Penang's iconic stir-fried flat rice noodles with prawns, cockles, Chinese sausage and egg — cooked over ferocious heat for maximum wok hei.
Char Kuey Teow (炒粿條) is Penang's most famous street food and one of the great noodle dishes of the world. Flat rice noodles are stir-fried at blistering heat in lard with prawns, blood cockles, Chinese sausage (lap cheong), bean sprouts, chives and egg, seasoned with soy sauce and chilli paste. The genius of CKT is wok hei — the smoky, charred breath of the wok that only comes from extreme heat. A skilled CKT hawker cooks each portion individually in a screaming-hot wok, producing noodles that are simultaneously silky, charred and intensely savoury.
Serves 2
Combine dark soy, light soy, oyster sauce and chilli paste in a small bowl.
Heat wok over the highest possible heat until smoking intensely. Add lard.
This dish REQUIRES maximum heat. Use your most powerful burner and leave the extraction fan on.
Add garlic and Chinese sausage. Stir-fry 30 seconds.
Add prawns and cook 1 minute until just pink.
Add noodles and sauce. Spread across the wok, press down and leave undisturbed 30 seconds to char. Toss and repeat.
Push noodles aside. Crack in eggs, scramble briefly, then fold into noodles. Add cockles, bean sprouts and chives. Toss for 1 minute. Plate immediately.
Cook one portion at a time — never overload the wok. Wok hei only happens with high heat and small quantity.
Lard is traditional and gives the best flavour; vegetable oil is acceptable but less authentic.
Make it without cockles for a simpler version.
Add duck egg instead of chicken egg for a richer result.
Use beanthread noodles (mee suah) for a different texture.
Best eaten immediately — CKT does not reheat well.
Char Kuey Teow originated in Penang in the early 20th century as a cheap, filling meal for labourers and rickshaw pullers. The best-known hawker stalls have queues lasting an hour or more, with some operators retiring their recipes forever when they stop cooking.
A very large, well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over the highest heat is the best alternative. A non-stick pan cannot reach the temperatures needed for wok hei and will produce inferior results.
Blood cockles (kerang) are a defining ingredient of Penang CKT — their briny richness is irreplaceable. If unavailable, use littleneck clams or simply omit; don't substitute with regular mussels.
Per serving · 2 servings total
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