Char Kuey Teow
Craving an authentic Penang Char Kuey Teow? This easy step-by-step guide will help you nail that smoky stir-fry every time. With simple ingredients and a few pro tips, you’ll bring the bold flavors of Penang right to your kitchen!
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
Chili Paste:
- 1 oz (30g) dried red chilies seeded, soak in water
- 2 fresh red chilies seeded
- 3 small shallots or pearl onions, peeled and sliced
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 pinch salt
Sauce (mix and blend well):
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 dashes ground white pepper
Other Ingredients:
- 3 cloves garlic chopped finely
- 12 prawn shelled , submerge in ice cold water plus 2 tablespoons sugar for 30 minutes
- 1 lb. (500g) fresh flat rice noodles completely loosened and no clumps
- 1 lb. (500g) blood cockles extract the cockles by opening its shell
- 2 Chinese sausages sliced diagonally
- 1 bunch fresh bean sprouts rinsed with cold water and drained
- 4 large eggs
- 1 bunch Chinese chives removed about 1-inch of the bottom section and cut into 2-inch lengths
Instructions
- Grind all the ingredients for the chili paste using a mini food processor until fine. Heat a wok with 1 teaspoon of oil and stir-fry the chili paste until aromatic. Dish out and set aside.
- Clean the wok thoroughly and heat it over high flame until it starts to smoke. Add 2 tablespoons of oil or lard to the wok, then add half of the chopped garlic and stir quickly.
- Transfer six prawns and half of the sausage slices into the wok. Stir quickly with the spatula until the prawns start to change color and you smell the aroma of the Chinese sausage.
- Add half of the bean sprouts to the wok.
- Follow immediately with 8 oz. (230g) or half of the flat noodles.
- Add 2 1/2 tablespoons of the sauce to the wok and stir vigorously to combine. Crack an egg on top of the noodles. Use the spatula to break the egg yolk and stir to mix with the egg white. Flip the noodles to cover the egg and wait for about 15 seconds.
- Add about 1/2 tablespoon of chili paste (add more if you like it spicy) and some cockle clams to the wok.
- Continue stir-frying until the egg is cooked through. Add the chives, give a couple of quick stirs, then dish out and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Get the freshest ingredients—fresh and crunchy bean sprouts, freshly-made noodles, big, fat, succulent shrimp/prawn, bloody cockles (I love my Char Koay Teow with them, without them, it’s not quite the same!), etc.
- Wonder why the prawn in Penang Char Koay Teow are always so succulent, juicy, and sweet? I believe some of the most famous stalls treat their prawn with sugar and ice water, or perhaps they are just very fresh.
- Use lard if you can. That’s the secret for the rich silky taste.
- Very hot wok.
- Control your timing of cooking and hence control your “wok hei.”
Nutrition
Serving: 4people | Calories: 639kcal | Carbohydrates: 114g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 2809mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g