There’s nothing quite like a plate of freshly cooked Char Kuey Teow straight from the wok – warm, comforting, and just a little oily, sticky and charred with a hint of smokiness.

A whiff of this deliciousness evokes vivid images of the Char Kuey Teow cook, skilfully working his metal spatula and giant wok as he expertly flips the noodles into the air, mixing the kuey teow and bean sprouts and fish cakes and blood cockles into absolute perfection.

Piping hot from the flames of the high pressure stove, you’re still ever ready to tuck in as soon as the noodles are plated and placed in front of you, preferably on an oval, orange melamine plate melted in places and maybe, if you’ve been a good girl or boy, a sheet of banana leaf lining the plate.

Char Kuey Teow is a food institution in this region of South East Asia. Made with flat rice noodles, a mixture of sauces, seafood and just a hint of vegetables (we didn’t say this dish was particularly healthy), Char Kuey Teow is typically available either a little on the “wet” side or “dry”, although not necessarily from the same seller.

Each Char Kuey Teow maestro normally has his or her own special blend of ingredients, but the core recipe rarely varies.

Chinese-style Char Kuey Teow sellers may also prepare theirs with pork fat or lard, although there are many that go without to appeal to the non pork-eating market.

This dish requires some prep work, but it comes together really fast once you start cooking. We’ve stuck to a classic and true recipe that’s sure to be a pleaser.

Ingredients:

• 150g flat rice noodles (kuey teow)
• ¼ cup bean sprouts
• 1 tbsp garlic chives (kucai), sliced thinly
• ¼ cup blood cockles, shells removed
• 6 large prawns, peeled and deveined
• 1 fish cake, sliced thin
• 5 fish balls, halved
• 1 duck egg (substitute with chicken eggs if duck eggs not available)
• 1 tsp chilli boh
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup water plus 2 tbsp water
• 3 tbsp cooking oil plus extra for seasoning the wok

Dark sauce mixture:

• 1 tbsp light soya sauce
• 1 tbsp cooking caramel
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp black vinegar
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ tsp ground white pepper

Aromatics:

• 5 shallots
• 3 cloves garlic

Method:

• In a small bowl, add all dark sauce ingredients together and mix thoroughly.
• Using a food processor, blend aromatic ingredients until fine.
• Heat and season your wok by wiping a thin layer of oil around it with a paper towel. You will know your wok is hot enough when the layer of oil has dried up and the wok seems to glow.
• Add cooking oil. If your wok is hot enough, the oil will be sufficiently hot in a few seconds. Otherwise, let it reach a temperature of 180°C to 200°C.
• Add prawns and flash fry for 8 to 10 seconds to brown the prawns. This also flavours the oil. Push prawns to the side of the wok.
• Add 2 teaspoons of the aromatic mixture, boh chilli and fry with the prawns until fragrant.
• Working quickly, crack the duck egg into the wok, break and mix the yolk together with the rest of the ingredients and fry until the mixture has thickened but remains wet. You do not want the egg to dry up.

• In a colander, add ½ cup water to the kuey teow and give it a mix to moisten. Add noodles to the wok and fry until the noodles are thoroughly coated, for about 1 minute. Keep stirring and mixing the noodles.

• Add bean sprouts, fish cake, fish balls, cockles, chives and 2 teaspoons of the dark sauce mixture. Add 2 tablespoons of water to the noodles (see extra cooking tips 1).

• Stir or flip to cook the bean sprouts and cockles (if cockles are raw) for about 1 minute. Serve!

Prep tips

• When buying kuey teow, don’t go for those refrigerated as they usually don’t last as long as those that aren’t.
• For better distribution of flavour, make sure the noodles are separated into individual strands. As they can be quite fine and hard to spot, focus especially on the lumps that clump together.
• The cockles can be raw or boiled. If you prefer juicier cockles in your Char Kuey Teow, use them raw. If you don’t like them too juicy, used boiled cockles instead. Regardless of whether you use boiled or raw cockles, they should be added in at the same time during the cooking process.
• If you’re planning on boiling the cockles, first, wash them thoroughly until the cockles are no longer muddy. Place them in a pot and pour sufficient water to touch the top of the cockles, although they do not need to be fully submerged. Cover the pot and bring to a boil until the cockles are cooked, which means the shells will be (at least) slightly ajar.
• Duck eggs add extra richness to the Char Kuey Teow. You can also break the egg into a bowl and give it a light mix first before adding to the wok if you are not confident with your egg-breaking skills.

Extra cooking tips

• This is to help steam the bean sprouts. You can also use boiled juices from cooked cockles instead of water, just make sure it has no sediment.
• For some extra mad skills when cooking, especially with an audience, flip your noodles around in the wok! Be careful not to accidentally flip them out of the wok and onto everywhere else instead.
• Feel free to add more or less prawns, cockles, fish cake, fish balls or bean sprouts according to your fancy.
• It is also recommended that you cook this dish one serving at a time so you get an even mix of ingredients – even the pros do it this way!
• Don’t have a wok? It is highly recommended that you do.

If you’re looking for an indulgent recipe this is definitely one to make at home. With a little practice, you’ll be a Char Kuey Teow pro in no time.

This article first appeared in butterkicap.com

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