Welcome to Day 3, the final day, of our three part Malaysian Food Series! Check out Day 1, Hainanese Chicken Rice and Day 2, Spicy Water Spinach (Kangkung Belacan).
Char Kway Teow, which stands for “stir fried rice flat noodles” is a very popular street food in Malaysia. It consists of these flat rice noodles stir fried in a very hot work with prawns, cockles, greens, bean sprouts, and eggs with dark soy sauce and spices!
Historically, fishermen and farmers would sell this savory, flavorful dish at night in hawker stands to supplement their daytime incomes. Traditionally, you stir fry the dish in pork fat, which makes it quite a rich dish (though I’m sure it’s really really good!)
These days, most people have switched to using vegetable oil. Many versions include a fried egg as well, which adds back some of the flavor lost from the lard.
If you have all your ingredients ready to go for this dish, it actually doesn’t take too long to cook. The frying step has to be quick and done in a really hot wok! You want there to be a char with the noodles – that’s what makes this dish stand out!
I ended up buying sheets of rice noodles because I could not find pre-cut ones. I was able to find mine in Boston’s Chinatown at Sun Sun Market, though you can probably find it in a lot of places. Cut noodles into 1/2 inch strips.
The rest is pretty easy. If you are experienced with the recipe and all your ingredients are ready to go, you should be able to cook this up reasonably quickly. In our case, since it was our first time and we didn’t really know what we were doing, we took a little longer than normal.
We eventually felt like we had to take the shrimp out otherwise they would overcook. So, if you want to be safe, you can take the shrimp out too after you think they are done. Overcooked shrimp is rubbery, hard, and, frankly, can ruin the dish.
This dish is really like a normal stir fry, so it’s not too hard. It’s important to have a really hot wok or skillet (cast iron would be great!). In our case, I think our wok was not quite not enough, and thus we didn’t get as much char as we would have liked.
The flavors were all there though, and my Singaporean friend blessed and approved the recipe. ๐
Flavors of Malaysia: A Journey Through Time, Tastes, and Traditions
This Malaysian series was inspired by a free review copy I got of Flavors of Malaysia by Susheela Raghavan. You can read a more detailed account of my thoughts regarding the book here. The publisher has been kind enough to provide me with THREE books to give away! I will be giving one away per day during this series – one for each dish I cook from the book!
Giveaway ends Friday, March 4, 2011 at midnight! I reserve the right to pick another winner if I pick the same winner twice during this three-part giveaway series.
All Rights Reserved
Char Kway Teow isn’t Char Kway Teow without cockles! And my dad would add that it isn’t authentic without the lard. If you’re ever in Singapore, try the fried kway teow at Chomp Chomp (Serangoon Gardens).
So many asian noodle dishes to choose from… I don’t know if I can pick just one :-). High on the list, though, is Vietnamese bun/vermicelli (with grilled meat, veggies, and fish sauce). Also ramen.
I love the plain and simple fish ball noodle soup!
Hi… found my way here via google search for Hainanese chicken recipe. Since I’m already here, I’m thrilled to take part in your giveaway contest. My favourite noodle dishes are char kway teow, pad thai and batchoy (Filipino noodle soup).
This sounds amazing! I’d have to say that I’m sticking with my Filipino roots and saying that my favorite noodle dish is Pancit!
My favorite Asian noodle dish is Japanese Ramen Noodle, especially Shoyu Ramen!! To me, it’s a huge reflection of Japanese culture and one of the dishes that I miss most living in Boston.
shrimp pad thai! i actually posted a recipe on my blog last week!
http://lachapstickfanatique.blogspot.com
My favorite noodle dish is made by my grandma. She combines leftover rice with mei fun and adds whatever we have at hand. It is so good!
Thai Drunken noodles. A group of us reviewed all of the Thai restaurants in Portland, ME and that was the one dish I had at all of them. Needless to say, I haven’t had Thai in a while because of that.
Seared Black Bean Chicken on Crispy Noodles-YUMBO!!!!!
I think my favorite has got to be fresh egg noodles with shrimp wontons and char siu pork!
Definitely pho ga!
Our family’s fav. Asian noodle dish is Taiwan beef noodle soup. We have at least once a week, especially in this New England weather! Kids got excited looking at the red oil on top of the soup, which came from chilli pepper and tomatoes — sooo good. We love oodles of noodles. I WANT this book to expand my cooking horizon!! Thank you!
It would have to be pho. I could eat it everyday. Next would be chow-fun… with anything. :] Though preferably with a nice sauce.
Vietnamese noodles (Pho) with egg, tofu and tomatos. Hands down the Pho broth is a win for me anytime.
My favorite Asian noodle dish is the Taiwanese stir fried rice noodle!
I love pho and Vietnamese rice noodle salads. Saigon In-and-Out in Santa Barbara has a delicious one with pork and egg roll. I’ll also cast a vote for Ramen in the cellophane packet. I like the chile flavor and jazz it up with shrimp, a lot of green onions, and a bit of balsamic vinegar to make it a fake hot and sour.
I love any kind of stir fry flat noodle
i like any flat rice noodles w/spicy sauce
LAKSAAAA
My husband always goes crazy over rice noodles. I think I’m going to have to try my hand at making them for him. Lovely post!
I love beef pho ๐
My favorite Asian noodle dish is Taiwanese intestine vermicelli in the thick brown soup. Do you know the dish I am talking about? I could never get enough of it!!
Char Kway Teow is my all time favorite dish my mom makes everytime I visit her in Hong Kong! We grew up eating this. I would love a Malaysian cookbook so I can make more Malaysian dishes!
My favorite noodle dish is Pho!
This looks brilliant and great photos, I would love to win!
My favorite noodle dish is probably the Thai dish Pad Kee Mow. IT is usually spicy with beef and basil and wide flat rice noodles.
This is great, I was just about to try making a batch this weekend.
Mine favorite noodle dish has to be Malaysian style Fried Hokkien Noodles
Fish Ball Noodle Soup with the thin flat rice noodles (esp in Hong Kong).
Hong Kong style wonton noodle soup.
Lo mein! So boring!
drunken noodles
My favorite noodle is perhaps the Singapore Mai Fun, though Pad Siew comes pretty darn close.
Originally from Sarawak Malaysia, I have to say the Sarawak Laksa is one of my favourites.
Noodles… I love most noodles, especially the spicy ones. My mom makes dandan noodles and it is one of my favs.
i love beef chow fun. I know it’s quite generic but when it’s home-made it is DELICIOUS! and you can buy the rice paper sheets (that’s what my family calls them) at super 88! just look in the refrigerated section (this way you can avoid traffic/parking in chinatown).
Those noodles look really cool to cook with (and eat!) Sorry about the wok malfunctions ๐ I’m sure it was still really tasty!
Thanks for sharing!
I love a traditional pad thai. Extra spicy!
When talking about noodles, you can never leave out the classic Cantonese Hong Kong style beef chow fun (乾炒牛河), my favorite; along with Thai based Pad See-Ew (ผัดซีอิ๊ว) and Pad Thai (ผัดไทย), and Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (Pho) with lettuce, lime, bean sprouts, and that yummy black sauce (it’s either hoisin or plum sauce?). ๐
mee siam or mee goreng hands down mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
No question about it – Taiwanese beef noodle soup…hands down.
These noodles are looking so tempting..
My all time favourites are Singaporean flat noodles and Pad Thai.
My current noodle obsession would be Korean noodle salad with snails
I like herbed duck vermicelli and beef kwetiau with thick broth. It can make your tummy warm afterwards. ๐
oh goodness. I love all sorts of noodles — e-fu noodles with braised mushrooms makes my mouth happy with it’s textures.
But my longstanding go-to noodle dish is Gon Chow Ngau Ho – flat wide rice noodles stir fried with beef slices and soy. when there is the appropriate amount of wok hei…yum!
Noodle soup with fish ball.
chow fun noodle soup with wontons and roast duck! ๐
Nah..still the shrimp noodle soup. Love the spicy and potent shrimp flavor with that egg noodle, it’s making me want to have one now.
Pad see ew — I just can’t get enough of the delicious chewy noodles and crispy friend tofu.
khao soi. hands-down. love it. really, really love it. would go to chiang mai tonight to get some – if only the budget allowed! laksa and pho will have to fight it out for second place.
I absolutely love braised pork and eggs. The belly fat from the pork makes the dish top-notch!
Oooh Laksa Laksa Laksa
I couldn’t choose! I love Khao Soi, but then I also love Nonya Laksa (I guess they have their similarities). I have even gone so far as to pickle my own cabbage for Khao Soi but it will never be the same as the bowl from my fave noodle spot in Chiang Mai or from Nong Bia in Pai!
Pancit palabok from a tiny restaurant in LA
My favorite noodle dish is ja jiang mien (or za zhang mian or zha zhang mien or some other butchered spelling, lol). I’m pretty sure you know what I mean though.
My absolute favorite noodle dish is pancit bihon. It’s a filipino dish that I loved while growing up. I consider it ‘my’ comfort food. I’ve recently gotten into making more Asian-inspired dishes as I MISS my mother’s cooking. I have a very diverse background (filipino/chinese/german/irish and lived in japan for 10 years)…. So I’ve had my fair share of noodle dishes, and you know what… NOTHING beats a heaping plate of pancit!
Char Kway Teow is my favorite noodle dish! It is hard to find a restaurant here that makes a good Char Kway Teow but I finally found one. I just found a wok at the local Good Will and am planning on trying your recipe. It looks yummy! Hopefully, I will be able to get the wok hot enough to create a good umami taste!!
My heart will always belong to my childhood favorite, beef chow fun with gravy. That’s the dish I always always requested as a kid in Hong Kong and unsurprisingly, my ultimate comfort food.
This dish was featured at a food channel last night. And yes this Malaysian street food is so good, cheap and will leave you with full stomach.
My favorite noodle dish is the thai dish with wide rice noodles, mustard greens and beef:)
I used to live down the block from a Malaysian restaurant and miss the food very much. I’ll have to look into this cookbook. Thanks!
OK so who won? Is it me? *wink*
Growing up in KL and having left 51 years ago, I still dream of the Curry Laksa that I ate in a small busy restaurant in Peel Rd! Oh how I miss it still.