Friday, May 7, 2010

My Desperate Attempt at Singapore Char Kway Teow


Another dish I sorely miss from Singapore...the char kway teow (fried rice noodles). The Hong Kong version I could find in local coffee shops (char chan teng) are the yellow Char Kway Diew, spiced with curry powder, which I haven't seen in both Singapore or Malaysia ^_^'

I wish I could just book a flight for a sweet and short weekend in Singapore, enjoying all the food I've been missing and gaining instant 10-20 lbs...but due to the bun in the oven, doctor recommended me not to keep my ass in Hong Kong, just in case ^_^

If Rita can't go to Char Kway Teow, then Char Kway Teow needs to go to Rita...or at least a pirated, inauthentic-desperate version of it.

Recipe
- a heaping plate of fresh hor fun, each strand well separated (I had to wake up at 8 on a weekend to score a HK$3.50 bag of fresh hor fun)
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 cloves of shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 red chilli (or more if you can handle it)
- 1 sprig of spring onion, cut into 3-4 parts length wise
- Chinese sausages (lap cheong), half red, half black (skip the black if you don't like the taste of liver), thinly sliced, replace with meat/seafood if not available
- Fishcake (sliced), or replace with any meat/seafood
- a handful of beansprouts
- olive oil, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) or sugar, oyster sauce, pepper
- 1 egg

Saute garlic, chilli and shallot in hot olive oil until fragrant, add meat/chinese sausages and fish cake, add noodles, season with all sauces, add beansprouts and spring onion, mix well, crack an egg onto pan, let cook for a bit and mix well, adjust seasoning if necessary, serve hot.

It didn't exactly taste like my favorite char kway teow from a neighborhood hawker center in Choa Chu Kang...still yum, but I still want the real deal. A friend of mine is trying out a Singaporean eatery tonight, my fingers and toes are all crossed hoping to find a place that serves a good char kway teow in Hong Kong.

12 comments:

Joshua said...

Looks good.

Here in London most places serve the curry powder spiced version too, guessing it's to do with our HK links.

Luckily a few places have cropped up here recently with this type, my favourite too from my time in Malaysia.

tigerfish said...

Maybe it is the "wok hei" that is hard to achieve in a home kitchen...maybe....?

I thought they put curry powder only in Xing Chow Mai Fun? I did not know they add that in CKT too?

Joanne said...

I love the deep colors of this dish...probably reminiscent of the intense flavors! I'm sorry you're not "allowed" to go to Singapore at the moment, but think of how much you'll appreciate the food when you can finally go back!

Christine Wu said...

That looks good! Love your picture :) I'm not a big fan of char kway teow but that picture gets me drooling.

Anonymous said...

Hee hee your pirated version still looks and sounds very tasty indeed!

Unknown said...

I have never had this but it looks wicked good!

daphne said...

awww.. I hope u find it soon! it's so sinful but sooo good!!!

Mrs Ergül said...

where in Choa Chu Kang is that stall? I stay in that estate :))

Please come here with your baby when you can!

Babe_KL said...

rita, check this recipe and method out for the msian version
http://loopymeals.blogspot.com/2005/01/recipe-diy-ckt.html

Chris said...

Am in Canada and I try to make this too...use Chinese chives instead of spring onions, omit shallots if u want to, must use the dk caramel-y salty soya sauce(can be found in HK..I lived there a couple of years), a squirt of fish sauce for some oomph, and bottled sambal oelek sauce to make it spicey. I usually use reconstituted dry rice noodles as they are easier to handle. To get wok-hei, best to use a cast iron pan.

Noob Cook said...

but still looks very good. You inspire me to cook some Singapore dishes too.

Anonymous said...

the taste is not quite right mayb is bcoz they use lard to fry char kway teow and i think should put cockles for the authentic flavour :P