Indomie instant noodles have been a core part of Indonesia’s cultural landscape since they came to market in 1972. When the team created a limited-edition Indo Mie Goreng toastie after opening its current Sydney CBD location in 2017, customers instantly resonated with its comforting and familiar flavours.
The toastie became a viral sensation and got given permanent residency on the cafe’s menu. This was hard to believe for Alfred Agus, who became the owner of the Dutch Smuggler in 2020 – he grew up in Indonesia at a time when Indomie was merely a “basic need” food.
“As far as I can remember, Indomie was a staple food that my parents prepared for us,” Agus recalls. “My family weren’t well off, so sometimes if we didn’t have the money to buy food, our parents would just give us Indomie with ketchup, kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) and a fried egg.”
These comforting flavours are replicated in the Dutch Smuggler’s Indo Mie Goreng toastie made with two pieces of semi-white sourdough, a perfectly seasoned layer of instant noodles, melted mozzarella and cheddar cheese, house-made , “magic mushroom” sauce and a runny, sunny side up egg.
“Our Mie Goreng toastie was actually an accident,” Agus says and laughs. “In 2017, our Indonesian chef was playing around with Indomie and said, ‘Hey, let's just for the fun of it put it in a toastie’ and served it as a staff meal." Then customers got to try it and it became a hit.
Even though it was a well-established signature dish when Agus took over Dutch Smuggler in 2020, he decided to make it "more Indonesian" by boosting the seasoning from the instant noodle flavour packets and adding fried shallots and spring onions, and kecap manis.
Our Indo Mie Goreng toastie was actually an accident.
By combining a runny egg with melted cheese, the toastie creates a rewarding umami flavour – especially with burnt cheese. Agus also loves the sandwich's complex balance of sweetness and saltiness.
“It always reminds me of home, especially of my younger days,” he says. “At school, everybody would have their lunch boxes but instead of having rice and other things, you would see a lot of Indomie.”
Putting mie goreng in a toastie is the ultimate fusion of Agus’s two homes, Indonesia and Australia, but is also very “on brand” for Dutch Smuggler. The cafe's name chronicles the Dutch colonisation of Indonesia in the 1600s and The Netherlands' attempt to smuggle coffee into the country.
“We want to be able to tell a story at the end of the day,” Agus explains. “The story is not only that we're doing Indonesian specialty coffee that is pretty much on par with Ethiopian, Brazilian or Colombian beans, but we’re showcasing Indonesia through our food offerings that go along with it.”
Dutch Smuggler celebrates Indonesian-inspired toasties as well as Indonesian coffee. Source: Dutch Smuggler
This season, the Dutch Smuggler released a beef rendang toastie with slow-cooked beef curry, coleslaw, fried onions, shallots and mozzarella. Agus loves that these toastie specials are a gateway to educating customers on Indonesia’s culinary history and thinks this awareness is especially important considering that Indonesia is Australia’s closest neighbour.
Office workers, students and travellers will all find comfort in the Dutch Smuggler’s infamous Indo Mie Goreng toastie and we can’t wait to see what Indonesian staple will be turned into a toastie next.
Our Indomie Mie Goreng toastie
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 2 packets Indomie mi goreng
- 2 slices white bread
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 20 g mayonnaise
- 50 g cheddar
- 50 g Swiss cheese
- 50 g mozzarella
Method
- Cook the Indomie mi goreng according to the instructions on the packet and set it aside.
- Toast and butter the bread and set aside.
- Add oil to a small frypan over medium heat. Add the egg and fry, sunny side up, until it's half well done (this should take less than a minute).
- To assemble the toastie, spread the mayonnaise on one slice of bread and layer on all three kinds of cheese, the mie goreng and the egg, sunny side up. Cover with the second slice of bread. Grill the toastie in a sandwich press or microwave until the cheese has melted.
- Slice the toastie in half and enjoy.
