Char kway teow, literally “stir-fried ricecake strips”, is a popular noodle dish in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia. … In Penang, Char kway teow is commonly served on a piece of banana leaf on a plate, so as to enhance the aroma on the noodles.
A popular choice among hawkers, this dish is a delicious mix of rice noodles (ricecake), soy sauce, prawns, cockles (seawater clams) and bean sprouts. The ingredients will vary greatly depending on the cook. Traditionally, the cook will stir-fry the noodles in pork fat, although there are variations that exclude pork. Cooking the rice noodles at high temperature in a wok leads to a better tasting meal.
A plate of home-made Penang chee cheong fun , or steamed rice rolls with shrimp paste.
Gourmet Food? No.
Satisfaction? Yes.
Nostalgic? Check.
Certified-fresh, delicious, and hassle-free for lazy bums? Absolutely!
Here are my quick guide to this lazy-person dish…
Fresh rice rolls — buy it at any Asian stores. Steam it (if you bother) or nuke it in the microwave (highly recommended for lazy people). Cut the rice rolls into bite sizes (as pictured).
“Hae Ko” (Prawn Paste pictured in the gallery above) — get this thick, dark, gooey (but highly flavorful) sauce at Asian stores. In Southern California, you can get it at Hong Kong supermarket. If you are a Malaysian, smuggle it the next time you come back from Malaysia. Scoop up a spoonful or two and drizzle the sauce sparingly onto the rice rolls. If you want to sweeten the deal, add a teaspoon of Lee Kum Kee hoisin sauce to the shrimp paste and blend well.
Cooking oil — Add a spoonful to the dish.
White sesame seeds — Sprinkle generously on top of the rice rolls.
Some people called it Cantonese style barbecued pork and the other may refer it as barbecued pork. Both to Chinese dialect is ‘char siu’ or ‘char siew’. Barbecued Pork is a Cantonese cuisine. It is usually consumed alongside a starch like rice and we called it ‘Char Siu Pui’ (Barbecued Pork Rice; Pui: Hokkien for rice) or sometimes barbecued pork is used as a filling in steamed buns which is called ‘Char Siu Pau’.
In Malaysia and Singapore, char siu is typically sold at the chicken/duck rice stalls in hawker center or kopitiam. Besides char sui, roasted pork or ‘siew bak’ (in Hokkien) or ‘siew yoke’ (in Cantonese) would also be displayed along as an option. Comparatively, ‘siew bak’ is more fatty as it was prepared from three-layer pork belly. However, the tangy colored skin of the roasted pork is crunchy and addictive! Apart from this, ‘char siu’ is also served with egg noodles as ‘Wan Tan Mee’. In short, typical ‘char siu’ can be easily recognized from its appearance of red-edged lining which is a food coloring that makes ‘char siu’ look nicer (but to me, it is not necessary at all).
Typically, barbecued pork is prepared from lean pork loin coated/immersed in a sweet-savory marinade. Then, the pork strips would be barbecued and basting follows intermittently. .
Since we craved for ‘char siu’ in Austin, I tried a couple attempts to make the barbecued pork. My second attempt turned out to be quite successful which was then served with white rice a.k.a. BBQ Pork Rice.
Interested to bake your own ‘Barbecued Pork’? Read on…
Ingredients To marinate
2/3 pound tender lean pork loin – cut strips (1″ width) or discard fat
2 tbsp sweet soy sauce (dark – I used ABC brand)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sugar
Method
1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Place in the pork strips. Marinate overnight (preferably more than 10 hours) using tight closed lid in refrigerator. Ensure the pork is immersed in or coated with the marinade.
2. Thaw the marinated pork and dash some corn starch (optional).
3. Preheat oven at 450 degree Fahrenheit.
4. Get some aluminum foil and lay at the bottom of baking container. If you do have a baking rack, place pork strips on a roasting rack sitting above a pan. Pour some water into the pan to keep the pan moist.
5. Lay the pork strips into the container or on the rack.
5. Bake for 8 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and baste with the left-over marinade.
7. Put in oven again for 8 minutes and baste with marinade.
8. Place in back to oven and broil for 3 minutes.
9. Take out from oven, cool it and slice it to serve with egg noodle (Wanton Noodle) or steam rice.
In Penang, Wan Tan Mee is usually served dried in black soy sauce or in plain broth, topped with barbecued pork (char-siew), leafy vegetables (Yu Choy or cai-xin) and a couple of wontons either deep-fried or boiled. The original wonton originated from Hong Kong is a piece of wheat dough wrapped with some minced shrimps. The Penang wonton version somehow contains minced pork instead.
Being in Austin is almost like a dream comes true if we could place a platter of dried version wonton noodles on our dining table. While shopping at MT Supermarket last weekend, we came across a packet of egg noodles which are the exact noodles used in Penang Wan Tan Mee. The appearance was precisely the same. The journey of dried Wonton Noodles is half begun! Then, what’s next? Barbecued pork – I did a baked version before, thus it will be a ‘cookie cutter’ process. And, we grabbed some Yu Choy along for fiber/vitamins. .
One of the most important components of Wan Tan Mee itself is the wonton itself. Even though I do not fancy wonton that much, I wish to include in this attempt. Otherwise, it sounds ironic if I were to cook Wonton Noodles without any wonton!
Interested to make your own edition like me? Let’s get started!
Ingredients (for 2 servings)
2 coils Wonton noodles
12-16 slices barbecued Pork
6 stalks Yu-Choy or cai-xin – chopped about an inch & blanched
Thin wonton noodles
To prepare wonton:
1/4 pound minced pork – added with minced jicama and salt & pepper to taste
6-8 pieces wonton skin
To prepare black sauce:
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp sweet soy sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp oyster flavored sauce
1 tsp corn starch and a little water – optional
1/2 cup water
2 shiitake mushroom – sliced
1 whisked egg – optional
salt, pepper, sugar to taste
Method
1. Grab a saucepan, pour some water and bring them to boil.
2. Drop in wanton noodles. Use chopsticks to entangle the noodles and allow them to cook (as per instruction). Then, immerse the well-cooked noodles in cold water, entangle to allow each string binds with water. (According to my SO, this helps to make the noodles more supple!) Then, drain and rinse in hot water. Drain and place on the serving platter. Sprinkle some sesame oil to coat the noodles. Set aside.
3. Scoop a bit of flavored minced pork, place onto wanton skin. Fold them and drop into boiling water. Dish out once they are fully cooked.
4. Grab another saucepan or wok. Add sesame oil, sweet soy sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, water and shiitake mushroom. Bring them to boil and season with salt, white pepper and sugar to taste. If you like, pour in egg and simmer until egg albumin turns white.
5. Pour the hot black sauce onto the noodles. Garnish with Yu Choy, wontons and sliced barbecued pork.
6. Serve hot. Best eat while it is still hot!
What do I eat when I get very lazy?
My Favourite Dishes 