Char Kway Teow: Emperor Of Malaysian Noodles Recipe

One of the malaysian noodle dishes that one should not miss trying if visiting malaysia (especially penang) or singapore, or dining at a malaysian restaurant is char kway teow. This stir fried dish has wide rice noodles, meat (pork or chinese sausages, or both), seafood (shrimps, squid or cockles) and vegetables (chinese chives and mung bean sprouts are the most basic) seasoned with soy sauce and belacan, the malaysian shrimp paste. Modern versions almost always include stirred whole eggs. The best noodle to use for making char kway teow is called kway teow in malaysia which is essentially the same as shahe fen or he fen (also known as ho fun), the kind used for cooking chinese beef chow fun, flat rice noodles about three-quarters of an inch wide and a little less than a quarter of an inch thick. They are sold fresh in asian stores (vacuum-packed, in some cases). I like to drop them in briskly boiling water for a minute and dumping them in iced water before stir-frying. If unable to find fresh rice noodles, dried varieties are available. Follow the package directions for use in stir fries. This recipe dispenses with the pork lard part. Stir frying always requires consistently high heat.