Friday, June 6, 2008

Javanese Wet Fried Rice Noodles - Bihun Goreng Jawa Nyemek


My taste changed. A LOT. I am not sure why...(no, it is NOT because I am older - denial denial)

These are some of the things I used to absolutely HATE:
- Tomato ketchup: I wouldn't tolerate a drop of this on the side of my KFC chicken
- Spring onion, corriander, onion, beansprouts: I would really pick every single piece of these off my dish
- Bihun aka thin rice noodles: I always ordered egg noodles instead

...and now..I LOVE them:
- Tomato ketchup: I drizzle this (and lots of it) on anything, maybe the correct term would be, I could have anything drenched in ketchup
- Spring onion, corriander, onion, beansprouts: can't have enough of 'em now
- Bihun aka thin rice noodles: there were times when I had major Bihun cravings, just couldn't get it off my head, such as last night hehe

I kept picturing this street-side Mie Jowo (Javanese noodle) vendor's tent, my old self sitting in front of the vendor, harrassing him to give me a plate of dry fried egg noodles with absolutely NO GREENS. No veggie, no green garnish whatsoever. (I repeat, that was my old self)...and ironically now I fancy the exact opposite:

Javanese Wet Fried Rice Noodles - Bihun Goreng Jawa Nyemek

Recipe
(serves 4)
- 4 units of dried bihun (soak in hot water until softened before frying, do NOT boil)
- half pound thinly sliced beef (you can use any meat)
- a handful of fishballs or meatballs (I used cheap fish siu mai)
- 5 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
- 6 cloves of shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 cm ginger, crushed
- few stalks of spring onion, cut the base to about 5 cm long pieces, finely chop some for garnish
- 2 large tomatoes, cut into 8 parts each
- lettuce or cabbage, thinly sliced
- 4 red chilli, remove core and seeds, thinly sliced (adjust according to your heat tolerance)
- olive oil, sesame oil (optional)
- chicken stock (or vegetable stock or hot water)
- soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce

Saute aromatics, add beef, add tomatoes, add veggie (cos I like my veggie soft), add softened rice noodles, add sauces, stir well, add chicken/veggie stock or hot water, it should be a bit wet, you can even make it soupy (just like how my mom likes it), garnish with fried shallot/chopped spring onion/corriander.

Sharing this recipe with Presto Pasta Night Gang ^_^

I could picture my old self still picking each and every piece of lettuce and spring onion off the plate, while my new self had finished inhaling the whole plate in less than 3 minutes - HO HO HO!

23 comments:

daphne said...

i know what u mean. i used to hate spring onions and now i sprinkle them liberally in my soup!

Susan @ SGCC said...

These look terrific! I love rice noodles - always have and always will!

Beachlover said...

hehehe!! I lke you too.When I was young I picked up and green and now love it!.Can't get enough..Lobe mee hoon too:)

Homemade Heaven said...

I had to stop myself from eating my screen! This looks wonderful. I have never tried those noodles, now you have inspired me to try - Thanks

Peter M said...

Rita, my tastes have changed too and I'm happy for it..what would I blog about if I were so fussy?

You always show me (us) new dishes that we've never heard of before...thank you!;)

Par said...

I wonder if my taste bud will change in time. So far I see this happening to others. That fried noodle looks good.

Unknown said...

spring onions? ugh.. NO, neither leek. tetapi kalo bihun, suka banget dibanding mie. soalnya ga bikin gemuk, Rit :D

Ruth Daniels said...

It does look absolutely fantastic. I'm heading over for some now! Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

Elle said...

I'd happily dig into that bowl and leave it perfectly clean, thank you very much!

Jagungmanis said...

wahahahaha....
dadi kangen karo bihun nyemek ng cedak omahku ik...
wes sue aku rak tuku :(

ICook4Fun said...

Rita, just like you I used to hate corriander, celery and tomato ketchup but now I put it in everything :) You might be right as we get older our taste bud change :) I love you bihun goreng.

food makes me happy said...

Ahhh it's like my all time comfort food,
I wanna eat it now and fall asleep like a baby!

Anonymous said...

How funny to read about your hate/love relationship with ketchup! I learn so much from your site! This wet fried rice noodles look awesome!

Anonymous said...

i also used to hate ketchup and onions! now i can't imagine starting a dish without sauteeing up some onions, and i'm a ketchup fiend with my fries.

i've never had those noodles, they look fantastic!

Salt N Turmeric said...

im so the opposite except for ketchup. i only like it with my chicken flavoured instant noodle. i love bihun! i love onions! the problem is, iv never made bihun myself. lol.

Jessy and her dog Winnie said...

Looks great! I definitly got to try this out!

Anonymous said...

I'm still not sure if i love or hate tomato ketchup, still trying to figure-it out. But i love what's on your plate! Looks delicious.

tigerfish said...

Love and miss fried bihun!

Y said...

Looks yum! I used to hate bihun too - something about the thinness of the noodles - it always felt like I wasn't quite sinking my teeth into it unlike egg noodles.

Sharon said...

My tastes have definitely changed a lot! I used to avoid many of the same things as you. I also avoided bawang goreng at all costs. I'd pick each and every one of those little guys out of my food.

Your bihun looks great! One of my (now) favorite dishes :)

Elsye said...

ritaaa bihunn ne manteeeppppp...aku kok suka ketinggalan kereta sih postingan mu :(

Dwiana P said...

yaww Rita, I am so in love with this kind of noodle!! qiqiqii eh beneran loh inget di jawa thn lalu. makan noodle ini pake bumbu kacang pedes. mmm nikmat!!

EatTravelEat said...

Wow! This looks so delicious! It is good that your taste changed to now enjoy this dish :).

Smart idea of using fish shu mai over using the fishballs or meatballs.