Getting to Know Racing Noodles - One of The Favorite Culinary in My City

Hello everyone and all members of the Community, how are you today? I always pray for health and happiness in living this life. This time, I want to share stories and experiences about one night culinary in my city, namely balab noodles aka racing noodles.

What is “Racing Noodle”?

Mi Balap (English: Racing Noodles) is one of the favorite culinary delights of many people in my city, Medan City, North Sumatra. This food is made of vermicelli or kwetiau, mustard greens, scrambled eggs, and sometimes added seafood such as fish balls and shrimp, then sautéed using fine spices made from shallots, garlic, chilies etc. This food is very easy to find in my city, and as an Asian, noodles are also a favorite food in my city and also in Indonesia.

Why is there the word "racing" in this food? This is due to the very fast cooking process. In the past, this food was consumed for breakfast and breakfast needed a quick meal because we were racing against time and activities. The first time I ate balab noodles was in 2002, and at that time the price for one portion was IDR 2K and now it's 2022, the cheapest racing noodle price is around IDR 6K. Currently, apart from breakfast, we can enjoy racing noodles at night as shown. I did a few days ago.

Mi Balap Seafood Sulthan / Sultan's Seafood Racing Noodles

There are many sellers of racing noodles in my city. You could say, my city is heaven for delicious racing noodles. A few days ago, I stopped by and ate at one of the racing noodle outlets in my city. This outlet is located at Pasar 1 Street no 100 A, Medan. We will have no trouble finding the location of this noodle stall, they sell on the side of the road and right in front of the Namira Foundation, one of the big schools in my city.

The concept of this outlet is very simple. They use an open kitchen concept, so customers can see the cooking process and the ingredients they use. The cooking method of this food is very interesting to watch, the cooks seem to be playing with their stilts and pans. Seeing the cooks giving seasonings, adding ingredients without a clear measure, it seems that they really understand the work they are doing.

There are several menus that are sold in this place such as fried rice, fried kwetiau, fried hun noodles, fried yellow noodles and fried noodle ifu. We can also order according to our toppings and budget, we can choose several toppings such as eggs, fish balls, seafood, chicken or sausage. The prices are very varied, starting from IDR 10K to 17K. My wife and I ordered seafood fried noodles for our dinner this time.

Seafood Fried Noodles
We don't have to wait long, about 5 minutes after ordering and our food will arrive at the table, fast right? the name is also racing noodles. This Seafood Fried Noodle is very tempting and makes you salivate. The noodles used are yellow noodles which have a soft texture and are very easy to make into delicious food.

We can see the abundant toppings of shrimp and scrambled eggs in this dish. In addition, this seafood fried noodle is also equipped with prawn crackers and pickled cucumber. You can add chili sauce if you want a spicier taste and you can use chopsticks or a spoon and fork to eat.

One serving of this seafood fried noodle is very abundant and the shrimp topping is also very delicious. I immediately tried this food and it was very delicious. The combination of spices and seafood used creates a complex and unique taste. Salty, spicy and savory are the dominant flavors of this food. It tastes better when doused with chili sauce and makes these fried noodles even more delicious.

Cheap, delicious, halal and makes the stomach full. The four conditions of delicious food have been fulfilled by this food. Unfortunately, noodle dishes are considered unhealthy because they use a lot of msg during the cooking process. However, believe me, talking about the taste and delicacy is not inferior to other noodle dishes. I'm sure, if you like noodles, surely you will like this food too.