Mie Aceh

So sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I was quite busy, quite scared doing some "real" baking, and two days ago I just caught flu :(. Today I'm going to share with you my Mie Aceh recipe. Yes, it's MY recipe! Hehe.. I'm a big fan of Mie Aceh for it's spicy and flavorful taste. I used to buy it at Pidie 2000 near my campus in Depok. 

My first attempt at Mie Aceh failed after I blindly followed a recipe on a famous Indonesian cooking magazine *bzzzz*. It was missing the "essential" taste of Mie Aceh. A few days later, I gathered some recipes from the internet and came up with my own version of Mie Aceh. Surprisingly, it turned out to be really good and was a really close match! I was super satisfied. Hubby liked it too. It was his first time eating Mie Aceh. I had promised him to treat him to Pidie 2000, but never had the chance. So, this was also an attempt to fulfil my promise.

The color is not quite right :/ Please see the last picture.

Ingredients:

• 6 shallots
• 4 garlic cloves
• 150 gr prawn, peel off skin
• 150 gr beef
• 1 tsp vinegar (cuka)
• 1 green onion (scallion)
• 750 ml beef stock
• 1-1/2 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
• 400 gr hokkien noodles (or mie kuning basah)
• 2 tbsp celery, chopped finely
• 1 tomato
• Beansprout
• Cabbage, chop thinly
• Salt

Ground spices:

• 8 shallots
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 red chillies
• 1/2 tbsp fennel seed (jinten)
• 4 cardamom pods (kapulaga)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tbsp curry powder (optional)

How to make:

1. Ground together all the ground spices.
2. Saute shallots, garlic cloves, and the grounded spices.
3. Mix in beef and prawn, cook until it changes color.
4. Add in tomato, beansprout, and chopped cabbage. Cook until the vegetables are wilted.
5. Add in beef stock, vinegar, chopped celery, sweet soy sauce. Cook until the water has decreased. Add salt if needed.
6. Mix in the noodles and add the chopped green onion. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.
7. Serve to individual plates. Complement the dish with sliced cucumber, kerupuk emping, and fried shallots.

This picture was take the night before the previous picture. It looks more mouthwatering for me, hehe.

Notes:

• For beef stock (because I always failed at making a nice stock), I used 2 stock cubes and 900 ml of water.
• This is just my preference, I don't dunk in all the noodles into the spice/seasoning paste (or whatever to call it). Instead, I took another pot, scoop 1 soup ladle full of the spice/seasoning  paste, add 1 portion of noodles, and sprinkle some green onion and salt (if needed). Cook for about 2 minutes until any water left has dried - or at least thickens.