Mie Aceh gained its popularity during my time when I was a university student in Bogor back in 1996. Mie is an Indonesian word for noodle meanwhile Aceh is the very west province of Indonesia. It’s located on the west tip of Sumatra island. So the perfect translation for this Mie Aceh is Aceh curry noodles.
Aceh food is heavily spices up by many ingredients that are made up into Curry base. Just like most other provinces in Sumatra, coconut milk base foods are also flavouring this region. Unlike other mie in Java island, Mie Aceh is used many different spices.
Mie Aceh is like the western way of Chinese takeaway chow mein with slices of beef, goat meat or seafood (crab, shrimp and/or squid). Beside the protein choices, Mie Aceh are also available in two variations; Mie Aceh Goreng (stir fried) and Mie Aceh Kuah (soupy or gravy). Using thick yellow noodles (or known Shanghai noodle in Canada), this dish is cooked in rich and spicy curry spices that given a kick up the bum with some fiery chili. It is garnished with fried shallot sprinkles and served with emping, Acar Bawang (shallot pickle), and a slice of key lime or calamansi.
Crab and shrimp will be used for my version of Mie Aceh. Make sure you eat it while it’s still hot. Don’t forget emping melinjo (Gnetum gnemon) crackers, acar bawang Aceh (shallot pickle) and slices of leprous lime/nasnaran mandarin (jeruk sambal), key lime or calamansi (jeruk kesturi).
Mie Aceh: Indonesian (Aceh) Curry Noodles
Mie Aceh (Mi Aceh) is a curry noodles from Aceh province, located in Sumatra and the very west part of Indonesia. The noodles recipe is very versatile. You can use any different protein to add. It doesn't have to be seafood like what I did but beef, goat, chicken even tofu can be used as well.
The similarity dishes between Indonesia and Malaysia are often happening due to the location and our ancestors. Mee Mamak is a Malaysian curry noodles that is similar to Mie Aceh. Mee Mamak is a part of Indian muslim food of Malaysia.
Ingredients
- 454 grams (1 lb) fresh shanghai noodle
- 680 grams ( 1 1/2 lbs) blue crabs
- 150 g medium-sized shrimps, peeled and deveined, keep the tail intact
- 100 g (1 cup) bean sprouts
- 100 g (1 cup) shredded Taiwan cabbage
- 2 shallots, finely sliced
- 1/2 tablespoon curry powder (I used Padang meat curry)
- 2 tablespoons kecap manis
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 2 stalks Chinese celery, chopped and separated into two parts
- 1 green onion, finely sliced
- seasalt to taste
- 5 tablespoons cooking oil
Spices to be ground or pounded:
- 5 shallots
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 candlenut
- 1 tablespoon roasted/fried peanuts
- 5 ring of fire peppers (cabe merah keriting)*
- 1 tablespoon red chilli powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons coriander seed, toasted
- 1/4 teaspons cumin seed, toasted
- 1/4 teaspoon aniseed (adas manis), toasted
- 1 cardamom seed
- 1/4 teaspoon white peppercorn
- 1/4 teaspoon poppy seed (Indonesian: kas kas, Hindi: khus khus)
- nutmeg, grated and take a pinch of it
- sea salt to taste
Complement:
- Melinjo (Gnetum gnemon) Crackers
- Acar Bawang (Shallot Pickle)
- Slices of Leprous Lime/Nasnaran Mandarin (jeruk sambal), Key Lime or Calamansi (jeruk kesturi)
Instructions
- Clean and cut the crab into pieces. Save the green and juicy stuff.
- With a mortar and pestle or food processor, pound/grind the spices.
- Heat up your wok and add cooking oil. Stir fry shallot slices and the spice paste until fragrant.
- Add the crab and 125 mL (1/2 cup) of shrimp broth. Do a quick stir. Cover the wok with its cover for 2 minutes depend how big is your crab pieces. Continue stirring for about 2 minutes or until all crab pieces turned red.
- Take the crab out of the wok. Add shrimp to the wok; stir. Add the green and juicy stuff from the shell and stir well.
- Add a half portion of Chinese celery chopped, green onions, and curry powder
- Add noodle, kecap manis, tomato, cabbage, and bean sprouts. Combine.
- Put the crab back to the noodle mixture. Sprinkle the rest of Chinese celery chopped. Toss one more time before serving.
- Transfer to the plate. Sprinkle with fried shallot. Serve with acar bawang, melinjo crackers and slices of lime. Eat while it's still hot. Don't forget to squeeze the lime over. Selamat Makan!
Notes
- Padang meat curry powder contains coriander, turmeric, paprika, cumin, cardamom, galangal, chili pepper, star anise, aniseed, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, Indonesian bay leaves and lemongrass.
If you use a different curry powder make sure, the mix contains star anise, cloves and cinnamon. Or else skip the curry powder just add 1/4 star anise, 1 cloves, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon individually. - Instead of using seafood, you can use beef, goat or chicken. Change the broth to any kinds of broth of your preference.
- Kas kas is common to be used in Aceh and Malay culinary.
. Change up the protein based to your liking!){kind=link}
hmmmmmm… akhirnya kluar jg…oh yes, kas-kas/koci-koci di MY udah dinyatakan tidak halal. aku pernah nanya ke emak2 yg dari Aceh, dan ternyata mereka pun nggak pernah masak pake kas-kas.jd buat yg ragu, mending nggak usah make itu deh daripada berabe nantinya :)trus biasanya pake acar bawang merah, bukan acar timun. hehehe
pepyyy kw kejaaaaammm!!! bener2 bikin ngilerrrr…
Such a luxurious dish, Pepy! And your photography is just superb.
Great pictures you have. And I absolutely cassava crackers too. Call me wierd but I eat mine tossed in ketchup, lemon juice, salt and red chili powder!
hmmmmmm… akhirnya kluar jg…
oh yes, kas-kas/koci-koci di MY udah dinyatakan tidak halal.
aku pernah nanya ke emak2 yg dari Aceh, dan ternyata mereka pun nggak pernah masak pake kas-kas.
jd buat yg ragu, mending nggak usah make itu deh daripada berabe nantinya 🙂
trus biasanya pake acar bawang merah, bukan acar timun. hehehe
The noodles look like a combined version of Chinese and Malaysian style. Love to have all these types of fried noodles for lunch. 🙂
Such a luxurious dish, Pepy! And your photography is just superb.
This looks amazing esp with the huge pieces of crabs! YUM!
Great pictures you have. And I absolutely cassava crackers too. Call me wierd but I eat mine tossed in ketchup, lemon juice, salt and red chili powder!
@Christine: my opinion is more Chinese, Indian where the Acehnese ancestors came from. It's soo yummy
@Ju & Pigpigscorner: Thanks ladies! You should try this one [email protected]: I like eating my crackers with rice, noodle, sambal or kecap manis.
@Deetha: namanya doank acar timun, isinya ada bawangnya juga 😛
soal kas kas itu banyak jd pertanyaan tp btw aku belinya di toko halal afghanistan LOL
@Christine: my opinion is more Chinese, Indian where the Acehnese ancestors came from. It's soo yummy
@Ju & Pigpigscorner: Thanks ladies! You should try this one day.
@Lickmyspoon: I like eating my crackers with rice, noodle, sambal or kecap manis.
Ketoke enaaaaakkkkkkkk….. Dilihat dari penampakannya sudah tidak meragukan lagiiih 😀
hmmmm….
mangsut ane, acar bawang merah yg biasa di tukang mie aceh tu g ada timunye. cuma bawang merah iris aja gitu 🙂 hihihi
Crab! I love it…. the flavours are just up my alley
Ketoke enaaaaakkkkkkkk….. Dilihat dari penampakannya sudah tidak meragukan lagiiih 😀
enaaak dan mantabbbb
This looks spicy and delectable!!! Wish I can taste it.
Oh yum…this looks so good…! I have actually never tried this in my life, thanks for the recipe, Pep:)!
I have never heard of kas kas before. I have to ask Pai to look for some for me. I have only tried Mie Aceh once, like ever. I got really sick so I was reluctant to buy them again.
So if I want the standard version of Mie Aceh, I should just omit the crab? Can't wait to try it!
Good use of dungeness crabs in this dish. Blend of spices in the east, and ingredient from the west 🙂
Wow all of your photos look amazing! And this recipe looks delicious!!
Looks delish! We'd love for you to share your recipe at dishfolio.com!
tegaaaa… :(( bumbunya itu…owhhh…
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.