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!