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Penang Hokkien Char (福建炒)
April 5th, 2010Recipes, Chinese Recipes, Recipes, Malaysian Recipes, Penang Food, Recipes42 Comments
Did you watch The Amazing Race Penang episode last night? Catch it here if you’d missed it.
I haven’t been home to Penang since last June so I have been craving all sorts of Penang hawker/street food, including Penang Hokkien Char—a stir-fried noodles dish in a savory sauce and served with a dollop of sambal belacan at hawker centers.
A similar dish found in Malaysia is KL Hokkien Mee (check out the guest post by Citrus and Candy), which is thick noodles in a very dark-color sauce commonly found in KL and its surrounding areas. Penang Hokkien Char consists of a medley of yellow noodles and rice vemicelli, in a lighter sauce. I love eating Hokkien Char, flavoring the noodles with the pungent and spicy sambal belacan, it’s very tasty…
Penang Hokkien Char is usually served by Char Hor Fun hawkers, meaning you probably won’t find a stand-alone hawker stall selling only Hokkien Char, but if the hawker sells Char Hor Fun, it’s very likely that he/she also offers Hokkien Char, E-Fu Noodles, and others noodle dishes. So, be on the lookout for Char Hor Fun vendors if you wish to try this dish in Penang.
This is my easy Penang Hokkien Char recipe and you can get my sambal belacan recipe here. Enjoy!
(Click Page 2 for the Penang Hokkien Char Recipe)
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I love your BLOG !!!! Thanks
Thank you.
This looks like a really tasty dish. I have never been to a hawker so this is the closest I come to authentic Penang food.
You should go visit Penang then. ;)
Any food from Penang wins my heart :D I can eat this any time…maybe 2 plates even :P I love prawns so I will add more prawns…..mmmm
Mary – hehe, I love prawn also, every time must add extra liao (toppings). LOL!
Your new web design is awesome! This dish is mouthwatering. Lots of Sambal Belacan for me… Thanks
Yes, sambal belacan is a must. It makes the Hokkien char so good. Without it, it’s just a normal noodle dish.
You forgot to add pork liver and lard. =)Thanks for sharing this recipe. I love this dish very much.
Heh, I don’t have pork liver and lard. ;)
this dish is always overshadowed by Hokkien Mee and CKT LOL hardly order this dish whenever we’re in Penang.
That’s true, but every time I go home, I always make sure I have Penang char ho fun and hokkien char once. Hehe, but many many Hokkien Prawn Mee. Hehe.
Hi Bee! You can get Ibumie (Har mee flavor) instant noodles in packets in Malaysia. Of course they can’t beat the original but the flavor is there as is. Maybe you can add some extra ingredients to improve the flavor.
Give it a try if you haven’t tried it before next time you are back in Penang.
一定很鲜! 好吃! Almost like the Hor Fun ingredients (prawns, pork, veg etc) but the seasoning is definitely different.
Yes, the hor fun gravy is different, I like both, just depending on the mood.
ah, I miss hokkien char! Yours looks like the real deal, yum!
Piggy, it’s very good. I miss Hokkien Char once in a while. Hehe.
Ooh, delicious! I love Hokkien Mee and Char Fun, but I don’t think I’ve ever had the Penang version.
Penang version is different, you should try.
This looks soooo delicious. I’ll be in Malaysia in several months and hope to try it. BTW I was inspired by your older post on Roti Jala and made it with my Malaysian chicken curry. Delicious, though when I’m in KL next I have to find one of the roti jala moulds
How to ‘make sure’ the noodles is not overcooked? Adding at the very last stage and quick stir?
I miss Penang food! More please :)
Next time I go back to Malaysia, I will make it a point to go to Penang. Meanwhile, I will try your recipes. Keep it up. But try the food in Malacca. You will be surprise.
A great recipe!! I just can’t wait to go back to Penang next month after trying out your dish!!
I could really go for this. Lovely photo, so crisp, so bright, and so yummy!
I’m salivating! I’ve never been to Penang, but I can’t resist any kind of Asian noodle dish, especially when it’s full of seafood and sweet soy sauce. Hopefully, one day, I’ll get to Penang and taste it from one of those great hawker stands.
Carolyn – me too. I love noodles more than rice, give me noodles and I will take it anytime! Yes, hopefully you will get to visit Penang one day. If you love street food and culture, you would love Penang.
Hi
I left Penang in year 1994 and missed the food there. Your blog has reminded me the many happenings in Penang especially the Hokkien Mee. I remember the “Hokkien Mee” in Penang is the noodle in prawn soup, and few slice of small prawn and meat.
And the same is called “Prawn Mee” but bigger piece of prawn. Am I correct?
(I don’t exactly remember now )
Hokkien Mee = prawn mee but in Penang, we call it Hokkien mee, never call it prawn mee.
I love it! Thanks for sharing.
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Hi. I have just experimented this recipe and I must say, “thank you for sharing it”.
Where did you get the fish balls? Any particular kind you prefer?
I like DoDo brand frozen fish balls.
I’m literally drooling as I look at the pictures!! :D i can’t wait to try em out! CAUSE I LOVE HOKKIEN MEE! It’s superb tasty.
hi there, i need to alert you on this website that has the same post as yours
http://freedelicacies.blogspot.com/2011/06/seafood-hokkien-char-malaysian-recipe.html
Hi, the sweet soy sauce is the same one used in popiahs?
No. Sweet soy sauce is soy sauce that has been sweetened.
Can I use Cheong Chan Cooking Caramel in place of kecap manis?
Yes you can.
A yummy and simple dish. I’ve converted your recipe into a vegetarian version and it still tastes great :D
Seeing the photo makes me drool! Gonna try it out this weekend and hope it turns out right