Char Kway Teow

Malaysia

Also known as Char Koay Teow

About Char Kway Teow

Char Kway Teow is a smoky stir-fry of flat rice noodles, popular in Malaysia and Singapore. The noodles are fried at very high heat with shrimp, cockles, slices of Chinese sausage, egg, bean sprouts and chives, seasoned with light and dark soy sauce.

The name comes from the Hokkien Chinese for "stir-fried flat rice noodles". The key is "wok hei", the slightly charred, smoky flavor that comes from tossing the noodles in a very hot wok, ideally over a charcoal or strong gas flame.

It started as a cheap and filling dish for laborers, often fried in pork fat. The city of Penang is especially famous for its version, and hawker stalls there sometimes cook it with duck eggs or large prawns.

Ingredients

• flat rice noodles
• shrimp
• cockles
• Chinese sausage
• eggs
• bean sprouts
• soy sauce
• chives