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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Char Kuay Teow - Fried Rice Noodle With Cockles

CKT 4

CKT 5

CKT 1

Cockles

Blogging motivates one to contemplate strange things. I can honestly say that if not for blogging, I would probably never ever think of making Char Kuay Teow by myself. For readers who are not living in Singapore or Malaysia, Char Kuay Teow is one of those iconic local street dish that practically everyone who has been away from home craves for. Possibly one of the most oily, unhealthy local street dishes which we can find in this part of the world, it is also one of those dishes that would set our saliva ducts active at its mere thought. Here in Singapore, we are always sussing out every possible Char Kuay Teow stores we can find and rank them according to taste and preference. Crazy is the one who contemplates to make it at home.. and here I am succumbing to the madness. Yes, blogging very often evokes madness in the blogger - I guess it stems from the urge to share something different,something suprising and when you see fellow bloggers such as Pig Pigs Corner who has recently made her own Bak Kwa(!!) (barbequed pork) , the feverish excitement rubs off on you... so really, frying your own Char Kuay Teow is really mild in comparison

The idea to fry Char Kuay Teow occurred to me when I saw cockles at the market this morning. It is not everyday that these are available. Cockles is easily the soul of Char Kuay Teow. To me,without this integral ingredient, Char Kuay Teow is just not the same. I bought a dollar worth of cockles and used a quarter of it for my Char Kuay Teow.

CKT 7
So how did my Char Kuay Teow turn out? Not impressive, I would say  - it was not oily enough and lacks the fragrance of lard, but I got my kick out of it and I think considering it is home made, it will still be able to elicit some appreciative gushing from supportive friends  Roll

Recipe :

Water                      6 tbsp
salt                          1tsp
Lard/ Oil                 8 tbsp (I used less)
Garlic                      2 tsp minced
Bean Sprouts          310g
Flat Rice Noodle     310g
Dark Soya Sauce    2 tbsp
Egg                         4 beaten
Chilli Paste              1 tsp (I used sambal belachan)
Chinese Sausage      2, sliced and pan fried
Fish Cake                50g sliced.
Cockles                   115g
Prawns                     100g
Dark Sweet Sauce   1-2 tbsp

Method :

1. Mix water and salt together and set aside.
2. Heat wok still smoking hot. Add 4 tbsp of oil and add minced garlic. Fry quickly to light brown and add bean sprouts, Rice Noodle (Kuay Teow) and (1) and Soya Sauce. Fry quickly over high heat for 1 min.
3. Push Kuay Teow to one side of the wok, add the remaining 4 tbsp of oil, add the beaten egg and fry quickly. Fry Kuay Teow with egg.
4. Add chilli sauce to taste.
5. Add Chinese sausage, fish cake, prawns and fry for another 1 min.
6. Spread out Kuay Teow in wok and add cockles*, cover the cockles with the noodles. Add dark sweet sauce and fry for 1/2 min after homogenous. Dish out and serve.

* I soaked the cockles in salted water for 30mins. The salted water is drained off and boiling hot water is added to the cockles. Drain off hot water immediately. The cockles can now be pried open easily. Deshell and use the clam morsel for frying.

23 comments:

La Table De Nana said...

Well I can't tell if it's not the best..But it is photogenic..and to bloggers:) Well that's good enough:) I can't believe all the cockles you got for $1.00!

Angie's Recipes said...

So many different kinds of seafood in this kuay-teow dish! Yummy!

Trissa said...

Totally agree - blogging makes us do things we normally wouldn't do - I mean in the kitchen of course! :)

But am glad that you made the char Kuay teow - it looks yummy! It's perfect for us who can't get our hands on this easily.

Zurin said...

it looks yummy enough for me!! i wld eat that anytime. o the cockles..tts cheap for a dollar!!

MsMoon said...

Shirley, your char kuay teow looks more pro than the one from my fave hawker stall. Hadn't had this for months... I must eat it before I leave Singapore... ^^

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Hey Moon,LOOKS only! That's also another limitation with blogging - we can only 'eat' with our eyes. Looks can be deceiving... :)

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Shirley, this is my favourite noodle dish ever! It looks deliciously delightful too and I like your use of cockles! :D

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...

Shirley, you made a lovely, authentic CKT dish! Well done!! :)

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

your CKT is very authentic, with cockles. when I was young, I dont like cockles to be added in my CKT, but now this is my favourite.

Shirley said...

Hi Shirley,
Just happened to find your blog. We have the same name! Good blog!

WendyinKK said...

Oh no..cockles.. taboo for me.
When I was a kid, if I want to be absent the next day for school, I'd eat cockles at the school canteen. And tomorrow, I'll be on MC. Until now, I never touch cockles, unless I want a real MC.

Hmm.. will ur CKT taste better if u fry the prawns first and dish up before u do the rest? Prawns tend to be more fragrant this way.
Make sure ur wok is smoking hot before u do ur noodles.

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Oh,how unfortunate- maybe you have an allergy to it. Yes, I have seen people fry prawns first and since your wokky advice, I have been cooking everything with smoking hot wok and loving it :)!

Irene's Footprints said...

wow...I just had this. What happen to the rest of cockles? U mentioned that you used only a quarter of it....

Add lard...would be nice.

: )

Happy Homebaker said...

Your char kuay teow looks so yummy!! This is certainly not an easy dish to cook, you are such a great cook!

MsMoon said...

Hahaha... LOL, it's not easy to have 'good looks' also. You laid banana leaf under the CKT, that's effort you know... ^^

Passionate About Baking said...

Hi Shirley,
Your CKT looked so authentic! It's really like what you find outside. I can't fry to this kind of texture. Usually, mine is a bit too wet! :p

tigerfish said...

You make your own CKT? Wow! *applause applause*

Mrs Multitasker said...

Haha yes yes absolutely agree! I would never have attempted pineapple tarts otherwise.

However your kuay teow tasted, it looks gorgeous! Though personally I like Prima Taste's pre-packed CKT paste so much I might not ever attempt CKT from scratch =)

Anonymous said...

Your CKT looks mouth watering!! You are maknig me craving for it.

Kitchen Corner said...

Wah!! Your Kuay Teow really tempting lor!!!! :P

petite nyonya said...

I definitely think your char kuay teow looks pretty impressive! The more see hum the better it is, huh!

Blessed Homemaker said...

Not impressive? It looks perfect to me. And I love mine with extra cockles! Yum!

The Apprentice Housewife said...

Wow this looks awesome. Clicked here from MrsMultitasker's site. When I lived overseas, local delights were something I'd always aim to master first to curb the homesickness. Anyway your version looks really authentic! :)

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