle with fried onion.

▲ 3. Kwetiau Ayam + Wonton; Beef Meatballs

+ Sambal

Kwetiau ayam, kuetiau ayam or sometimes kwetiau ayam kuah (Indonesian for 'chicken kway teow') is a common Chinese Indonesian dish of seasoned flat rice noodles topped with diced chicken meat (ayam). It is often described as a kwetiau version of the popular mie ayam (chicken noodles), and especially common in Indonesia, and can trace its origin to Chinese cuisine.

In Indonesia, the dish is recognized as a popular Chinese Indonesian dish together with bakso meatballs and mie ayam, served from simple humble street-side warung to restaurants. Since the recipe is almost identical to the popular mie ayam, food stalls and restaurants that serving mie ayam usually also offering kwetiau ayam and bihun ayam.

The kwetiau flat rice noodles is boiled in water until it achieves an al dente texture and mixed in a bowl with cooking oil, soy sauce and garlic. The oil coats the noodle in order to separate the threads. The oil can be chicken fat, lard, or vegetable oil. The chicken meat is diced and cooked in soy sauce and other seasonings including garlic. The chicken meat might also be cooked with jamur (mushrooms).

The soy sauce seasoned chicken and mushroom mixture is placed on the flat rice noodles, and topped with chopped spring onions (green shallots). Kwetiau ayam is usually served with a separate chicken broth, boiled chinese cabbage, and often wonton (Indonesian: pangsit) either dry crispy fried or moist soft in soup, and also bakso (meatballs). While Chinese variants might use pork fat or lard, the more common Indonesian kwetiau ayam uses halal chicken fat or vegetable oil to cater to Muslim customers.

Additional condiments might include tong cay (salted preserved vegetables), bawang goreng (fried shallots), daun bawang (leek), pangsit goreng (fried wonton), acar timun cabe rawit (pickled cucumber and birds eye chilli), sambal chili sauce and tomato ketchup.