Wanitha’s Char Kway Teow
This is Wanitha Tanasingam’s award-winning recipe for Char Kway Teow, one of the world’s epic noodle dishes from the streets of Malaysia with big flavours, contrasting textures and its signature hint of charred smokiness. “This is bold South East Asian food at its best!” she says.
Inroduction
About this Recipe
By: Sheridan Rogers
Wanitha points out that you need to prepare all the ingredients before you start cooking and that the wok must be very hot (wok hei) when you add the noodles. The rice noodles should be the freshly steamed variety and 1cm wide (she cautions against using dried rice noodles).
It’s also a good idea to top and tail the fresh bean sprouts.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon
- sambal oelek, 2 teaspoons (or to taste)
- lap cheong (Chinese sausage), 1, sliced thinly on the diagonal
- red barbecued pork, 75g, cut into strips
- garlic, 2 cloves, finely chopped
- green prawns, 200g, shelled and deveined
- fish cakes, 35g, sliced
- fish balls, 35g, sliced
- flat rice noodles, 350g, cut 1cm wide
- light soy sauce, 1 1/2 tablespoons
- dark soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon
- organic or free range eggs, 2
- chives, 4 sprigs, cut into 2.5cm lengths
- fresh bean sprouts, 1 cup
- toasted sesame oil, 1 teaspoon
- fried Asian eschalots, 1 tablespoon
Heat a wok, add the oil and fry the sambal oelek over medium heat. Add the lap cheong and stir-fry 2 -3 mintues. Add the pork and garlic and stir-fry one minute. Add prawns and stir-fry until prawns turn pink. Add fish cakes and balls and toss to combine.
Add noodles to the wok and drizzle the sauces around the side of the wok. Toss well.
Clear the middle of the wok, pour in the eggs, cover with noodle mixture, cook for one minute. Toss well, add the chives and beansprouts and toss well again. Serve immediately, drizzled with sesame oil and garnished with fried eschalots.