Comments on: Char Kuey Teow (炒粿條/Penang Fried Flat Noodles)

By: Joyce

Joyce — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:08:48 +0000

Thanks for this recipe! Being an oversea student, I’ve never thought I’ll be able to eat this out of Malaysia let alone cooking it by myself! Though I didn’t manage to get Chinese sausages or cockles, it still tastes nice with bean sprout, eggs and prawns! Love it!

By: Rasa Malaysia

Rasa Malaysia — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:03:07 +0000

I am not sure about your order but cockles are never added at the beginning of the cooking as they will be way overcooked. There are no spices used other than the chili paste which is towards the end. Penang version of CKT doesn’t use kecap manis as it’s not supposed to taste sweet. Some hawkers add the bean sprouts towards the end but if you have great wok skills, the bean sprouts would not be overcooked even though it’s added at the beginning.

By: Norris

Norris — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 05:08:55 +0000

Hi, Nice recipe. I first tasted Char Kueh Teow in Singapore hawker stalls. Couldn’t get enough of it but have also had a number of variations. Some with beef and green capsicum, some with chicken and prawn. All different but still very tasty.
I have also been cooking CKT at home since I was taught it by a hawker stall owner in Penang following the Commonwealth games in KL in ’98, and I find it curious that the order they cooked it, and which I follow is not the same as yours, although you say it is important.
The spices and garlic were first in the wok, then the prawns and other fishy things (like cockles or squid tubes) and chinese sausage then the noodles, and then the egg and kecap manis. Yes, KM was used in the recipe and yes, it made it sweet, but I quite like that).The sprouts were always added last, and I use the tops of spring onions as the green instead of chives. Just a different flavour but they all taste wonderful in my opinion.

By: Gillian

Gillian — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 07:36:15 +0000

AFter reading Grace Yong’s books about Breath of the Wok and Stir-frying to the Sky’s edge, I tried her special wok seasoning makeover technique five times and finally got ‘wok hei’ in jsut about everything cooked in my wok. I think what’s great is everyone can achieve ‘wok-hei’ cooking at home.

By: Rasa Malaysia

Rasa Malaysia — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 02:49:16 +0000

No washing. Use as is as I indicated in the recipe.

By: Leena

Leena — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 01:20:35 +0000

Hi Bee,

I wash the kuey theow, and it sticks. Shoud I not wash it? Otherwise the char kuey theow tastes good. Thanks for posting the recipe.

By: Rasa Malaysia

Rasa Malaysia — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:30:32 +0000

There are two types of dark soy sauce, don’t use keycap manis for this recipe it’s not supposed to be sweet.

By: Eleanor Hoh

Eleanor Hoh — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:13:15 +0000

The best CKT I had in Penang street stall was inside some warehouse in Betu Ferringhi in some back street. Do you know it Bee? Another secret the stall shared with us is to make only one portion at a time. It was a mighty long wait cause there were 7 of us but so worth it. Now, we can cook it with your recipe, yay, thx. Glad you mentioned hot wok, my mom would have hers screaming hot with quite a lot of oil. I’ve not made this, kinda intimidating but I’m going to try this.

By: Eddie Hoos

Eddie Hoos — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:34:34 +0000

I have only tried to make Char Kuey Teow once and it was disasterous! lol I had it in a restaurant in San Francisco but it seemed different than your recipe. But my question is: is dark soy the same as kecap manis or do I need something different? Thanks. I am determined to learn as much as I can about Malaysian cooking as I can and want to make this again. Thanks

By: Rasa Malaysia

Rasa Malaysia — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:53:19 +0000

Penang hawker doesnt use sweet soy sauce and probably use MSG, which I use a little sugar to balance off the taste. Sorry not sure about the portion.