Char Kway Teow

Char Kway Teow

It’s very important to only cook one serving of this dish at a time so the noodles brown. Rice noodles become brittle if refrigerated, so buy them fresh from Malaysia food shops. They will keep, sealed, at a low room temperature for up to 2 days after purchase.

Ingredients:

2 dried red chillies, seeds removed

1 long red chilli, seeds removed, chopped

2 small Asian red eschalots, peeled, chopped

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp caster sugar

¼ tsp white pepper

125 ml (½ cup) vegetable oil

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

8 large green prawns, cleaned and peeled, tails intact (see Cooking Notes)

10 slices fishcake (see Note)

2 lap cheong (Chinese sausage) (see Note), thinly sliced

500 g fresh flat rice noodles (see Note)

½ bunch garlic chives (see Note), cut into 5 cm lengths

200 g (2½ cups) bean sprouts

2 eggs

Method:

1.      Soak dried chillies in a bowl with 60 ml boiling water for 10 minutes. Place chillies and soaking water in a small food processor, along with long red chilli and eschalots, and process to form a paste. Set aside.

2.      Combine soy sauces, fish sauce, sugar and white pepper in a bowl. Set aside.

3.      Heat half the oil in a wok, heavy-based frying pan or skillet with high sides over high heat. Add half the garlic, half the prawns, half the fishcake slices and 1 sliced lap cheong, stir-frying for 10 seconds. Add half the noodles and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until golden and coated. Add half the reserved chilli paste and half the soy sauce mixture, stir-frying for a further 2 minutes. Add half the garlic chives and half the bean sprouts, stir-frying for a further 20 seconds. Crack one egg into mixture and scramble into noodles for 30 seconds or until egg is cooked. Transfer to a serving plate, keep warm, then repeat with remaining ingredients to make a second serve.