I have been a fan of palm trees ever since seeing them in person during my first trip to Southern California in November of 1988. It’s hard to put into words exactly how wonderful I felt whenever I saw them. But it’s safe to say that gazing upon them made me feel happy and relaxed. So, it makes sense that, my favorite places to visit to date–in the United States and abroad–are those that have allowed me to see palm trees at some point during my time there.
Speaking of my list of places I’d like to visit, it gets longer every year. The more you go, the more you grow. (No, I did not intend for that sentence to sound like Dr. Seuss.) And, one of the places that I recently added to my list is the African island of Mauritius, which is situated off the southeast coast of the mainland in the Indian Ocean. And, yes, it has plenty of palm trees.
In addition to having beautiful palm trees, the country of Mauritius is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a national park, a botanical garden (that has palm trees) and luxury beachfront resorts. It’s also known for its diverse culinary traditions that point to the country’s multilingual Creole, French, Indian and Chinese residents. As a matter of fact, Mauritian immigrants from China are actually credited with making two of the country’s staple foods–rice and noodles–popular there.
Since it could be a while before I’m actually able to visit Mauritius, I decided to do a bit of research and see if there were any dishes I could create that would make me feel like I was dining at a restaurant there. And, one that kept popping up as a “must have” dish for visitors was Mine Frire (or Fried Noodles). So, I figured out a way to whip up a quick version of the dish for my family for dinner last week. Containing such family favorites as chicken, spaghetti noodles, shredded veggies, and eggs, it was one of the easiest and least expensive cultural dishes I’ve made to date.
If you’d like to make this dish for your family, please check out my below recipe for 15-Minute Mauritian Fried Noodles. For your convenience, I’ve included links to some of the ingredients I used in case you’d like to buy them online and have them delivered to you. And, as I’ve mentioned previously, if you make a purchase using a link, I’ll earn a small commission from qualifying purchases that will help me to continue to share recipe hacks like this on my blog. By the way, if you have a Pinterest account, use the pin I embedded below to save the recipe to your board so it will be easy to access when you’re ready to cook.
What You’ll Need To Make 15-Minute Mauritian Fried Noodles (Six servings)
*12 Ounces of Uncooked Spaghetti (Think: Two ounces per person)
*3 Eggs
*2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
*2 Large Boneless, Skinless Chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
*1.5 Cups of Cole Slaw Mix
*1 Cup of Shredded Carrots
*5 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
*1 Tablespoon of Apple Juice
*3 Tablespoons of Chives
*2 Teaspoons of Salt
*3 Teaspoons of Pepper
How to Make 15-Minute Mauritian Fried Noodles
1. In order to cook your spaghetti, bring water to a boil in a saucepan that will accommodate the amount you need to cook. Boil spaghetti for approximately 9 minutes. FYI, the package recommended cooking the entire package for 11-13 minutes. But, since I wasn’t preparing the entire package–and I was going to stir fry it with the other ingredients–I reduced the cooking time. I also broke the spaghetti noodles in half before cooking them to make mixing them with the other ingredients easier.
2. While the spaghetti is boiling, mix together the eggs in a small mixing bowl or measuring cup. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Pour the eggs carefully into the skillet. Swirl the skillet a bit to ensure that the eggs will form a circle. Let them cook until they are set (approximately 2 minutes). Fold over one side of the circle so that they form a thin omelet. Flip the omelet over and let it cook on the other side for 1 minute. Transfer the omelet from the skillet to a plate and cut it into strips that you will place on top of your noodles just before serving the finished dish.
3. When the spaghetti is finished cooking, remove the skillet from the burner, drain it and set it aside.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium high heat and sautee the chicken for 3 minutes.
5. Add the cole slaw mix and carrots to the skillet or wok and stir all the ingredients in the pan so they are mixed together.
6. Drain the spaghetti noodles and add them to the skillet or wok. Turn burner to high heat and add apple juice, soy sauce, salt and pepper to the pan. Toss all ingredients together and sautee them for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
7. Place heaping servings of noodles in individual bowls or on individual plates and fold in chives just before you serve the dish. Top each serving with a few omelet strips and enjoy!
Possible Substitutions and Recipe Notes:
1. I used dry spaghetti noodles this time around because that’s the kind that we typically have on hand, but I’d also like to make this dish with fresh ones at some point. The cooking time will be even shorter and the pasta will likely absorb more of the sauce used to flavor the dish.
2. Shredded carrots worked perfectly for my dish, but you could also use diced carrots.
3. The apple juice in my recipe was used in place of the white wine that I’ve seen in many versions of the dish. I never drink wine, so I didn’t want to buy it just for this dish. Other possible substitutions include white grape juice or chicken broth.
4. Many versions of this recipe include Chinese or garlic chives, but I couldn’t find any at the couple of stores that I frequent. (And I didn’t feel like driving to an Hmart store, which probably would’ve had them.) So, I used regular dried chives. You can do this, too, or buy fresh chives. Speaking of the chives, next time, I’m planning on sprinkling them in the pan when I add the veggies. This will give them a chance to cook longer and intensify their flavor.
5. To pack even more vitamins and color into your dish, you could also make this dish with veggie noodles like zucchini noodles or squash noodles.
