I had some leftover fried chicken tenders the other day. I figured it would be great to chop them up and toss them into some sort of wok dish, such as fried rice or fried noodles. It so happened that I also had a craving for Maggi goreng, so I decided to make just that. After some searching, I found a wonderful recipe by Malina Lina Pg and used it as a starting point.
Ask any Malaysian and, more often than not, they will tell you one of their go-to Mamak stall dishes is Maggi goreng. Maggi goreng is simply Mamak-style fried noodles but using instant noodles, usually curry flavored. The fried noodles do incorporate the seasoning packet of the instant noodles, and when ordered ‘with chicken,’ they are typically served with chopped Mamak-style fried chicken. I’ve seen people eat Maggi goreng at all hours of the day, and very often they are eaten as a late night supper. For this recipe I’m also using shrimp, which is not a common protein for Maggi goreng. Feel free to use your own preferred protein for maximum authenticity.
Of late I’ve also started practicing a pro tip shared by my Aunty Kiah, who used to run a popular eatery. She would reserve all the shrimp heads and shells she prepped for the day, and make a very flavorful stock with it. Wherever suitable, she would use this stock in place of water in a recipe. This was what drove customers wild over her food, especially the wok dishes. Since I was adding shrimp to my Maggi goreng, I had a few heads and shells on hand. So I let the stock simmer while I was prepping the other ingredients.
This was so darn good. One lesson learned was I should have added the fried chicken last, after tossing the noodles in the sauce. This recipe is otherwise great as-is, if using raw chicken. Will definitely add it to my daily meal rotation.
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Step by Step
In a large bowl, add the instant noodles and cover with cold water. Let soak until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside until ready to use.
Optional step: Make the shrimp stock. In a small saucepan, add the shrimp heads and shells, and cover with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a little. Transfer all the contents of the saucepan into a blender and blitz into a fine puree. Strain the stock, pressing on the pulp to squeeze out all the remaining liquid. You should have about 1 cup shrimp stock.
Prepare the sauce. In a medium sized bowl, add the oyster sauce, chili sauce, sweet soy sauce, and ketchup. Set aside until ready to use.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the oil or fat.
Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Follow with the cili boh and cook, stirring, until all the liquid has evaporated.
Add the proteins and cook, stirring, until just cooked.
Sprinkle with the instant noodle seasoning.
Add the sauces, and stir to combine.
Pour in the stock if using, or 1 cup water.
Break an egg into the center of the mixture. Let cook undisturbed, until slightly set, about 30 seconds. Stir to incorporate.
Add the mustard greens stems and cook, until slightly softened, 1 minute.
Then, add the leaves and cook, stirring, until just wilted.
Finally, add the softened instant noodles and toss to thoroughly incorporate.
Serve immediately.
Maggi Goreng
Ingredients
- 3 packets curry-flavored instant noodles
- 3 jumbo shrimp deveined and roughly chopped, head and shells reserved, see Note
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons sweet soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil OR chicken fat
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon chili boh
- 150 grams boneless chicken breast sliced, see Note
- 1 tablespoon instant noodle curry seasoning 1 ½ packets
- 150 grams mustard greens roughly chopped, stems and leaves separated
- 1 egg
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the instant noodles and cover with cold water. Let soak until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside until ready to use.
- Optional step: Make the shrimp stock. In a small saucepan, add the shrimp heads and shells, and cover with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a little. Transfer all the contents of the saucepan into a blender and blitz into a fine puree. Strain the stock, pressing on the pulp to squeeze out all the remaining liquid. You should have about 1 cup shrimp stock.
- Prepare the sauce. In a medium sized bowl, add the oyster sauce, chili sauce, sweet soy sauce, and ketchup. Set aside until ready to use.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the oil or fat.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Follow with the cili boh and cook, stirring, until all the liquid has evaporated.
- Add the proteins and cook, stirring, until just cooked.
- Sprinkle with the instant noodle seasoning.
- Add the sauces, and stir to combine.
- Pour in the stock if using, or 1 cup water.
- Break an egg into the center of the mixture. Let cook undisturbed, until slightly set, about 30 seconds. Stir to incorporate.
- Add the mustard greens stems and cook, until slightly softened, 1 minute.
- Then, add the leaves and cook, stirring, until just wilted.
- Finally, add the softened instant noodles and toss to thoroughly incorporate.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- To mimic Maggi goreng served at some Mamak stalls, You can also omit any protein from the recipe, and serve this Maggi goreng topped with fried chicken, fried egg, etc.
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