Malaysian Street Noodles

Inspired by Ottolenghi - London, UK

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Continuing my education into better vegetarian dishes, I found the pictures for this in Ottolenghi’s book to be quite appealing. I think my own presentation is quite horrendous but the dish itself is absolutely fantastic. It may take a bit more prep work than usual but I must say that the combination of soy sauce, sambal, coriander and cumin created a flavor profile that was completely new to me but left me totally surprised and satisfied by the whole experience.

This recipe is inspired by “Mee goreng” recipe in Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbook, Plenty. Yotam Ottolenghi has several cookbooks and runs a number of restaurants in London, England under the name Ottolenghi.

INGREDIENTS

MALAYSIAN STREET NOODLES (Serves 2):

  • 11 oz fresh rice noodles (or 5 oz dry)

  • 4 TBS grapeseed or peanut oil (for higher smoke point)

  • 8 oz firm tofu, cut into slices

  • ½ white onion, diced

  • 4 oz baby bok choy, roughly chopped (leaf and stalk)

  • 4 oz fresh green beans, chopped in half

  • 1 ½ tsp ground coriander

  • 1 tsp cumin

  • 2 tsp sambal oelek (or chili paste of choice)

  • 2 TBS soy sauce

  • 2 oz bean sprouts

  • Shredded lettuce (for topping)

  • 2 TBS fried shallots (for topping)

  • Lemon wedges (for serving)

GO FOR IT

MALAYSIAN STREET NOODLES:

  1. Drain tofu on paper towel before slicing so it remains firms during cooking

  2. In a skillet, fry your tofu using half the oil for 2 minutes per side so that you have a crispy exterior and soft inside, then set aside

  3. Cook noodles to package specifications

  4. In a wok or large skillet, heat remaining oil over high heat then add in diced onion and stir and soften for 1 minute

  5. Add in green beans and stir or toss for additional 2 to 3 minutes

  6. Add in bok choy, then add noodles once bok choy has wilted

  7. Add tofu and then toss everything together and spread out your noodles using tongs so that they get heat and begin to fry (should take about 2 or 3 minutes)

  8. Add coriander, cumin, sambal, soy sauce, and bean sprouts and toss to combine everything well

  9. When everything is tossed together well, remove from heat

  10. Serve in bowls and top with shredded lettuce and fried shallots with lemon wedges on the side

NOTES:

The biggest obstacle with the dish is all the prep work but if you plan it out it won’t take you very long at all. For me, the main issue was how little I used of what I had purchased as in I bought way more green beans, bok choy, and bean sprouts then were required. I would recommend only making this for two if you have other plans in mind for your left over ingredients or making a larger portion of this for a group of people.

I also like my tofu crispy so I fried my seperately to make sure it got a nice sear rather than throw it in raw like Ottolenghi did during step 5. This added a bit more time to my clean up but was totally worth it to get the tofu consistency I wanted.

Fried shallots are optional if you don’t want to take the time to make them yourself but I must say that are absolutely divine so I would recommend taking the time.