Mie Aceh: The Spiciest Noodle in Indonesia

Ingredients

• 400 g thick yellow noodles, fresh or dried; if dried, soaked until pliable
• For the bumbu (spice paste)
• 4 shallots, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 3 red chillies, roughly chopped; adjust to heat preference
• 1 tsp cumin, ground
• 1 tsp fenugreek, ground
• 4 cardamom pods, bruised
• 2 star anise, whole
• 300 g beef, goat, or seafood, cut into bite-sized pieces; choice of protein per entry
• 3 tbsp neutral cooking oil
• 250 ml water or light stock, for the curry-like sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato, chopped; standard Indonesian aromatic base
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp white pepper, ground

Method

1. 1
   Combine shallots, garlic, and red chillies in a stone mortar or blender. Work to a coarse paste. Add the ground cumin and fenugreek; pound until fully incorporated. The paste is ready when it holds together as a uniform, deeply fragrant mass — the raw sharpness of the shallot should no longer dominate.
2. 2
   Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the bruised cardamom pods and star anise; fry until the oil is visibly fragrant and the spices begin to colour at the edges — approximately 30 seconds. Add the bumbu paste. This is where the dish lives or dies: fry the paste without mercy, pressing and turning it continuously, until the oil separates back out and the paste deepens to a brick-red, losing all raw smell. Nothing less will build the flavour base Mie Aceh requires.
3. 3
   Add the chosen protein — beef, goat, or seafood — and toss to coat in the paste. Fry over high heat until the exterior of the protein is sealed and takes on colour from the bumbu. Add the chopped tomato and stir to combine.
4. 4
   Pour in the water or stock. Stir well and reduce the heat to a moderate simmer. Cook until the sauce is thick, curry-like in body, and the protein is cooked through. Season with salt and white pepper. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon and carry a deep rust colour.
5. 5
   Add the noodles. Toss vigorously over high heat — for the stir-fried version, work quickly until the noodles are fully coated and show scorched edges at the points of wok contact; for the sauced version, fold gently until the noodles have absorbed the sauce and are heated through. The dish is done when the noodles are uniformly coloured by the bumbu and the sauce clings rather than pools.
6. 6
   Taste and adjust salt. Serve immediately; Mie Aceh does not hold.