Mie Kocok Bandung: The Shaken Noodle

Ingredients

• For the broth
• 1 kg beef bones, knuckle or marrow, rinsed
• 400 g beef tendon, whole pieces, untrimmed
• 2 litres water
• 4 shallots, halved and charred
• 3 cloves garlic, halved and charred
• 2 cm fresh ginger, sliced and charred
• 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 tsp white pepper, whole
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• For the bowl
• 400 g fresh egg noodles, medium, Cantonese-style
• 200 g bean sprouts, tails pinched if preferred
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, halved
• 4 tbsp fried shallots, crisp
• 4 stalks spring onion, thinly sliced
• 4 tbsp celery leaves, roughly chopped
• 4 tsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), one teaspoon per bowl
• For the service
• 1 wire-mesh basket (saringan), small, long-handled, for shaking service

Method

1. 1
   Place the beef bones in a large pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Boil hard for five minutes, then drain and rinse both the bones and the pot thoroughly. This removes blood and impurities. Return the blanched bones to the clean pot.
2. 2
   Add the beef tendon to the pot with the bones. Cover with 2 litres of fresh cold water. Add the charred shallots, garlic, and ginger, along with the bruised lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and whole white pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer. The broth is ready when the tendon yields completely to a skewer with no resistance — typically after two to three hours of low simmering. Remove the tendon and slice into bite-sized pieces; strain and reserve the broth.
3. 3
   This is where the dish lives or dies: the shaking service. Bring a large pot of the strained broth to a rolling boil and keep it there throughout service. Place a single portion of fresh egg noodles and bean sprouts together into the wire-mesh basket (saringan). Submerge the basket fully in the boiling broth and shake it vigorously and repeatedly — the rapid agitation separates the noodles, heats them through evenly, and expels excess liquid without allowing them to soften beyond the point of body. Drain by shaking sharply. The noodles must retain a distinct, springy chew; if they go slack, the technique has failed.
4. 4
   Turn the shaken noodles and sprouts immediately into a warmed deep bowl. Ladle 300–350 ml of hot broth over them. The broth surface should be clear, amber, and trembling — not cloudy, not flat.
5. 5
   Arrange sliced tendon and a halved hard-boiled egg in the bowl. Finish with a teaspoon of kecap manis, a spoonful of crisp fried shallots, sliced spring onion, and celery leaves. Serve immediately. The garnishes must be applied at the last moment; the fried shallots must still be audibly crisp when the bowl reaches the table.