char kway teow

Char kway teow is probably my favourite noodle dish of all time. That’s a big call because I am a BIG fan of any noodles, and rice noodles in particular.

I’m lucky because my volunteering at Fareshare takes me down Victoria Street in Richmond, which is Asian grocery central. It is a rare week that I don’t pick up some kind of Asian ingredient on my way home.

Since becoming vegan I don’t think I’ve eaten char kway teow, as the classic recipe contains lots of meaty or fishy items as well as egg. I’d really consigned it to one of those things that I probably wouldn’t eat again.

But last week on my way to volunteer,  I noticed a trolley delivering fresh rice noodles to a Vietnamese grocer and I made a mental note to grab some on the way home. I wasn’t really thinking about char kway teow at all, just the rice noodles with something.

But then I got a bee in my bonnet about char kway teow and decided I had to give it a try. I made a really simple version and I am happy to say that it was swoon worthy. I’m really delighted that the flavours in char kway teow don’t really depend hugely on the bits and pieces in the dish, but the sauces and the scorchingly hot wok. The dish is really all about the noodles.

There are heaps of differing opinions on the web as to what goes in the sauce, but I’m really happy with mine which contained garlic, kecap manis, sriracha and light soy.

It tasted just the way I remember it should, salty, sweet, savoury and hot. I added some bean sprouts, spring onions and mock vegan prawns from Vincents for a bit of texture.

I’m in heaven.

5.0 from 1 reviews

char kway teow

 

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prep time

5 mins

cook time

5 mins

total time

10 mins

 

author: quincesandkale

cuisine: vegan, chinese malaysian

serves: 1 serve

ingredients

• ½ tbsp oil
• ½ tsp of sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic finely chopped
• 4 spring onions chopped into 4cm lengths
• 200 grams fresh wide rice noodles rinsed in hot water
• 6-8 bite sized pieces of protein of your choice, it could be tofu, mock chicken or prawns
• 1 tbsp kecap manis
• ½ tbsp sriracha
• ½ tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 handful of mung bean sprouts

instructions

1. Prepare everything first, once you start you cannot pause to do anything because the dish will stew or burn.
2. Heat the wok over a high heat, add the oils and heat until it smokes.
3. Add the garlic and spring onions and stir briefly until the garlic starts to colour
4. Add the noodles, the protein bits and the sauces and stir to mix and fry for a couple of minutes
5. Stir through the bean sprouts and serve.

notes

It is important to cook this for one, otherwise the wok just won't stay hot enough and the dish will stew rather than fry.

3.2.2925