Mie ayam facts for kids
Bakmi ayam with mushroom, chinese cabbage and chicken broth soup.
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| Alternative names | Mi ayam cincang, bakmi ayam, Chicken noodles |
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| Course | Main course |
| Place of origin | Indonesia |
| Region or state | Nationwide |
| Associated national cuisine | Indonesia |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Noodle, chicken meat, soy sauce, garlic, cooking oil (from chicken fat or vegetable oil), chicken broth, chinese cabbage, scallions |
| 1 bowl of mie ayam contains 500 calories. kcal | |
Mie ayam, also known as mi ayam or bakmi ayam, is a super popular dish from Indonesia. It means 'chicken noodles' in Indonesian. This tasty meal features yellow wheat noodles topped with yummy diced chicken meat.
Mie ayam got its start from Chinese cooking styles. In Indonesia, it's a favorite Chinese Indonesian dish. You can find it everywhere, from simple carts on the street to fancy restaurants.
Contents
How to Make and Serve Mie Ayam
Making mie ayam involves a few simple steps. First, yellow wheat noodles are boiled until they are just right. Then, they are mixed in a bowl with cooking oil, soy sauce, and garlic. The oil helps keep the noodles from sticking together. This oil can be made from chicken fat or vegetable oil.
The chicken meat is cut into small pieces and cooked with soy sauce and other spices, including garlic. Sometimes, mushrooms are cooked with the chicken too.
Topping and Sides
Once the chicken is ready, this flavorful mix is placed on top of the noodles. It's then sprinkled with chopped spring onions.
Mie ayam usually comes with a separate bowl of chicken broth. You might also get boiled chinese cabbage on the side. Many people enjoy it with wontons, which are like dumplings. These can be crispy fried or served in the soup. You might also find bakso, which are meatballs, with your mie ayam.
Special Ingredients
While some Chinese versions might use pork fat, most Indonesian mie ayam uses halal chicken fat or vegetable oil. This makes it suitable for everyone, especially Muslim eaters.
You can add extra toppings to your mie ayam. These include tong cay (salted vegetables), bawang goreng (fried shallots), and daun bawang (leek). Some people like kulit pangsit goreng (fried dumpling skin) or acar timun cabe rawit (pickled cucumber and chili). For a spicy kick, you can add sambal, and some prefer tomato ketchup.
Different Kinds of Mie Ayam
In Indonesia, people often shorten the name to mie ayam or mi ayam. These chicken noodles are usually seasoned with soy sauce and a special chicken oil. This oil is made from chicken fat and a mix of spices like clove, white pepper, ginger, and coriander. It's almost always served with a warm chicken broth soup.
Flavor Variations
Mie ayam comes in two main flavor styles:
- Mie ayam biasa or mie asin: This is the common salty version. It uses salty soy sauce and chicken oil for a savory taste.
- Mie yamin or mie manis: This is the sweet version. Cooks add extra sweet soy sauce, called kecap manis, which gives the noodles a slightly brownish color.
Regional Styles
Different parts of Indonesia have their own special ways of making mie ayam:
- Bangka-style mie ayam
- Jakarta ayam kampung-style mie ayam
- Wonogiri-style mie ayam
Colorful Noodles
A newer and fun trend is colorful mie ayam! The noodle dough is mixed with natural ingredients to give it unique colors:
- Green noodles: These noodles get their color from spinach.
- Black noodles: These are colored with squid ink or charcoal.
- Red noodles: These get their vibrant color from beetroot.
- Purple noodles: These are colored using taro.
Noodle Swaps
Sometimes, other types of noodles are used instead of the usual yellow wheat noodles.
- Kwetiau ayam: This dish uses flat noodles instead of the typical round ones.
- Bihun ayam: This version uses thin rice vermicelli noodles.
These dishes use almost the exact same recipe as mie ayam, just with a different type of noodle!
