Char Kway Teow

Char Kway Teow (Penang-Style Fried Flat Rice Noodles)

The definitive Penang hawker dish: flat rice noodles tossed over intense heat with prawns, cockles, lap cheong, egg and bean sprouts so the noodles pick up wok hei. The secret is a screaming-hot wok, a small batch, and not stirring the noodles until they've charred.

Prep

25 min

Cook

10 min

Total

35 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (1 lb 2 oz) fresh flat rice noodles (kway teow), fresh, not dried; loosen by hand so clumps don't stick
• •30 ml (2 tbsp) vegetable oil, neutral, high smoke point
• •4 cloves garlic, smashed
• •200 g (7 oz) prawns, shelled, deveined, tails on if you like
• •150 g (5 oz) cockles (see hum), already-opened, chilled in their liquor; see safety note
• •120 g (4¼ oz) Chinese sausage (lap cheong), sliced on the bias about 5 mm thick
• •2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• •200 g (7 oz) bean sprouts, rinsed, tails removed
• •4 stalks Chinese chives (ku chai), cut into 5 cm lengths
• •20 g (¾ oz) pork lard, traditional; sub extra oil if needed
• •20 ml (4 tsp) dark sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), for colour; do not substitute regular soy
• •30 ml (2 tbsp) light soy sauce
• •10 ml (2 tsp) fish sauce, or to taste
• •1 tsp white pepper, ground
• •1 tsp sugar, palm sugar if you have it
• •4 slices calamansi or lime, for serving
• •1 small handful crispy fried shallots, optional garnish

Steps

1. 1 Make the sauce: in a small bowl stir together the dark sweet soy, light soy, fish sauce, sugar and white pepper so it's ready to tip in all at once.
2. 2 Prep all ingredients within arm's reach of the wok. This dish cooks in under 3 minutes per batch, so once the wok is hot there is no time to chop.
3. 3 Cook the proteins first: heat 1 tbsp oil in a hot wok over the highest flame. Stir-fry the lap cheong for 30 seconds until the fat renders, add the prawns and toss just until they turn pink and opaque (internal temperature 63 °C / 145 °F, about 45 seconds). Tip out and set aside.
4. 4 In the same wok add the pork lard and remaining oil. Add the smashed garlic and stir for 10 seconds until fragrant.
5. 5 Add ONE QUARTER of the noodles (about 125 g). Press flat with a spatula and LEAVE THEM for 45–60 seconds so a char forms on the underside — do not stir. Then flip and char the other side. The noodles should have toasted, slightly blackened edges.
6. 6 Pour one quarter of the beaten egg along the edge of the wok. Let it set for 15 seconds, then toss to coat the noodles.
7. 7 Return one quarter of the lap cheong and prawns to the wok. Add one quarter of the cockles (warm them only until they just heat through, 20–30 seconds — overcooking turns them rubbery).
8. 8 Add one quarter of the bean sprouts and chives, and pour one quarter of the sauce along the hot edge of the wok so it sizzles and caramelises. Toss vigorously for 15 seconds and tip out onto a plate. Repeat for the remaining 3 batches.
9. 9 Serve immediately, garnished with crispy fried shallots and a wedge of calamansi or lime to squeeze over.
10. 10 SAFETY — prawns: cook until the flesh is pink and opaque throughout and reads 63 °C / 145 °F on an instant-read thermometer; shell-on tails look done before the flesh is, so check.
11. 11 SAFETY — raw cockles (see hum): raw bivalves carry norovirus, Vibrio and hepatitis A. Buy only from a trusted live-tank supplier, keep them on ice, and consume the same day. If they are pre-shucked and packed in liquor (the way they are sold in Malaysian markets), keep refrigerated at or below 4 °C and use within 24 hours. Vulnerable eaters (pregnant, elderly, immunocompromised) should skip them.
12. 12 SAFETY — eggs: use pasteurised eggs if you are serving anyone in a high-risk group, and cook the egg until the white is fully set.