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Recipes / Malaysian

Malaysian

Char Kway Teow (Stir-fried Flat Noodles)

Makes 4 servings using flat rice noodles, chicken thigh and prawns.

A classic Malaysian and Singaporean street-food noodle dish of flat rice noodles stir-fried with chicken, prawns, bean sprouts and spring onions in oyster and soy sauces.

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Ingredients

  • 300 g free range chicken thigh fillets, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 80 ml (⅓ cup) oyster sauce
  • 3–4 tbsp peanut oil
  • 1 red bird's eye chilli, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp roasted shrimp paste
  • 10 large raw tiger or king prawns, peeled, intestinal tract removed, tails intact
  • 1 kg fresh thick flat rice noodles
  • 100 g (1 cup) bean sprouts
  • 4 spring onions, trimmed, chopped
  • 125 ml (½ cup) soy sauce, to taste
  • salt, to taste

Method

  1. Combine the chicken, cornflour and 1 tablespoon oyster sauce in a large bowl and toss to coat.
  2. Heat the oil in a large wok over high heat until just smoking. Add the chilli, garlic and shrimp paste and stir-fry for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
  3. Add the chicken mixture and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until brown and just cooked through. Add the prawns and stir-fry for 2 minutes or just until they change colour.
  4. Add the noodles and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the noodles are just tender. Add the bean sprouts, spring onions, soy sauce and the remaining oyster sauce and stir-fry for 1 minute or until heated through. Taste and season with salt. Serve immediately.

Questions

Is this char kway teow halal?

This version is pork-free: the meat is chicken, with prawns, and it is fried in peanut oil rather than the animal fat some hawker versions use. It is not halal-certified: use halal-certified chicken and check that the oyster sauce, soy sauce and shrimp paste carry halal certification, since some sauces contain alcohol.

Can I use dried flat rice noodles?

Yes. Soak or cook them until just pliable as the packet directs, drain well, then stir-fry as in step 4. Fresh noodles give the softest texture.

Can I make it without prawns?

Yes. Use more chicken instead and skip the prawn stage in step 3.

Can I store leftovers?

It is best eaten straight away. Refrigerate any leftovers within an hour in a covered container, eat them within a day, and reheat in a hot wok until piping hot.

Quantities are metric first, with US amounts in brackets. Online recipes are not independently verified.