Enjoyed any time of the day – breakfast, lunch or dinner – this iconic dish is served on every street corner of Jakarta (and hence its name). It’s prepared on the spot by the food vendor, an individual experience for each customer and an enjoyable ritual. Egg noodles are seasoned with garlic oil, soy and white pepper, then combined with tender morsels of chicken and flavoured with a delightful infusion of sweet soy and herbs.
It tastes even better when the chicken mixture is prepared a day earlier. For added texture, consider a garnish of deep-fried wonton skins (pangsit goreng). In Indonesian restaurants, this dish is known as bakmi Jakarta and is accompanied by a clear stock with sliced spring onions (scallions), Chinese celery leaves and meatballs on the side.
This delicious recipe is from Petty-Pandean Elliott’s cookbook, The Indonesian Table published by Phaidon.
Ingredients (serves 4)
Ingredients for the garlic oil
100 ml/3½ fl oz (scant ½ cup) vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Ingredients for the chicken and mushrooms
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 large chicken breasts, cut into ½-cm/¼-inch cubes
Salt and white pepper, to taste
1 banana shallot, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
100 g/3½ oz (1 cup) straw or button (white) mushrooms, quartered
3 makrut lime leaves, torn
2 salam leaves or bay leaves
1 stalk lemongrass, crushed and tied into a knot
10 g/¼ oz galangal, finely grated
100 ml/3½ fl oz (scant ½ cup) chicken stock
5 tablespoons sweet soy sauce
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
Ingredients for the wonton crisps
300 ml/10 fl oz (1¼ cups) sunflower oil
8 wonton skins, each cut into triangles
Ingredients for the noodles
400 g/14 oz fresh egg noodles or 300 g/10½ oz dried noodles
2 large pak choy, cut into 1-cm/½-inch-thick slices
4 teaspoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped spring onions (scallions)
Method
To make the garlic oil, combine the oil and garlic in a frying pan and sauté for 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Season with salt and let cool.
To prepare the chicken and mushrooms, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, season with salt and sauté for 6–7 minutes until slightly golden. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
Heat the remaining oil in the same frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and sauté for 3–4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, lime leaves, salam leaves, lemongrass and galangal and sauté for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms have softened.
Return the chicken to the pan. Add the stock and both soy sauces and cook for another 10 minutes over low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Remove the lemongrass and lime and salam leaves. To make the wonton crisps, heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. The oil is ready when a cube of bread dropped in sizzles on contact and turns golden in 10–15 seconds. (Alternatively use a thermometer and heat to 180°C/350°F.)
Add the wonton skins and deep-fry for 1–2 minutes until golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the wonton skins to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
To cook the noodles, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add fresh noodles to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Drain, reserving the cooking water. (Alternatively, prepare the dried noodles according to the package directions.)
Cook the pak choy for 30 seconds in the reserved hot noodle water, then drain.
In a large bowl, combine the noodles, 4 teaspoons garlic oil and soy sauce and mix. Divide among the serving bowls. Top each with chicken, mushrooms and pak choy. Garnish with spring onions (scallions). Add 1–2 wonton crisps and serve with sambal, if you wish.
Enjoyed any time of the day – breakfast, lunch or dinner – this iconic dish is served on every street corner of Jakarta (and hence its name). It’s prepared on the spot by the food vendor, an individual experience for each customer and an enjoyable ritual. Egg noodles are seasoned with garlic oil, soy and white pepper, then combined with tender morsels of chicken and flavoured with a delightful infusion of sweet soy and herbs.
It tastes even better when the chicken mixture is prepared a day earlier. For added texture, consider a garnish of deep-fried wonton skins (pangsit goreng). In Indonesian restaurants, this dish is known as bakmi Jakarta and is accompanied by a clear stock with sliced spring onions (scallions), Chinese celery leaves and meatballs on the side.
This delicious recipe is from Petty-Pandean Elliott’s cookbook, The Indonesian Table published by Phaidon.
Ingredients (serves 4)
Ingredients for the garlic oil
100 ml/3½ fl oz (scant ½ cup) vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Ingredients for the chicken and mushrooms
3 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 large chicken breasts, cut into ½-cm/¼-inch cubes
Salt and white pepper, to taste
1 banana shallot, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
100 g/3½ oz (1 cup) straw or button (white) mushrooms, quartered
3 makrut lime leaves, torn
2 salam leaves or bay leaves
1 stalk lemongrass, crushed and tied into a knot
10 g/¼ oz galangal, finely grated
100 ml/3½ fl oz (scant ½ cup) chicken stock
5 tablespoons sweet soy sauce
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
Ingredients for the wonton crisps
300 ml/10 fl oz (1¼ cups) sunflower oil
8 wonton skins, each cut into triangles
Ingredients for the noodles
400 g/14 oz fresh egg noodles or 300 g/10½ oz dried noodles
2 large pak choy, cut into 1-cm/½-inch-thick slices
4 teaspoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped spring onions (scallions)
Method
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