fried instant noodles

The humble instant noodles are very versatile. The most common way to cook them would be to boil them in hot water.

The Malay and Indian Muslim hawkers have come up with an innovative way to cook instant noodles - by frying them. Their dish is called "maggi mee goreng" (which means "fried maggi mee"). The reason why the dish is called "maggi mee" is because many of these hawkers use the "Maggi" brand of instant noodles. One could, of course, create the same dish using other brands of instant noodles.

Da and I were at my mother's place one night, babysitting my brother's precious baby (that is, his Jack Russell Terrier ("JRT")). After preparing the JRT's dinner, I started preparing dinner for the two of us. Uncertain of what to cook, I rummaged through my mother's refrigerator and larder, and decided to fry instant noodles.

Firstly, I sliced some meat (you can use beef, pork or chicken) and marinated the meat. We had just bought a small bottle of Woh Hup TangKwei Soy Sauce and I was eager to use it as a marinade.

When the meat was marinated and set aside, I cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. There is no hard and fast rule about what vegetables to add to your dish. You can use carrots, cabbage (my mother had purple cabbage in her refrigerator, instead of the normal cabbage), button mushroom, dried mushroom, corn, enoki mushrooms, celery, capsicum, etc. Be innovative!

I started by frying some chopped garlic and sliced red onion in olive oil. I then added the vegetables and stir-fried them.

When the vegetables were almost cooked, I added the instant noodles (you do not need to soak the instant noodles beforehand). I poured some hot water (mixed with some black sauce) into the frying pan before I covered the frying pan with a lid. When the noodles were almost dry, I used two large chopsticks to stir the noodles and mix the ingredients thoroughly.

Voila! A simple dish that is easy to prepare and easy to cook.

One thing I have learned about Chinese cooking is that there is usually no precise recipe. It is all about taste, taste, taste... as my maternal grandmother says, "If it is not salty enough, add more salt. If it is not sweet enough, add more sugar.". Do not therefore feel daunted by cooking Chinese dishes. It is all about trial and error. Have fun with your cooking!