Char Kway Teow

I was craving for some Char Kway Teow (fried flat rice noodles) today ... real bad. So bad, I made it for breakfast! You know how sometimes food cravings suddenly act up and you just HAVE to eat what you're hankering for? Well, what I cooked up definitely cannot compete with what you'll find at hawker stalls, but it was enough to satiate my craving.


One of the easiest dishes to photograph ... just dump everything onto the plate and start snapping. There is no such thing as a tidy-looking char kway teow. In fact, when Anthony Bourdain ate this dish in "No Reservations", he muttered something like, "How can something so messy taste so good?"

Recipe
(adapted from here)
Part A (basic ingredients)
- 400g fresh kway teow (rinse briefly)
- 1 stalk chives or scallions, cut into inch-long strips
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 handful beansprouts (more, if you like)
- 1 bunch of chye sim, washed and cut into small pieces (or any leafy greens you like)

Part B (add-on ingredients):
- Shrimps, shelled and deveined with tails still on
- Squid, sliced into rings
- Cockles
- Meat, cut into slices and briefly marinated in soy sauce
- Fish cake, cut into thin slices
- Tau Pok aka tofu puffs, cut into thin strips (which I added)
- Chinese sausage, cut into thin slices (which I added)

Part C (for the seasoning sauce):
- 2 tbsp thick, sweet sauce (I used Rose brand "Thick Sweet Sauce" - made from molasses, sugar, water and caramel)
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp water
- dash of salt and pepper (if required)
Mix all your everything in a bowl and leave aside.


1. Heat oil in wok on high. You have to maintain high heat throughout.

2. Stir-fry garlic a few seconds, add Chinese sausage for about a minute.

3. Toss in fresh seafood and/or meat (if using) and leafy greens, and stir-fry till semi-cooked.

4. Add noodles and tau pok (if using), drizzle 3 to 4 tbsp of the seasoning sauce soy sauce mixture/ all over the noodles. Gently stir-fry for 3-5 mins.

5. Make a circular empty space in the middle of the wok, using your ladle to push the noodles up and all around the outer edges of the wok.

6. Add some oil, pour the beaten eggs and scramble. Mix into kway teow.

7. Finally add chives (or scallions) and bean sprouts, fold the noodles over, give it one good last stir-fry to mix well with the kway teow.

8. Turn off heat, dish onto individual serving plates, garnish with coriander leaves.


I skipped lunch after eating this :)