Mie Ayam Bakso - Indonesian Dry Chicken Noodle with Beef Ball

My all time favorite breakfast in Indonesia.
When I went back home, I have to have mie ayam every single day :D

This is my desperate attempt trying to recreate the noodle in Hong Kong. It's pretty close, but it could never be the same, first and foremost because of the noodles. The Indonesian ones that I love are handmade, the texture, the taste, and the thickness? All perfect!
I've tried using Hong Kong egg noodles, flat egg noodles, instant noodles, pasta...without success.
This time, I tried using fresh ramen :)

These are the no brand ones from the wet market, HK$3 per pack.
Let's see if this worked.


Recipe

Broth
No cheat
- half a chicken with bones and all (shred/mince the meat and use it for topping later)
- hot water
- 2 cloves of shallot, cut into sections
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 cm ginger, crushed
- salt, white pepper, sugar

Cook chicken in hot water with garlic, ginger and shallot, let cook until you have the chicken flavor you're after, season with salt, pepper, and sugar.

Cheat
- a box of chicken broth (heheh) or a pack of cubed/packed chicken stock with hot water
Simply cook the broth and bring to boil

Accessories to serve with broth
- Meatballs/beef balls/pork balls/fish balls (I used store bought)
- Hairy melon (peel skin, half, and cut into 5mm thick pieces)
- freshly chopped coriander
- crispy shallot

Cook meatballs and hairy melon pieces in the broth, serve with lots of freshly chopped corriander and crispy shallot

Meat Topping
- 1/2 lb minced chicken (or pork)
- 1 small clove of garlic
- a pack/a cup of mushrooms (I used shimeji, so I didn't chop them at all, you can use fresh shiitake, straw mushrooms, button mushrooms, etc)
- vegetable oil, fish sauce, light soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper, hot water

Saute garlic in vegetable oil until fragrant, add mushrooms let cook, add meat, add sauces and seasonings, add hot water, let cook and reduce, keep tasting until you reach your preferred balance of sweet and savoury.

Garnish
- freshly chopped coriander
- lemon wedges
- chilli sauce (I used ABC chilli sauce)
- crispy shallot

Noodles
- 2 portions of noodles
- vegetable oil (or sesame oil if you like), fish sauce, a touch of soy sauce
Cook noodles as instructed on the package, do not overcook. Prepare bowls with vegetable oil (or sesame oil), fish sauce and a touch of soy sauce. Drain noodles, place on bowls, and mix the oil and seasonings.

Assembly
Add meat and mushroom toppings on top of the noodles, garnish with freshly chopped coriander, crispy shallot and squeeze a bit of lemon juice. Serve with broth and chilli sauce on the side.

It's a simple dish that requires quite a lot of work. Normally I only make this on weekends :D
How did it go?

The topping was pretty close...I love the balance of sweet, savoury and the touch of citrus. The noodles? Lovely and chewy...but I still feel that it's not close enough to what I normally have in Indonesia. There's something missing!

...probably a few heaping tablespoons of MSG?
:D