I’ve shared many a recipes that I say are deceptively easy. From dumplings to quiches, with process photos and videos, even first-timers are able to follow along and are delighted to crown themselves Dumpling Queens, Wonton Kings, or Quiche Masters. (Self-proclaimed titles are fully encouraged around here!) Char Kway Teow is probably the first recipe ever that I’m going to describe as deceptively difficult. What may seem to be quite a straightforward stir fried noodle dish is actually a bit of an art that’s been perfected by Malaysian street hawkers, and it’s taken me this long to share the recipe because I wanted to ensure I could make it doable for anyone. So today, I’m sharing the recipe two ways:
Base Recipe (experienced cooks): where everything is cooked at the same time in a wok or skillet, Hawker style; and Easier Method: where ingredients are cooked individually then brought together at the end.
Use the Easier Method if you don’t have a strong stove, heavy based cast iron wok or very large heavy based skillet, if you are a newbie to the wok-cooking-world or if you simply prefer a more leisurely experience making this. Because this recipe moves fast once you hit the stove!
CKT thorns in my side!
When it comes to Char Kway Teow, I have two thorns in my side:
HOW TO PREPARE FRESH RICE NOODLES
Fresh, wide rice noodles are notoriously difficult to work with, prone to breaking when handled – even before they make it into the wok. So it’s not a question of if the noodles will break – it’s how much they will break. Even Char Kway Teow at restaurants have broken noodles. So don’t expect to see a long noodle pull shot with Char Kway Teow – that photo above is the best I’ve ever been able to capture! Here are my tips to minimise noodle breakage:
Fresh is best – Fresh noodles break less than dried. Really fresh noodles that have just been made and not even refrigerated break the least. I use refrigerated, packaged fresh rice noodles (I get mine from Harris Farm Markets and Asian stores); Warm the noodles before portioning out the amount you need and separating the noodles which are stuck together. My chosen method: microwave. Alternative: run under warm tap water. DO NOT boil or soak in boiling water or attempt to break apart fridge cold noodles. This = noodles breaking into a gazillion tiny pieces. Minimise handling in wok. I know this goes against the very ethos of wok cooking, but the more they are handled, the more they break. Toss or gently turn noodles in wok. You’ve always wanted to be a Wok Master and now’s your time to show off! Tossing is best to minimise noodle breakage, otherwise, use a spatula and a wooden spoon to gently turn the noodles in the wok (see video for technique).
Quick food nerd trivia moment: * Gluten holds noodles/pasta together, and rice noodles have no gluten. Hence the breakage. * Thinner noodles, like those used in Singapore Noodles and this Stir Fried Rice Noodles hold up much better to wild tossing in the wok.
CHAR KWAY TEOW INGREDIENTS
There are a handful of signature ingredients in Char Kway Teow that will require a trip to the Asian store, and possibly showing the shop assistant the photos above to locate the items. It’s worth it, I promise! But actually, if you use my substitution suggestions, you can make this without a trip to an Asian store. 🙂
Chinese Sausage (Lup Chong) – Australia! This is sold at Coles and Woolies, can you believe that?? This is China’s answer to chorizo and bacon. It is salty and sweet, a very distinct flavour that is unlike anything else and it’s addictive. It’s sold in the Asian aisle (not fridge). You’ll only need 1 for this recipe so use the remainder in place of the Chinese BBQ Pork in Singapore Noodles, or for Fried Rice – it totally takes it to another level and puts the humble bacon to shame!! Fried Fish Cakes / Pieces – It’s bouncy and it kind of tastes like seafood sticks, and it’s part of the Char Kway Teow experience. It’s sold in the fridge section of Asian stores. It can be substituted with other Asian Fish Balls that are sliceable (like this one from Coles or this one from Harris Farms). Toss leftovers into Chinese Noodle Soup or even Chinese Corn Soup! Garlic Chives – they look like grass blades and taste like garlicky chives. If you can’t find them, it’s not the end of the world – just use normal chives or finely slice green onions on the diagonal. Or even leave it out. The normal stuff – prawns/shrimp, egg, bean sprouts and garlic. Nice and easy to find!
CHAR KWAY TEOW SAUCE
The sauce is pretty straight forward – dark and light soy sauce, Oyster Sauce and Kecap Manis, also known as sweet soy sauce. It has a consistency like maple syrup – see photo below. You need both dark and light soy sauce because they play different roles in this recipe – the dark stains the noodles and adds flavour as well as saltiness to the sauce, whereas the light soy doesn’t stain the noodles, has less flavour but provides more saltiness.
RECIPE SOURCES
This recipe is another RecipeTin Family effort. To craft our ideal home-style Char Kway Teow recipe, we firstly hit up some favourite Sydney Malaysian restaurants for “research”. Ho Jiak’s signature Char Kway Teow is one of our favourites, and was especially an inspiration. As usual we also scoured YouTube to see the pros in action, watching video after video of food vendors on the streets of Malaysia tossing huge woks of Char Kway Teow to see how it’s done. (It was a double thumbs up if the dude was also shirtless and smoking a cigarette as he cooked.) We even enlisted translation services for some of the videos so we could hear the chefs explain what makes a good Char Kway Teow!! Classic Char Kway Teow usually includes blood cockles which we can’t easily find and personally find them less essential than the other ingredients so have left them out for our version. We’ve eaten an inordinate amount of Char Kway Teow in recent weeks, creating this recipe. We know homestyle can’t be a perfect replica of street food, but we are darn happy with the results – and hope you love it too! – Nagi x PS Ticking another off the Request a Recipe list!! And added to the DONE list (bottom of that post).
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
LIFE OF DOZER
If dogs could talk: “Well come on. Give me a leg up, will ya?”
