• Home
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • EASY RECIPES
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • BY CUISINE
    • Asian Fusion
    • Chinese
    • Peranakan/Nyonya
    • CAMBODIA
    • LAOS
    • INDONESIAN
    • Indonesian Chinese
    • MALAYSIA
    • MYANMAR
    • SINGAPORE
    • Singapore Hawker Food
    • THAILAND
    • VIETNAM
  • BY COURSE
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • INGREDIENTS
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • SOURDOUGH
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • BREAD & BUNS
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • CAKES/COOKIES/PASTRIES
    • Cakes
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Cookies
    • Kue/Kueh
    • No-Bake Dessert
  • DIETARY
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Cooking
    • Christmas Baking
What To Cook Today
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • Pantry
  • Shop
  • subscribe
  • Home
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • EASY RECIPES
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • BY CUISINE
    • Asian Fusion
    • Chinese
    • Peranakan/Nyonya
    • CAMBODIA
    • LAOS
    • INDONESIAN
    • Indonesian Chinese
    • MALAYSIA
    • MYANMAR
    • SINGAPORE
    • Singapore Hawker Food
    • THAILAND
    • VIETNAM
  • BY COURSE
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • INGREDIENTS
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • SOURDOUGH
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • BREAD & BUNS
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • CAKES/COOKIES/PASTRIES
    • Cakes
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Cookies
    • Kue/Kueh
    • No-Bake Dessert
  • DIETARY
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Cooking
    • Christmas Baking
What To Cook Today
What To Cook Today
  • Home
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • SHOP
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • easy recipes
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • by course
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • ingredients
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • sourdough
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • bread & buns
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • cakes/cookies/pastries
    • Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Cookies
    • No-Bake Dessert
    • Kue/Kueh
  • dietary
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Baking
    • Christmas Cooking

Mie Kangkung Belacan Medan (Spicy stir-fried noodles with shrimp paste and water spinach)

written by Marvellina Updated: April 11, 2021
9.8K
PIN RECIPE COMMENTS VIEW RECIPE RECIPE VIDEO
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Spicy and saucy stir-fried noodles with seafood spiked with chili sauce and umami-boosting shrimp paste is a favorite by many Indonesians.

Mie Kangkung Belacan Medan (Spicy stir-fried noodles with shrimp paste and water spinach)

Mie kangkung belacan is one of the very popular street food almost every Medanese love. I grew up in a town calls Medan, and so I call the people Medanese 🙂 It is basically a stir fry noodles with red chili, shrimp paste (belacan), water spinach (kangkung) and some seafood. The dish is spicy (but won’t burn or numb your tongue), and it has this wonderful flavor from shrimp paste, umami would be the elegant way to describe it, it’s saucy (but not soupy) and oh gosh…just give it a try will you?

The lady who originally started her business selling Mie Kangkung Belacan at our little home town, probably the pioneer of it, has tremendous success and this business is now inherited to her son and as far as I know, he is doing VERY WELL!! Not sure which generation is selling now 🙂 I get this recipe from my great mama and it did fix my feeling of being homesick !!

Water Spinach

Water Spinach / Chinese Convolvulus / Kangkung

Water Spinach

Pick the leaves and smaller thinner stalks to include in cooking and discard the rest

Though in my home town where I grew up, I remembered seeing people feeding the stalks of kangkung to fishes. Anyway, this is just a short video of how I made this Mie Kangkung Belacan. I only used shrimp in the video, but you can follow the recipe and add other seafood like sliced fish balls/fish cakes, livers, etc, or just stick with shrimp if you prefer 😉

Mie Kangkung Belacan Medan (Spicy stir-fried noodles with shrimp paste and water spinach)

Mom is the best. I hope my own kids will find comfort in some of the food I’ve cooked for them the way I am now when I cook some of my mom’s recipes 🙂

Mie Kangkung Belacan Medan (Spicy stir-fried noodles with shrimp paste and water spinach)

Mie Kangkung Belacan Medan (Spicy stir-fried noodles with shrimp paste and water spinach)

Mie Kangkung Belacan Medan (Spicy stir-fried noodles with shrimp paste and water spinach)

Mie Kangkung Belacan Medan (Spicy stir-fried noodles with shrimp paste and water spinach)

Mie Kangkung Belacan Medan (Spicy stir-fried noodles with shrimp paste and water spinach)

Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 15 minutes mins
Servings 2 generous servings
5 from 2 reviews
REVIEW & RATE PRINT

Ingredients

  • 300 gr Chinese egg noodles or about 150 gr dried noodles
  • 2 Tbsp cooking oil
  • 4 cloves garlic finely minced
  • 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp of belacan/ shrimp paste
  • 3 Tbsp red chili paste - more if you want it spicier use about 10-15 already soaked dried red chilis and few spoons of water and ground it up in food processor or you can always use readily bought red chili paste like sambal oelek for example
  • 6 jumbo shrimps deveined and shelled
  • 6 thin slices of pig liver optional, but I love it
  • 200 gr water spinach or use regular spinach or water spinach
  • 4 fish balls sliced
  • 2 Roma tomatoes quartered
  • 2 duck eggs or chicken eggs
  • 2 cup loosely packed beansprouts optional

Seasonings:

  • 2 Tbsp sweet soy sauce/ kecap manis
  • 2 Tbsp Soy sauce more as needed

Instructions
 

  • If you are using dried noodles or pasta, cook according to direction. Remember not to overcook the noodles
  • Preheat the wok and add in oil. Saute garlic until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add red chili, belacan and stir fry until the belacan is really fragrant, about 3 minutes or so. Add the shrimp and liver (if using) and cook for about 10 seconds (they won't be fully cooked yet). Add water spinach, tomatoes and continue to stir fry until the greens started to wilt. Push to the sides. Crack in eggs. Break the yolk a bit and leave them. Let the egg settle for a bit (for about 20-30 seconds) and then mix everything up in the wok
  • Add noodles, seasonings and about 1/4 cup of hot water and let it cook for another minute. The noodle has just a bit of gravy. Have a taste and add more soy sauce if needed. It should taste salty with a hint of sweetness from the sweet soy sauce. Then add in the beansprouts (if using) and stir a little bit and turn off the heat. I like the beansprouts to be still crunchy
  • Ready to serve and clean the wok before cooking the next portion (if you are doubling this recipe)

Marv's Recipe Notes

This dish tastes better when you prepare it one portion (maximum two portions) at a time and not cooking it in big batch

*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*

Nutrition Facts
Mie Kangkung Belacan Medan (Spicy stir-fried noodles with shrimp paste and water spinach)
Serving Size
 
1 serving
Amount per Serving
Calories
811
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
29
g
45
%
Saturated Fat
 
5
g
31
%
Trans Fat
 
1
g
Cholesterol
 
925
mg
308
%
Sodium
 
3543
mg
154
%
Potassium
 
1058
mg
30
%
Carbohydrates
 
82
g
27
%
Fiber
 
8
g
33
%
Sugar
 
22
g
24
%
Protein
 
54
g
108
%
Vitamin A
 
8294
IU
166
%
Vitamin C
 
94
mg
114
%
Calcium
 
279
mg
28
%
Iron
 
11
mg
61
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Did you make this recipe?Let me know how you like this recipe and consider rating it! Tag me @whattocooktoday I'd love to see your photos/videos on Instagram
previous post
Sate Lilit Bali (Minced Meat Satay)
next post
Rice Cooker Nasi Tumpeng Mini (Indonesian Rice Cones)

10 comments

Julie April 11, 2021 - 6:09 pm

The video and the instructions are very different … which is the better way to follow?

Reply
Marvellina April 11, 2021 - 9:16 pm

Hi Julie, I supposed to update the instructions on the recipe. I’ve updated it. It should be similar to the one in the video.

Reply
« 1 2
5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Please feel free to ask questions here or leave your comments and ratings if you have tried the recipe! Your Email address will not be published!




Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hello! I'm Marvellina!

I’m passionate about food—especially bold, comforting Asian flavors—and I love sharing approachable recipes and creative bakes with an Asian twist. So glad you’re here! LEARN MORE...

Our Favorites

  • How To Make Soft and Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cake (Complete Guide)

  • How to Make Basic Asian Rice Porridge (Congee)

  • Soft Fluffy Steamed Bao Buns Recipe (Baozi/Mantou)

  • The Easiest Crispy Roast Pork Belly (Siu Yuk – Sio Bak)

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube

©2025 - What To Cook Today. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy & Disclosure Policy


Back To Top
  • Home
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • SHOP
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • easy recipes
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • by course
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • ingredients
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • sourdough
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • bread & buns
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • cakes/cookies/pastries
    • Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Cookies
    • No-Bake Dessert
    • Kue/Kueh
  • dietary
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Baking
    • Christmas Cooking

Let me know how you like the recipe and consider rating it!

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.