Char kway teow is among the hottest stir-fried noodle dishes in Malaysia. Originating from the northern island state of Penang, it consists of broad, flat rice noodles stir-fried with seafood. The noodles are liberally seasoned with soy sauce and, most significantly, cooked over extremely excessive warmth, which imparts a attribute smoky taste. There are myriad methods to spell the dish within the Roman alphabet, and it is not unusual to see it known as char kueh tiao or char kuay tiaw. Its title comes from the Hokkien pronunciation of 炒粿條.

Many cuisines world wide have a model of fried noodles. In Southeast Asia, you may discover numerous wheat noodle dishes, resembling mee goreng (which has a number of regional variations), in addition to rice noodles like pad Thai and pancit bihon. Pad Thai is arguably the area’s most visibly exported noodle dish, because it’s served in lots of Southeast Asian eating places worldwide. Char kway teow is pad Thai’s southern cousin: The dish is softer in texture and heftier, with richness from lard. It is important to make use of recent rice noodles at any time when doable, as they provide the comfortable suppleness you need. 

Not like pad Thai, which journalist Isabella Kliger notes in Smithsonian Journal was ostensibly created within the Sixties as a nationwide dish for cultural export, char kway teow has humbler beginnings. Chinese language fishers and cockle-gatherers reportedly invented the dish in pre-independence Malaysia, someday earlier than 1957, to promote their surplus catch. To at the present time, shrimp stays the quintessential protein utilized in char kway teow. Nevertheless, with inflation and overfishing, the shellfish have turn out to be more and more costly, turning shrimp-laden char kway teow right into a luxurious.

It is extraordinarily unusual to make char kway teow at residence, largely as a result of hawkers put together it over blazing-hot gasoline ranges that may churn out a plate of the noodles in minutes. Malaysians dine out virtually as if it’s a sport, and char kway teow is firmly among the many dishes historically eaten outdoors the house. That stated, for many people world wide (maybe you!), your favourite char kway teow “uncle”—an endearing time period for distributors—could also be a bit too far out of attain, so figuring out make it at house is extremely helpful when the homesickness pangs hit. And fortunately, regardless of what many would say, it’s completely doable to make it at residence, so long as you’ve got a gasoline vary and the tenacity to make it be just right for you. Let’s get into the parts of char kway teow.

The Key Elements for Char Kway Teow

The Finest Noodles to Use for Char Kway Teow

Contemporary huge, flat rice noodles are finest; when cooked, they turn out to be comfortable and supple—a texture that is one of many signature attributes of char kway teow. In Malaysia, recent rice noodles are extensively obtainable in supermarkets, and you will doubtless have the ability to discover them in Asian grocery shops within the US, too. Examine the refrigerated aisles—chances are high they will be there. When you come throughout rolled rice noodles (cheong enjoyable) as a substitute, these work too, although they’re extra delicate. Merely lower them into strips no wider than half an inch and unroll them gently.

If all you’ll find are dried flat rice noodles—even pad Thai noodles—they will work in a pinch. The noodles will nonetheless style nice, however their texture can be barely chewier than is conventional for this dish. Earlier than utilizing them within the dish, you may have to both prepare dinner them or soak them in boiling water to melt them, then drain and rinse them below chilly water. The feel you are in search of is one the place you’ll be able to simply squish the noodle between two fingers.

Do not Skimp on the Seasoning

That is by far the trickiest half for any char kway teow vendor or residence prepare dinner to nail. Some people prefer it saltier, some sweeter, some need it completely doused in sauce, whereas others desire a lighter contact. The ratio of the elements for the sauce in my recipe under is modeled after my favourite char kway teow stall in Kuala Lumpur, which a chatty older uncle runs: It delivers sufficient umami to face as much as the wok hei with out overpowering the dish, is not overly saturated with darkish soy sauce (I personally desire lighter-colored noodles), and pleasantly spicy from only a contact of white pepper and chile. In case you have some sambal belacan available, it has the right warmth degree for char kway teow. Alternatively, you need to use different ready-made chili pastes or sauces, resembling sambal oelek, sambal tumis (from making nasi lemak), or, in a pinch, even plain chili crisp. 

The Finest Proteins to Use in Char Kway Teow

The protein in char kway teow is commonly seafood, due to its origins. As I discussed earlier, shrimp is a vital ingredient. Blood cockles have been as soon as widespread in char kway teow, however that is changing into more and more uncommon as of late, primarily as a result of elevated danger of hepatitis transmission through the shellfish. This recipe would not name for blood cockles, however many would possibly admire a half-dozen freshly shelled cockles or clams stirred by means of within the final minute of cooking. Fish truffles are additionally a typical and economical addition, and vegetarian variations sometimes name for slices of agency tofu. For many individuals as of late, char kway teow is not char kway teow with out lap cheong, a cured Chinese language sausage that provides chew and a deeply savory be aware. Yow will discover hyperlinks of lap cheong comparatively simply at Asian supermarkets, the place it is usually bought bunched collectively.

Lard Is Your Good friend

Char kway teow is commonly made with lard, which imparts a savory taste and a lip-smacking mouthfeel. I examined a number of batches of char kway teow utilizing impartial cooking oil, nevertheless it merely did not have the richness that lard brings to the dish. In Malaysia, it is far more widespread to buy pre-cubed uncooked pork fats from the butcher to render the lard your self, somewhat than shopping for a bath of ready-made lard. The scrumptious by-product of this rendering is chu yau char (crispy pork cracklings). Most stalls that use lard stir in a spoonful of chu yau char, leading to delightfully crunchy bursts of fats. If you need to cut back the quantity of saturated fats within the recipe, you need to use your most well-liked cooking fats, resembling vegetable or canola oil, together with a teaspoon of lard for added taste. Vegetarian variations use shallot oil and/or garlic oil, which offer comparable—though not equivalent—savory notes and full mouthfeel.

Vegetable Add-Ins

Greens are admittedly an afterthought in char kway teow. Chinese language chives are a typical ingredient, whereas mung bean sprouts bulk up the dish, including freshness and crunch. For vegetarian variations, hardy mustard greens and bok choy may be added, although merely rising the chives and bean sprouts will even suffice. I’ve additionally included minced preserved radish for its sweet-sharp taste; it isn’t a typical addition, however one which’s a delight at any time when I encounter it.

The Key Strategies to Making the Finest Char Kway Teow

Many individuals have waxed on about what wok hei (which suggests “breath of a wok” in Cantonese) is and the way it impacts the flavour of a dish. For char kway teow, wok hei is crucial—with out it, folks usually say, “That is simply common fried kway teow, not char kway teow.” That is what prevents most individuals from making char kway teow at residence, and it is the primary motive why I didn’t embrace it within the authentic Malaysian delicacies information I developed for Severe Eats. As mentioned extensively within the 2022 Severe Eats digital subject, The Wok, the one actual method to obtain wok hei at house is to get an outside wok burner. Indoors, wok hei remains to be achievable with a gasoline vary, mixed with fellow Severe Eats contributor Tim Chin’s torch hei method. 

Nevertheless, throughout testing in my Malaysian kitchen on a gasoline range and in cross-testing on a gasoline range within the US, the torch hei route wasn’t needed for this specific dish—merely letting the elements relaxation in between stirring helped them develop sufficiently darkish colours and smoky flavors. You’ll want to open all of the home windows and activate the exhaust fan; my poorly ventilated kitchen meant my residence smelled like lard for weeks. (A novelty for visitors, however not so enjoyable for my perpetually hungry cats looking in useless for the supply of stated odor.) That stated, I’m primarily based in Malaysia, and gasoline ranges obtainable in Asia are usually extra highly effective than these within the West, so that you would possibly discover torch hei needed, relying on the facility of your range. When you do incorporate this blowtorch step, accomplish that in the direction of the top of step 4 under, throughout what I name the stir-and-rest portion. 

What is the “stir-and-rest,” you ask? It is a method by which I let the elements sit in a screaming-hot wok between bursts of stirring, serving to them take up smoky taste and develop colour with out burning. For each 10 seconds of vigorous stirring, I unfold the elements evenly throughout the wok and allow them to relaxation for about 5 seconds earlier than repeating the method. This encourages extra even browning, and the ensuing smokiness is genuinely spectacular. If all you’ve got is an indoor electrical or induction vary, the noodles will nonetheless prove scrumptious—however for the sake of stopping intense debate on Southeast Asian social media, please chorus from calling it char kway teow.

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