Did you know that there are two variants of sambal in Indomie’s classic mie goreng seasoning packs? Depending on where you live, you may get different seasoning packs, as many Indonesians discovered recently (even though it’s been that way for years).
Recently, community account @subtanyarl tweeted a photo showing two kinds of seasoning sachets included in Indomie’s mie goreng: one commonly found inside those sold within Java island, and the other outside Java.
https://twitter.com/subtanyarl/status/1269475499186610181
“No wonder when I first moved to Jakarta, I was surprised to find that Indomie comes with chili sauce,” the tweet reads.
From the photo, we Jakartans will notice that the chili sauce we are accustomed to is replaced by chili powder in the package sold outside Java. Furthermore, non-Java mie goreng also doesn’t come with fried shallot flakes.
In Jakarta and the rest of Java, Indomie mie goreng’s seasoning sachets ordinarily consist of sweet soy sauce, oil, chili sauce, dry seasoning powder and fried shallot flakes.
To prove that this is not just some wild conspiracy noodle theory, some netizens went ahead and shared videos of them unpacking mie goreng sold in their cities. This user from the South Sumatra capital of Palembang showed that there are only four packs of condiments in the packaging:
Unboxing indomie bubuk cabee buat yg masih belom percaya
Otw masak mi dulu yak 😂 pic.twitter.com/t3JvZ6bnaU
— Uid ♡ (@uid_1004) June 7, 2020
Meanwhile, the video below shows the mie goreng condiments we know in Jakarta and the rest of Java island:
Unboxing indomie versi Jawa pic.twitter.com/0n2wQMpXZl
— Rum (@sekarniingrum) June 7, 2020
At the time of writing, @subtanyarl’s tweet has been retweeted more than 4,700 times and has received more than 28,000 likes, prompting a comment from the Indomie producers themselves.
“It’s true that Indomie mie goreng comes in two [varieties], which have been adjusted to the public’s tastes. Before launching the product to the market, the noodle marketing team conducted a test and received different insights from Indomie goreng fans in several regions in Indonesia,” Julia Atman, the marketing general manager of PT Indofood’s noodle division, said yesterday.
Separately, Indofood’s spokesperson Novi Arlaida said the two varieties of mie goreng condiments sets have been sold for more than 10 years.
Having tried both varieties without realizing the regional idiosyncrasies of Indomie mie goreng, we can safely say that both are instant (ha!) winners, though Java Indomie mie goreng may have a slight edge due to its fried shallot flakes.
How about you? Are you team chili sauce or team chili powder?
