Mine frite

Ingredients

Noodles

• 500 gfresh egg noodles
• or 300 g dried
• 1 tablespoonoil

The meat

• 300 gchicken breast
• cut in thin strips
• 1 tablespoonsoy sauce
• 1 tablespooncornflour
• 1 teaspoonsesame oil

The pan

• 3eggs, beaten
• 1onion, sliced
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 3cm ginger, grated
• 2carrots, in fine strips
• 200 gpak choi or cabbage, shredded
• 100 gbean sprouts
• 4spring onions, cut in lengths
• 4 tablespoonsoil

The sauce

• 3 tablespoonslight soy sauce
• 1 tablespoondark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoonoyster sauce
• 1 teaspoonsugar
• white pepper

To serve

• chilli sauce
• lime wedges
• from a snack counter

Directions

1. Lay it all out beside the pan. The pan must be genuinely very hot. Cook in batches if the pan is small. They are oiled to stop them sticking. Cut the chicken into thin strips. Put it into a large mixing bowl. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil. Add the cornflour and mix it through. Cornflour coats the meat in a thin film.
2. Leave the chicken for fifteen minutes. Cut the carrots into fine strips. Shred the pak choi or cabbage. Slice the onion up very thinly. Cut the spring onions into lengths. Everything must cook in a minute or two. Cut everything thinner than feels right.
3. Combine both soy sauces in a small bowl. Add the oyster sauce and the sugar. Add a good pinch of white pepper. Have it ready out beside the pan. Boil the noodles very briefly. Fresh noodles need only a minute or two. Drain them all very thoroughly. Rinse them briefly under cold water. Rinsing stops them cooking further.
4. Toss the drained noodles in a little oil. Set them all aside ready to use. Heat a little oil in the hot wok. Pour in all of the beaten eggs. Let them set into a thin omelette. Cooking the egg separately keeps it distinct. Cut it up into thin even strips. Set it aside until right at the end.
5. Heat more oil in the wok until smoking. Add all the chicken strips to it. Spread them out in a single layer. Let them sit for thirty seconds untouched. Then stir-fry them for two minutes. Lift the chicken out onto a plate. Heat some more oil in the hot wok.
6. Add all the thinly sliced onion. Stir-fry it for about a minute. Add the garlic and the ginger. Add all of the fine carrot strips. Stir-fry them for about a minute. Add the shredded pak choi or cabbage. Stir-fry it for about a minute.
7. Add the oiled noodles to the wok. Toss them through the vegetables. Use tongs or else two spatulas. Lift and turn rather than stirring. Keep them all moving constantly. Pour the mixed sauce over the noodles. Toss it through them thoroughly. The sauce must reach every noodle. Pour it round the edge of the wok. Toss hard to distribute it evenly. Let the noodles fry for two minutes.
8. Toss them every twenty seconds or so. Constant stirring prevents it entirely. Let them sit briefly between tosses. Add the cooked chicken back in. Add all of the cut egg strips.
9. Add the bean sprouts and spring onions. Toss it all through for one minute. They should stay crisp rather than wilting. Taste it and add more soy if needed. Add white pepper quite generously. Serving it is always done immediately. Tip it out onto plates or into boxes. Put chilli sauce out on the table. It must be eaten straight from the wok. Fry it again hard to reheat it.

Technique

• Everything must be cut and the sauce mixed before you start, since nothing sits in the pan for more than a minute or two and there is no time to chop mid-cooking; that preparation is most of the work.
• A crowded pan drops in temperature, and the food then releases water and steams instead of frying — cook in batches if the pan is small. The chicken and egg are cooked and removed first and go back in at the very end so they do not overcook.
• Toss the noodles with tongs, lifting and turning rather than stirring, which breaks them up; and let them sit briefly between tosses so they catch and brown, which is where the flavour comes from.

Substitutions

• Dried egg noodles stand in for fresh, cooked and rinsed the same way.
• Prawns, beef or pork replace the chicken; the method is unchanged.

Variations

• Dark soy sauce is used mainly for colour and light soy for the salt.
• Bean sprouts go in at the very end so they stay crisp.
• The name mixes Hokkien mee with French frite, exactly as the island does.

History

Mauritian-style fried noodles, stir-fried with soy sauce, egg, vegetable and often chicken or shrimp, documented across Mauritius with roots tracing to Chinese immigrant culinary influence, brought to the island through Chinese traders and laborers who settled there over several generations and introduced noodle-based cooking subsequently adapted into Mauritian Creole cuisine. Its name, borrowing directly from the French words for noodle and fried, reflects Mauritius’s layered French colonial and Chinese immigrant culinary history combined within a single, thoroughly localized dish. Mine frite remains one of the most commonly eaten everyday dishes across Mauritius, widely available from street food stalls throughout the island.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mine frite?

Mine frite is a main from Mauritius: stir-fried noodles with chicken, egg and greens, Chinatown legacy. Mauritian-style fried noodles, stir-fried with soy sauce, egg, vegetable and often chicken or shrimp, documented across Mauritius with roots tracing to Chinese immigrant culinary influence, brought to the island through Chinese traders and laborers who settled there over several generations and introduced noodle-based cooking subsequently adapted into Mauritian Creole cuisine. Its name, borrowing directly from the French words for noodle and fried, reflects Mauritius’s layered French colonial and Chinese immigrant culinary history combined within a single, thoroughly localized dish. Mine frite remains one of the most commonly eaten everyday dishes across Mauritius, widely available from street food stalls throughout the island.

How long does Mine frite take to make?

Mine frite takes 30 minutes of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Mine frite?

Yes, within limits. Dried egg noodles stand in for fresh, cooked and rinsed the same way. Prawns, beef or pork replace the chicken; the method is unchanged.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mine frite?

Lay it all out beside the pan. The pan must be genuinely very hot. Cook in batches if the pan is small. They are oiled to stop them sticking. Cut the chicken into thin strips. Put it into a large mixing bowl. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil. Add the cornflour and mix it through. Cornflour coats the meat in a thin film.