I like this recipe, because it can be easily done under 15 minutes. As long as you have the ingredients ready. It’s also very versatile since the shrimp I am using can be replaced with tofu, chicken, beef, or even egg. There are plenty of possibilities with Kwetiau. Quick, easy and delicious to eat. Especially with some homemade sambal.
Kwetiau is often served in Chinese-Indonesian restaurants. Other names that you can find it under would be, flat noodles. The texture is totally different from the “normal” noodles, which gives the taste sensation a different feeling. This particular Kwetiau recipe is in the style of Medan (city in Indonesia)
Ingredients

- Kwetiau
- 4 cloves of garlic
- white pepper
- salt
- 2 eggs
- Mustard greens / paksoi (or other vegetables)
- Bakso (Indonesian meatballs)
- seasoning (mushroom powder)
- Shrimps
- Bean sprout
There are some things you can change for your own taste. If you don’t like shrimps, you can choose to replace this. The Bakso is in this dish to give it the extra Indonesian (Medan) taste to it. For vegetables I use mustard greens, but if you like you can either leave this out or change this with another type of vegetable.
Indah Aprillia wrote a recipe for the Pad Thai (Thai Kwetiau)
Preperations
We’ll start with boiling the flat noodles. It takes 3 minutes in boiling water for it to be done. So during these 3 minutes we can continue with the other ingredients.
3 minutes to cut

We will need to cut the garlic cloves, the vegetables and bakso. This is can be done in 3 minutes right? Well maybe even faster. If you have the time before the kwetiau is cooked, just whisk up some eggs.
Drain the kwetiau

Before actually draining the kwetiau, take one piece out with a fork and taste it. If it’s raw, you would recognize it by biting and a harder “raw” sensation on the inside of the noodle. If it’s inside and outside the same it’s ready.
Put the kwetiau in a strainers and drain all the water from it. you can now leave it on the side.
Scramble the eggs and mix it

Fry the eggs and stir it while it’s getting cooked. Add the cut bakso, garlic and shrimp and stir fry them all. As the shrimp becomes slightly red, you can add the stems of the mustard greens to the mix. The cut leaves will be added at the end so don’t add it yet.
After the stems of the vegetable add some water. stir it a bit in between the ingredients an add salt, pepper and seasoning. Stir it for a bit and when everything is well mixed add the soy sauce. Everything will have a nice colour so it’s time to add the kwetiau we cooked in the beginning.
Stir it well so the ingredients are well mixed in the kwetiau. When it’s well mixed taste if there is enough soy sauce. If not, you can always add little by little. Now add the tauge and green leaves. Cook it for another minute and you’re done.
Kwetiau under 15 minutes

All this was done within 15 minutes. That was rather quick right, and the outcome: a tasty meal. If you want watch my YouTube video how I make it.

Kwetiau medan with shrimp
Equipment
- 1 strainer
- 1 wok
Ingredients
- 200 gr Kwetiau
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 100 gr Mustard greens / paksoi (or other vegetables)
- 50 gr Bakso (Indonesian meatballs)
- 1 tsp seasoning mushroom powder
- 50 gr Shrimps
- 75 gr Tauge
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Boil water and add kwetiau (flat noodles) to it
- Cut the garlic, vegetable and bakso. For the vegetable cut the stem in equal length of 2-3cm
- Whisk 2 eggs
- drain the kwetiau after it was boiling for 3 minutes
- fry the whisked eggs and add garlic, bakso and shrimp
- When the shrimp turns slightly red, add the stems of the mustard greens. Stir for 1 minute
- Add a cup of water and mix it well
- add the pepper, salt and seasoning stir this well
- Add the soy sauce to taste and colour
- Add the kwetiau and mix everything well inbetween
- As last add the leaves and tauge