Boil the mie for 5 minutes in lightly salted water (or according to the instructions on the package). Put the mie in a strainer and rinse it for a few seconds under cold running water. Then let it leak out.
Cut the meat into small cubes and the shallots into rings. Grind the Kemiri nuts and the garlic together until you get a smooth paste.
Clean the soy beans (cut off the roots), scrape the carrots and cut them into thin slices. Cut the cabbage into thin strips. Chop the spring onions finely. Peel the tomatoes, remove the seeds and cut the tomatoes into small cubes.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil or lard in a wok. Add the shallots and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the Kemiri/garlic paste, the meat and the shrimps. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes. Add the carrots and the cabbage and stir-fry for yet another 4 minutes. Add the mie and the soy beans and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Finally, add the soy sauce, the tomatoes and the spring onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper while stirring constantly to heat the food thoroughly. Serve immediately. Garnish with parsley and crisply fried onion strips.
NOTES ON INGREDIENTS:
Mie noodles (pronounced "me") are long round noodles, like spaghetti, but a bit thinner and firmer. They are sold pressed into brick or tile shaped blocks.
You can use any meat you like for this dish, as long as it can be stir-fried with good results.
Kemiri nuts (pronounced "Kammeeree"), also called "Boeah Keras" (pronounced "Boo-ah Care-us"), is a type of nut with a shell that is very hard to crack. The latin name is "Aleurites Moluccana" if that is of any help. They can be bought in Chinese shops. Kemiri nuts must be heated before consumption, because they contain a light poison that can be neutralised by heating. If you can't find them, you can substitute them with Macadam nuts (Macadamia Ternifolia) from Hawaii.
Ketjap Manis (pronounced "Cat-e-upp Mahnis") is a sweet soy sauce.
COMMENTS ON THE DISH:
This dish is not a complete meal in itself. In fact, it is the main part of a meal, but it must be accompanied by a small number of various side dishes. Here in Holland, it is made with flat noodles, more vegetables (notably leeks), shredded omelette, no shrimps and a generous amount of MSG. It is served with a fried egg and a coconut and peanut condiment called Ketoembar (pronounced "Cat-oom-bar").
That version isn't really authentic Indonesian, but it has been assimilated into the Dutch cuisine by now, so we could call it an authentic Dutch dish. Although Indonesian food tends to be spicy, this dish isn't. There's a good reason for that. The one essential accompaniment is a chilli pepper paste called Sambal (pronounced "Sumb-ahl"), of which there are numerous different versions. The most simpel one is called Sambal Oelek (pronounced "Oolek"), which is just made of pureed fresh red chilli peppers and a generous amount of salt. I myself use it only for cooking, though many Dutch people use it as a table condiment, because it it very cheap. I prefer Sambal Badjak (pronounced "Bud-e-ahk"), which contains more ingredients, for use at the dinner table.
~ Recipe by Sri Owen, comments by Heiko Ebeling.
Submitted By HEIKO EBELING On 09-10-95
