Char Kway Teow (Stir Fried Flat Rice Noodles)炒粿條

Char (stir fry) Kway Teow (flat noodles) is a very ubiquotous dish in Malaysia (which is normally branded as Penang char kway teow) and Singapore (which is of  sweeter version). You would normally find them in hawker centres dotted around the countries.

Ingredients (Serve 2 -3 )

• about 400 g of fresh flat rice noodles OR 200 g of dry flat rice noodles
• Dark Sauce: 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp dark soya sauce, 2 tbsp light soya sauce; Optional 1 tbsp over  of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• Sambal Oelek (I used ready made bottled ones, by the brand of Yeo’s)
• 6 stalks of Chinese/garlic chives, chopped in 4 cm length
• 6 king prawns,deshelled and deveined OR 10 ready made fish balls (available in Asian supermarket)
• 2 eggs
• 1 – 2 fresh chillies, chopped (optional)
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped

I sourced all of the Asian ingredients above mentioned from Asia Market, Drury St, Dublin.

Preparation steps

1. If using dry noodles (as in my case), soak them in freshly boiled hot water in a deep bowl with a lid on for about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the ingredients at the side of the wok.
3. When the noodles turn opaque, quench and drain them well. Then, drizzle some oil over the semi cooked noodles to mix in to prevent them from sticking to each other. Set aside.
4. First, scramble the eggs in a hot wok, take it out and leave side.
5. Ensure the wok is on medium high heat with about  2 – 3 tbsp of oil in it.
6. Now, add in shallots then garlic to stir fry.
7. Then, followed by prawns (or fish balls in my case) to cook until they are firm.
8. Add in sambal oelek to stir in until the fragrance is released.
9. Toss in the noodles now, and drizzle the dark sauce over the noodles to stir in.
10. Keep stir frying until the noodles are well coated with the dark sauce.
11. Now, add in the scrambled eggs and chives to mix in briefly.
12. Finally, add salt to taste if needed then plate them hot!

Now, eat straightaway! Of course, this version is still far away from the very fragrant ones in M’sia as the cook would know how to bring the wok hei out of this dish. But, this will do it for now until I pay M’sia a visit again.

Typically, char kway teow cook would do one portion at a time, to ensure the noodles absorb wok hei and mix in well with the rest of the ingredients. So, if you like to attempt this at home, here is a tip.