''Mee goreng'', or ''mi goreng'', refers to fried noodles in the Malay-speaking cultures of several countries, such as the

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

n states of

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

, and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. A notable variant, ''mee goreng mamak'' is associated with Mamak stalls operated by Muslim Indian communities within the region, and is often spicy in taste.

Origins

Numerous distinct variations of ''mee goreng'' may be found in Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore. One version is believed to have been developed by Indian immigrants, often of

Tamil Muslim Tamil Muslims are Tamils who practise Islam. The community is 5.7 million in India, primarily in the state of Tamil Nadu where 70% of the Muslim community identified themselves as Tamils. The Tamil-speaking Muslims are descendants of marria ...

origin, who drew influences from other cultures and incorporated them into their cooking. This style of ''mee goreng'' is regarded as a dish unique to the region, as it cannot be found in India.

Preparation

There is no standard method of preparing ''mee goreng'' or any derivative variant which use other types of noodles, as each dining establishment employs different techniques and ingredients. A typical method may involve

stir-fry Stir frying () is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and ...

ing the noodles with

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the edible flower, flowers, ...

s, eggs, and other ingredients such as

tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super f ...

and

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

. Common ingredients for Indian-style ''mee goreng'' may include spices, tomato sauce, potatoes, cabbage, and sweet soy sauce. A slice of

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

, usually of the

calamansi Calamansi (''Citrus'' × ''microcarpa''), also known as calamondin, Philippine lime, or Philippine lemon, is an economically important citrus hybrid predominantly cultivated in the Philippines. It is native to the Philippines, Borneo, Sumatra, ...

variety, is often placed at the side of the plate as a garnish.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, Mamak-style ''mee goreng'' is prepared and sold at Mamak stalls around the country. The word ''mamak'' is from the Tamil term for maternal uncle; in Malaysia and Singapore, it is traditionally used an honorific to respectfully address shopkeepers or proprietors of dining establishments. ''Mee goreng mamak'' is often associated with Indian Muslim cuisine offered at Mamak stalls, and is regarded as a fusion food that incorporates Chinese yellow noodles with seasonings and spices typical of Malay and Indian cuisine. Maggi_Goreng

''Maggi goreng'', or ''Maggi mee goreng'', is a variation of Mamak-style ''mee goreng''. It uses Maggi brand of instant noodles, prepared with hot water before stir-frying, instead of fresh yellow noodles.

Singapore

In Singapore, ''mee goreng'' is often associated with cooking typical of Indian Muslim cuisine, known for its frequent use of ingredients such as lamb or

mutton Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...

. A famous variant developed by restaurateurs of Chinese ethnic origin for their restaurant in

Punggol Punggol, alternatively spelled as Ponggol, is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, new town situated on the Tanjong Punggol peninsula in the North-East Region, Singapore, North-East Region of Singapore. The to ...

during the 1970s was cooked with seafood, bean sprouts, coriander, and a

sambal Sambal is an Indonesian chilli sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of a variety of chilli peppers with secondary ingredients, such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. ''Sambal'' is an Indo ...

(spicy chilli relish) sauce made up of twelve herbs and spices.

Sri Lanka

''Mee goreng'' exists in

Sri Lankan cuisine Sri Lankan cuisine is known for its particular combinations of herbs, spices, fish, vegetables, rices, and fruits. The cuisine is highly centered around many varieties of rice, as well as coconut which is a ubiquitous plant throughout the coun ...

due to historical Malay cultural influences.

References