Char kway teow recipe

Fresh flat rice noodles seared with lard, dark soy sauce, cockles and prawns in a smoking-hot wok, one or two portions at a time, to get the charred wok hei flavour.

30 minutesmedium12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 400 g fresh flat rice noodles
• 10 prawns
• 100 g blood cockles
• 1 Chinese sausage
• 100 g bean sprouts
• 30 g garlic chives
• 2 eggs
• 3 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp chilli paste
• 2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 3 tbsp lard

How to make Char kway teow

1. Use 400 g fresh flat rice noodles (kway teow), not dried ones: bring them to room temperature and gently separate the strands by hand without soaking them.
2. Mix 2 tbsp light soy sauce with 2 tsp dark soy sauce. Peel and devein 10 prawns, thinly slice 1 Chinese sausage, cut 30 g garlic chives into 5 cm lengths and finely chop 3 garlic cloves.
3. Cook in two batches. Heat the wok over the highest heat until it smokes, add 1½ tbsp lard, then half the garlic and 2 tbsp chilli paste; stir for 10 seconds without letting the chilli burn.
4. Add half the prawns and sausage and toss for 30 seconds, then add half the noodles and half the sauce; toss for about 2 minutes, letting the noodles sit a few seconds between tosses so they char.
5. Push the noodles aside, crack in 1 egg, let it set slightly, then break it up and fold it through the noodles.
6. Add half of 100 g shelled blood cockles, half of 30 g bean sprouts and half the chives; toss for 30 to 60 seconds, just long enough to warm the cockles so they stay plump.
7. Serve at once, wipe the wok and repeat with the rest: an overloaded wok cools down and loses the smoky flavour.

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