Spicy Mee Goreng (Fried Noodles)

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!

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:

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4.75 from 4 votes

Saucy Asian Noodles

By Nicky Corbishley

This Mee Goreng comes packed with flavour from lashings of soy sauce, kecap manis, oyster sauce and sweet chilli sauce.

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 6 people

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Asian, Indonesian

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
• ▢ 500 g (17.5 oz) cooked yellow noodles
• ▢ 150 g (1 1/2 cups) 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 2-3 minutes until browned. Remove from the work with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
  2 tbsp vegetable oil, 2 shallots
• Turn down the heat to medium and add the mushrooms to the remaining oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned.
  5 mushrooms
• Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring often.
  2 cloves garlic
• Add the white cabbage and cook for 3 minutes, until starting to soften.
  ½ white cabbage
• 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.
  2 cooked chicken breasts, 500 g (17.5 oz) cooked yellow noodles
• Add the beansprouts and spring onions and toss together.
  150 g (1 1/2 cups) fresh bean sprouts (mung bean sprouts), 1 large bunch of spring onions (scallions)
• Add the kecap manis, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sweet chilli sauce, and white pepper. Toss everything together and cook for 2-3 minutes until the chicken and noodles are hot throughout.
  4 tbsp kecap manis, 3 tbsp dark soy sauce, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce, ¼ tsp white pepper
• Serve the mee goreng topped with fried shallots, wedges of hard-boiled egg, fresh coriander (cilantro), sliced chillies, chilli flakes, and slices of lime.
  2 hard boiled eggs, small bunch fresh coriander (cilantro), 1 red chilli, ¼ tsp chilli flakes, 1 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

Calories: 394kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 135mg | Sodium: 1030mg | Potassium: 565mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 677IU | Vitamin C: 51mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!

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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