Pangsit means wonton; mie ayam means chicken noodle; and jamur means mushroom. Thus, you get the idea what this dish is all about. It is one of the perfect examples of Chinese Indonesian cuisine. Through trading, Chinese people brought along noodle to Indonesia hundreds of years ago. Since the majority of Indonesians are Moslem, chicken was use instead of pork. The spices and seasoning were also adapted to the local taste.
Nowadays, there is a lot of versions of Indonesian noodle with various styles, ingredients, and meat (pork, beef, prawn – you name it). But mie ayam is truly the classic. Typically, it comes garnished with a lettuce leaf or blanched greens, dumplings, and a small bowl of broth, though every vendor and region have their own variation. Oh, on the table, there will also always be some pickled cucumber (acar timun) and green chilies and/ or sambal!
When cooking at home, I always make my own pickled cucumber. Mostly because I can’t really find it in the Netherlands (No, it’s not the same as augurken or Surinamese tafelzuur!) and it’s super easy to make, why bother buying it? You can even make a big batch in advance because they last long.
In this recipe, I also use straw mushroom, which is very delicate and soft. You can also substitute it with dried shiitake mushrooms if you like. Soak the shiitake mushroom in hot water for 10 minutes or until soft. Slice them thinly and add to the chicken. Don’t forget to also add the soaking water in the chicken so you won’t waste the mushroom broth. You can also use canned button mushrooms. I don’t know why, but in Indonesia we tend to use a lot of canned mushroom rather than the fresh one for noodle.
When I cook pangsit mie ayam jamur, I always cook a complete version, with meatball soup as the side dish. But if you don’t have time, you can omit this. The meatball soup is for cleansing your palate between the bites and helping you devouring the noodle and chicken. For the pangsit, you can even make it in advance and freeze it. For 1 portion of noodle, I usually boil 1 wonton and deep fry the other one. Thus, you enjoy both textures. But you can boil both or deep fry the wontons if you wish.
Another important element in pangsit mie ayam jamur is the seasoning. I like using homemade garlic oil to add aroma. You can also use chicken oil made from frying chicken skin on a low heat for a long time, rendering the fat. But I didn’t have chicken skin at home, so garlic oil will also work (the best is using both…nomnomnom🤤)
Alright, let’s get cooking!
Pangsit Mie Ayam Jamur
Ingredients
- 250 g dried/ fresh egg noodle
- 500 g minced chicken
- 1 can (425 g) canned straw mushroom, drained and quartered
- 2 tbs or to taste light soy sauce, plus more for serving
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp white pepper, plus more for serving
- 4 tsp sesame oil
- Water, for boiling noodle
Homemade garlic oil:
- 5 cloves garlic
- 6 tbs peanut/ sunflower oil (or other neutral-flavored oil - do not use olive oil!)
Broth
- 1 l water
- 10 beef meatballs (bakwan)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tbs chicken bouillon powder
- 1 handful chives, chopped
Pangsit (Wonton):
- 100 g minced chicken
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbs light soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 14 sheets wonton wrappers
- A small saucer filled with water to seal the wontons later
Garnish:
- Green leaves vegetables (caisim/pakchoy), chopped into 3 cm sticks and blanched
- Beansprouts (optional), blanched
- Pickled cucumber (acar timun)
- Fried shallot
- Chopped spring onion or chives
- Sriracha sauce or sambal bawang (garlic chili sauce), optional
Instructions
- Pangsit: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except for the water. Place a wrapper diagonally in front of you, so you see a diamond shape. Put 1 teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper. Brush the corner of the wrapper with tiny bit of water with your fingertips. This is done to help sealing the wonton. So, it acts like a glue. Fold the bottom end to the top so you have a triangle. Press gently so it is sealed completely. If you want to deep fry it, fry it under medium heat for about 2-3 minutes until golden brown. If you want to boil it, boil it for about 2 -3 minutes until the meat is perfectly cooked.
- Broth: Boil 1 liter of water. Add chicken bouillon powder and stir to dissolve. Add meatballs and simmer for 5-7 minutes and sprinkle with chives just before serving.
- Homemade garlic oil: Meanwhile, make the garlic oil by heating up oil in a pan and stir fry garlic until fragrant and slightly golden under low heat. Transfer the oil and garlic into a bowl or a jar but leave about 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan.
- Add chopped 5 cloves of garlic in the pan. Stir fry for about 10 seconds until it's fragrant and add chicken mince.
- Stir fry the chicken until it's perfectly cooked while chopping it into small pieces with spatula for approximately 7 minutes.
- Add mushroom, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and white pepper. Stir until combined for around 5 minutes. Add a bit of broth if it dries up. Turn off the heat.
- In 4 separate bowls pour into each 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of garlic oil, and some dashes of white pepper.
- In a pot, boil water and add noodle. Cook per the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Drain the noodle and divide into 4 bowls which already have seasoning. Mix with forks or chopsticks until well combined. In the same water that you use for boiling noodle, blanch beansprouts and green leaves vegetables.
- To serve, put the chicken mushroom topping on top of the noodle. Garnish with blanched greens, blanched beansprouts, pickled cucumber, chili sauce (optional), and wontons. Sprinkle with some chopped chives or spring onion, and fried shallots. Serve with a small bowl of broth with meatballs on the side.
Notes
- Instead of using instant chicken bouillon powder, you can also make homemade chicken broth by boiling chicken bones in water.
- You can substitute straw mushroom with button mushroom, it is also delicious!