Bami Goreng

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wok or 30cm wide frying pan
• •Large pot for noodles
• •Tongs or two wooden spoons

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the noodles

   Boil the noodles until just tender, usually one minute less than the packet says, then drain and rinse briefly under cold water. Shake them very dry and spread them on a tray. A wet noodle is the enemy here; it steams itself into sadness before the pan can do its work.

   If you have time, cook the noodles earlier in the day and chill them uncovered. Cold, dry noodles fry cleanly and take the ketjap manis without clumping.
2. 2

   Prepare the pan

   Set a wok or your widest frying pan over high heat. Have every ingredient cut and within reach before you begin. Bami goreng is not difficult, but it is quick, and a cook searching for the soy sauce while the garlic burns is a small domestic tragedy.

3. 3

   Brown the meats

   Add one tablespoon of oil, then the pork and chicken in a single layer. Fry until the edges brown and the meat is cooked through, about four to five minutes, then lift it to a plate. Let the meat take colour; pale meat brings nothing to the noodles except apology.

4. 4

   Fry the seasoning

   Add the remaining oil to the pan, then the onion. Fry for two minutes until glossy at the edges, then add the garlic, sambal oelek, coriander, and cumin. Stir for thirty seconds, just until the kitchen smells awake. Spices need oil to speak, but garlic needs mercy.

5. 5

   Add the vegetables

   Add the cabbage, leek, and carrot and toss hard for three to four minutes. You want the vegetables softened but still alive under the teeth. The cabbage should bend, not surrender, and the leek should sweeten without turning limp.

6. 6

   Fry the noodles

   Return the meat to the pan, add the noodles, ketjap manis, light soy sauce, and vinegar or lemon juice. Toss and fry for three minutes, lifting from the bottom so the sauce coats every strand and the noodles pick up little browned spots. Taste now, then add more sambal or soy if the pan asks for it.

7. 7

   Serve at once

   Pile the bami goreng into a wide bowl or onto plates, scatter with spring onion and crisp fried onions, and put sambal on the table. A fried egg on top is not required, but it is often the difference between supper and a household going quiet for a minute.

Chef Tips

• •Use ketjap manis, not only regular soy sauce. Its dark sweetness is part of the Indo-Dutch pantry, and it gives the noodles their lacquered brown gloss.
• •A wok is useful, but a wide heavy frying pan is honest. The real requirement is surface area; if the pan is crowded, fry the meat and vegetables in batches.
• •For a Dutch toko-style table, serve with sambal oelek, atjar tjampoer, which is mixed pickled vegetables, and prawn crackers. Keep the plate generous, not fussy.

Advance Preparation

• •Cook and chill the noodles up to one day ahead; toss with a few drops of oil only if they threaten to stick.
• •Slice the meat and vegetables up to eight hours ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator.
• •Leftovers keep two days refrigerated. Reheat in a hot pan with a splash of water and a little ketjap manis to loosen the noodles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 430g)