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Char kway teow 炒粿條, literally translated as stir fried flat rice noodles, is a classic street food in Singapore and Malaysia. This popular hawker fare is well-loved by locals for its rustic and authentic char taste that comes from cooking the noodles in a heavy duty carbon steel wok over very high heat. Blood cockles and pork lard oil are essential ingredients to make it. Many would agree that even though these are not exactly healthy ingredients, it will not be called char kway teow without these ingredients. You can of course not include the blood cockles and replace pork lard oil with vegetable oil to make a healthier version of the noodle dish.

So this is my rendition of this hawker noodle dish. Preparing the ingredients can be a little tedious with the cleaning and extracting of the blood cockles, but it’s all worth the effort. It helps to get all the ingredients ready before you start to cook, as the cooking process is very fast. However since I’m doing it at home, my fire stove is not as heavy duty as those found in hawker stalls and restaurants, thus quite lacking in the ‘wok hey’, translated as the ‘breath of the wok’, that is so important in creating that smokey char taste. It’s still as delicious and I can add as much ingredients as I loved such as the blood cockles.

The hokkien word ‘kway teow’ or 粿條 in the dish name refers to flat rice noodles. They are gluten-free since they are made of rice flour, and generally coated with a layer of oil to prevent them from sticking to each other. Fresh kway teow are soft and should be cooked the day it’s bought or made. They are also known as ‘fun’ or 粉 which means noodles in Cantonese. In Asia, these noodles can be bought at any grocery stores, supermarkets, ‘wet’ markets. They also come in dried dehydrated versions and you can easily hydrate them by boiling them before stir frying the noodles. The noodles also come in various breadth sizes.

Tips for cooking char kway teow

Prepare all the ingredients before cook, as the cooking process is very quick. You will want every ingredient near within your reach so you will not overcook whatever is in the wok or pan.
Use fresh kway teow noodles if possible. The texture and the taste is the best on the day you make or buy it. You can of course buy dried flat rice noodles if you are unable to get the fresh ones where you are located. You will need to hydrate the noodles before cooking them in the wok.

Handle fresh kway teow noodles gently when cooking it as it breaks easily.
Use a wok or heavy based pan. Use one that retains heat well and cooks food evenly.
Render the pork fat over low heat until the oil separates and fat becomes crispy, then remove the oil and fats and use about 3 tbsp of the oil for sauteing the garlic. For a healthier version, you can replace the pork fat oil with vegetable oil. Many recipes advocate using fresh pork fat, I have used both, and I have even used the guanciale, a type of Italian cured pork jowl and really love the flavour of it.

Like another local noodle dish? Check out dry mee siam, seafood mee goreng, and fried bee hoon.