Char Kway Teow

Translation - Fried (Char) Flat Rice Noodles (Kway Teow)

Total time: 35 minutes (15 minutes preparation, 20 minutes cooking)

Serves: 6

Char Kway Teow is a smoky, savoury noodle dish that’s beloved across Southeast Asia. With bold flavours from Chinese sausage, prawns, tender fish (or fish cakes), and perfectly stir-fried rice noodles, this recipe offers flexibility to suit your pantry.

Create the essence of hawker-style cooking right in your home kitchen.

Char Kway Teow recipe

Ingredients

Base

500g wide fresh rice noodles (from the cold section of the supermarket)
2 eggs, beaten lightly
⅓ cup (80ml) peanut oil

Protein & Seafood

250g uncooked small prawns, shelled and deveined
250g firm white fish fillets (e.g., snapper), skinned and cut into 3cm pieces (or substitute with fish cakes, sliced)
250g squid hoods, scored and sliced into strips (optional)
1 Chinese sausage, thinly sliced

Aromatics & Seasonings

2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 fresh small red chilies, finely chopped

Vegetables

2 spring onions or green onions:
- White parts: cut into batons about 2 inches long
- Green tops: thinly sliced for garnish
2 cups (160g) bean sprouts

Sauces

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon kecap manis (sweetened dark soy sauce)
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce

Method

Prepare the Noodles
Place the noodles in a large heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and gently separate with a fork. Drain and set aside.
Prepare the Prawns, Fish, and Squid (if using)
Shell and devein the prawns, leaving the tails intact. If using fish cakes, slice them thinly. For squid, score the inside in a diagonal pattern and cut into 2cm-wide strips.
Cook the Protein
Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil in a wok over high heat. Stir-fry the fish or fish cakes (and squid, if using) until lightly browned. Remove and set aside. Add another tablespoon of oil and stir-fry the prawns until just cooked. Remove and set aside.
Cook the Aromatics and Vegetables
Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok. Stir-fry the garlic, chilies, and the white parts of the spring onions for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the bean sprouts and stir-fry for 1 minute. Remove and set aside.
Scramble the Eggs
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok. Add the beaten eggs and stir gently until just set. Remove and set aside.
Cook the Sausage and Assemble
Add the Chinese sausage to the wok and stir-fry until crisp. Return the fish, prawns, vegetables, and eggs to the wok, followed by the noodles.
Add the Sauces
Add the dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and kecap manis. Toss everything together over high heat until the noodles are well-coated and heated through.
Garnish and Serve
Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the thinly sliced green tops of the spring onions. Serve hot.