How to make Malay-style Macaroni Goreng, or spicy stir fried macaroni pasta.
Macaroni Goreng is Mee Goreng, but cooked with pasta instead of yellow noodles! That’s it. If there’s any discernible difference, it’s that macaroni goreng tends to have more tomato ketchup added to it. The result is a spicy, sweet and tangy dish. I’m guessing the tomato ketchup is to mimic tomato-based pasta sauces.
Macaroni Goreng or Stir Fried Pasta is one of those fusion dishes that you wouldn’t consider “fusion”. Unlike Mee Siam or Mee Rebus however, it’s not exactly a common Malay hawker dish. More commonly, it’s a staple at pasar malams or night markets. My typical routine at night markets would be order a packet of this, while waiting for my Ramly Burger, I would order a packet of spicy macaroni goreng.
How to Achieve Al Dente, Non-Mushy Pasta for Macaroni Goreng
My one pet peeve with macaroni goreng or fried macaroni is that it tends to be mushy and soggy. The macaroni is always too soft, and breaks apart easily. Usually this happens because the pasta is boiled to cook fully. When you stir fry it later on, it’s still a cooking process, so the pasta will continue to cook pass the al dente stage, resulting in mushy pasta!
To get perfectly whole, al dente pasta at the end, it’s an easy solution. Simply boil the pasta to a minute before the cook time indicated on the pasta packet. By the way, Macaroni is the typical pasta that i used, but you can use any pasta of choice. I prefer pastas that I can scoop with my spoon, like Farfalle, Conchiglie, and Penne.
For macaroni pasta, that would be 8-10 minutes, so I would only cook it for 7 minutes. At the 7-minute mark immediately take it off the heat and drain. Don’t forget to save some pasta water before draining!
How much salt to add to pasta water?
Speaking of, this might be controversial, but you absolutely DO NOT need to salt your pasta water aggressively. I know salting till the water tastes like sea water is the regular advice, but I find this much too salty!
Instead, my perfect ratio is 1 tsp of Salt to 1 litre of Water. I used just a cup of Macaroni for this recipe, and I used about 1 litre of water to boil the pasta.
The pasta water is useful to add some hydration so the macaroni stirs in effortlessly later on. Pasta water is also starchy, so it adds a creaminess to the dish that water won’t do. Finally, it adds a touch of salt to the dish. You would notice that I did not add anymore salt, because there is no need to!
Key Ingredient in Macaroni Goreng: Tomato Ketchup
A key ingredient in Macaroni Goreng is good ol’ tomato ketchup. The same tomato ketchup that you squirt on your fries. Tomato Ketchup has sugar in it, so it adds more sweetness and tang to the dish, unlike tomato sauce or tomato puree.
That said, I prefer to use tomato puree, simply because it’s a richer tomato taste, and I prefer a spicier than sweet macaroni goreng anyway. If you are using tomato puree, then add just 1 tbsp for this recipe. You might also want to add extra sugar, to balance out the flavours.
Tomato ketchup will however make it more familiar in taste to what you buy at the shops. My go-to brands are Maggi and Heinz.
Dried Chilli Paste
True to most Malay style stir fries, we need to have our dried chilli paste included! For my easy recipe on how to make this staple, see this post.
You can also add your own ready-made sambal to your macaroni goreng instead of frying the dried chilli paste. I’ve made this with Sambal Oelek, and it came out great too. This Sambal Oelek brand is the most accessible and familiar for those from the west, but any should work. Since Sambal Oelek is usually already seasoned and sold as a condiment, you can add it right at the end. I added it at the same step as I would the dried chilli paste and stir fried for a while, this resulted in a slightly richer taste – try it!
If using sambal oelek, or any of your other favourite ready-made sambal, do take note of seasoning. Those would already have seasoning so you would need to adjust accordingly.
Can I make this non-spicy?
If you want a totally spice-free dish, simply do not add the dried chilli paste.
I’ve made macaroni goreng without dried chilli paste for kids, to great results and fanfare – it’s all about that tomato ketchup!
More recipes like this:
- Seafood Mee Goreng
- Easy rice cooker Mac and Cheese
- Pad Kee Mao (Spicy Thai Basil ‘Drunken Noodles’)
- Singapore Hokkien Mee
Macaroni Goreng | Spicy Stir Fried Macaroni Pasta
2
servings10
minutes15
minutesIngredients
1 cup Macaroni
50ml of Pasta Water
2-3 tbsps Dried Chilli Paste
1/2 Onion or Shallots, diced
2-3 Garlic, minced
150g Chicken, diced
2 tbsps Tomato Ketchup
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp Dark Sweet Soy Sauce or Kicap Manis
1 Egg
50g Capsicum (optional)
50g Cherry Tomatoes (optional)
50g Bok Choy (or any leafy greens of choice)
Sugar and Salt to taste, if needed
A handful of Cilantro
Directions
- Heat a pot of water to a rolling boil, and season with salt. Add macaroni or pasta of choice and cook 1 minute less than what is indicated on the packet. For macaroni pasta, the cook time is 8 minutes, so set the timer at 7 minutes. Once timer ends, take the pot off the heat and drain the water away. Keep some of the pasta water.
- To a pot add oil and heat over low to medium heat. Once hot, add the dried chilli paste, onions and garlic. Stir fry over low to medium heat until fragrant.
- Once fragrant, add chicken, or protein of choice. Add tomato ketchup, oyster sauce and the kicap manis. Stir to incorporate and let the chicken cook.
- Once chicken or protein of choice is cooked, add egg. Scramble and stir in with the rest of the ingredients. If using capsicums and tomatoes, add as well.
- Add cooked macaroni pasta and 2-3 tbsps of the pasta water to help stir it easier.
- Toss in leafy green of choice and stir to incorporate. Taste test, and add salt or sugar if needed.
- Finally, toss in a handful of cilantro or your fresh herb of choice. Serve!
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