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Mie Aceh: Indonesian Curry Noodles

By / Indonesian Food, Indonesian Recipes, Sumatra Food

Mie Aceh 1_Indonesia EatsMie 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 2_Indonesia Eats

Yield: 2-3 portions

Mie Aceh: Indonesian (Aceh) Curry Noodles

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.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

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

  1. Clean and cut the crab into pieces. Save the green and juicy stuff.
  2. With a mortar and pestle or food processor, pound/grind the spices.
  3. Heat up your wok and add cooking oil. Stir fry shallot slices and the spice paste until fragrant.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Add a half portion of Chinese celery chopped, green onions, and curry powder
  7. Add noodle, kecap manis, tomato, cabbage, and bean sprouts. Combine.
  8. Put the crab back to the noodle mixture. Sprinkle the rest of Chinese celery chopped.  Toss one more time before serving.
  9. 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

  1. 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.
  2. Instead of using seafood, you can use beef, goat or chicken. Change the broth to any kinds of broth of your preference.
  3. Kas kas is common to be used in Aceh and Malay culinary.

© Pepy Nasution
Cuisine: Indonesian / Category: Fish and Seafood
 

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29 thoughts on “Mie Aceh: Indonesian Curry Noodles”

  1. deeTha H

    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

    Reply
  4. Lick My Spoon

    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!

    Reply
  5. deeTha H

    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

    Reply
  9. Christine@Christine's Recipes

    The noodles look like a combined version of Chinese and Malaysian style. Love to have all these types of fried noodles for lunch. 🙂

    Reply
  12. Lick My Spoon

    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!

    Reply
  14. Indonesia Eats

    @Ju & Pigpigscorner: Thanks ladies! You should try this one day.@Lickmyspoon: I like eating my crackers with rice, noodle, sambal or kecap manis.

    Reply
  15. Indonesia Eats

    @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

    Reply
  17. Indonesia Eats

    @Ju & Pigpigscorner: Thanks ladies! You should try this one day.

    @Lickmyspoon: I like eating my crackers with rice, noodle, sambal or kecap manis.

    Reply
  19. deeTha H

    hmmmm….
    mangsut ane, acar bawang merah yg biasa di tukang mie aceh tu g ada timunye. cuma bawang merah iris aja gitu 🙂 hihihi

    Reply
  25. Jun

    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!

    Reply

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