When I was doing my research for this recipe, my mind came to a sudden halt. ‘Fried kway teow’ means very thin and flat rice noodles that are stir-fried. If that is the case, why do yellow noodles appear in the dish as well? In fact, for most time, those few plates of fried kway teow that I’ve eaten in Singapore have more yellow noodles than rice noodles.
On the other hand, it seems that the famous and popular Penang fried kway teow has stayed true to its name, using only rice noodles in this hawker fare. It is likely that the Singaporean version had been adapted by the immigrant Hokkiens since a long time ago, adding yellow noodles into the dish to suit their tastebuds and which allowed them to beef up the dish so as to make for a fuller plate of noodles.
Well, in any case, this dish is always a local favourite regardless of time and place. I have decided to give this dish a try, given its Hokkien roots, to pamper the guy at home.
Ingredients:
- Oil: 4 tbsp + 2 tbsp
- Garlic: 2 cloves, finely chopped
- Rice noodles (kway teow): 400g
- Yellow noodles: 400g
- Bean sprouts: 300g
- Water or stock: 6 tbsp
- Fish cake: 3, sliced
- Chinese sausages: 4, sliced
- Fish sauce: 4 tbsp
- Dark soy sauce: 4 tbsp
- Sweet soy sauce: 5 tbsp
- Chilli paste (optional): 2 tbsp
- Egg: 4
- Chye sim: 3 stalks, chopped into 5cm lengths
- Fresh cockles: 1 cup + juice
Method:
- Heat 4 tbsp oil in wok. Add garlic and fry till fragrant.
- Add rice noodles, yellow noodles, bean sprouts and water. Stir-fry for 1 min.
- Mix in fish cakes and Chinese sausages.
- Add fish sauce, dark soy sauce, sweet soy sauce and chilli paste. Stir to mix.
- Make a well in the center. Add 2 tbsp oil.
- Add eggs into well and stir to beat. Leave for 1 min to set, then mix into noodles.
- Mix in chye sim, fresh cockles and the juice. Stir for another min before switching off the heat.
Disclaimers:
- You could choose to eliminate the yellow noodles altogether and make yourself an authentic plate of Penang fried kway teow.
- Actually… the most significant and crucial ingredient of fried kway teow is missing in my first attempt here – cockles! I could not find them in the supermarket and didn’t have time to visit the wet market this time round. Will definitely try this dish again next time, with loads of cockles for sure!
Serving:
4 persons
