''Char kway teow'' () is a

stir-fried Stir frying () is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and t ...

rice noodle Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

dish from

Maritime Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. Maritime Southeast Asia is sometimes also referred to as Island Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia or Oceanic Sout ...

and is of southern Chinese origin. In Hokkien and Teochew, ''char'' means 'stir-fried' and ''kway teow'' refers to flat rice noodles. It is made from flat rice noodles () or '' kway teow'' (; ) of approximately 1 cm or (in the north of Malaysia) about 0.5 cm in width, stir-fried over very high heat with garlic, light and

dark soy sauce In Chinese cuisine, dark soy sauce () is a dark-coloured soy sauce used mainly for adding colour and flavour to dishes. It is richer, slightly thicker, and less salty than other types of soy sauce. As the Chinese name () suggests, it is also ag ...

chilli paste Chili or chilli may refer to: Food * Chili pepper, the spicy fruit of plants in the genus ''Capsicum''; sometimes spelled "chilli" in the UK and "chile" in the southwestern US * Chili powder, the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties ...

, whole

prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten. The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature' ...

s, shelled

blood cockle ''Tegillarca granosa'' (also known as ''Anadara granosa'') is a species of ark clam known as the blood cockle or blood clam due to the red haemoglobin liquid inside the soft tissues. It is found throughout the Indo-Pacific region from the eastern ...

s, chopped Chinese chives, slices of

Chinese sausage Chinese sausage is a generic term referring to the many different types of sausages originating in China. The southern flavor of Chinese sausage is commonly known by its Cantonese name (or ) (). Varieties There is a choice of fatty or lean s ...

, and

bean sprout Sprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth. In the field of nutrition, the term signifies ...

s. Other common ingredients include

fishcake A fishcake (sometimes written as fish cake) is a culinary dish consisting of filleted fish or other seafood minced or ground, mixed with a starchy ingredient, and fried until golden. Asian-style fishcakes usually contain fish with salt, water, ...

and belachan. Originally developed and catered to overseas-born Chinese

labourers A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...

in the Southeast Asia region, the dish has achieved widespread popularity within the region from the late 20th century onwards, particularly in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. On the other hand, the dish has also acquired a reputation of being unhealthy within modern contexts due to its high saturated fat content, as it is traditionally stir-fried in pork fat with crisp croutons of pork lard.

History and etymology

The dish was often sold by

fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

, farmers and cockle-gatherers who doubled as ''char kway teow'' hawkers in the evening to supplement their income. The high fat content and low cost of the dish made it attractive to these people as it was a cheap source of energy and nutrients. The term "''char kway teow''" is a transliteration of the

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanj ...

s 炒粿條 (in simplified Chinese 炒粿条). The dish's name is

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

(''chhá-kóe-tiâu''^?), but the dish may have its roots in Chaozhou in China's

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

province and is mostly associated with the Teochew. The word ''kóe-tiâu'' (literally meaning "ricecake strips") generally refers to flat rice noodles, which are the usual ingredient in Singapore and West Malaysia. There is no fixed way of spelling ''chhá-kóe-tiâu'', and many variants can be found: examples include "char kueh teow", "char kuey teow", "char koay teow", "char kueh tiao", "char kuay tiaw", "char kueh tiaw" and so on. The dish is sometimes called or in Malay, which conveys the same meaning. In March 2021, Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka (DBP), Malaysia's authority on standardised Malay, formally declared that the proper spelling of flat rice noodles in Malaysian Malay is ''kuetiau''. Owing to the dish's popularity and spread to Cantonese-speaking areas, the term "''char kway teow''" has been corrupted into "炒貴刁" () when presented in the aforementioned areas. The term "" has no real meaning, but its pronunciation in Cantonese and Mandarin is similar to "粿條" in

Min Nan Southern Min (), Minnan ( Mandarin pronunciation: ) or Banlam (), is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Sinitic languages that form a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Fujian (especially the Minnan region), most of Taiwan ...

Variations

"Gourmet" versions of ''char kway teow'', where the dish may be prepared with more seafood, with crab meat and with duck eggs, may be found in major Malaysian cities like Ipoh and Penang. In Penang, ''char kway teow'' is commonly served on a piece of

banana leaf The banana leaf is the leaf of the banana plant, which may produce up to 40 leaves in a growing cycle. The leaves have a wide range of applications because they are large, flexible, waterproof and decorative. They are used for cooking, wrappin ...

on a plate, which is intended to enhance the aroma of the dish. In

, ''char kway teow'' is a popular, inexpensive dish usually eaten for breakfast and sold at food stalls in Singapore. Blood cockles and prawns are standard fare in typical hawker preparations, while more expensive or luxurious versions incorporate cuttlefish, squid, and lobster meat. Singaporean style ''char kway teow'' mixes yellow wheat noodles with flat rice noodles. Some cooks prepare more health-conscious versions with extra vegetables and less oil. ''Char kway teow'' prepared by Muslims in Malaysia and Singapore exclude lard and pork products, and may incorporate alternative ingredients like beef or chicken. Some versions by Malay cooks may emphasise the use of ''kerang'' ( Malay for cockles) as a key ingredient, and it may be prepared with or without gravy. Many Southeast Asian restaurants in Hong Kong offer ''char kway teow'' as a Malay specialty, although it is of Southeast Asian Chinese origin. The ''char kway teow'' offered in Chinese restaurants which serve Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine is an entirely different dish: stir-fried Chinese-style flat rice noodles with prawns, ''

char siu ''Char siu'' () is a Chinese, specifically Cantonese–style of barbecued pork. Originating in Guangdong, it is eaten with rice, used as an ingredient for noodle dishes or in stir fries, and as a filling for '' chasiu baau'' or '' pineapple ...

'', onions, and bean sprouts, seasoned with curry powder which renders it bright yellow in colour. In some places this is known as ''Fried "Good Dale"'', a transliteration of the characters "炒貴刁". File:Charkwayteow.JPG, A large serving of char kway teow to share. File:Char kway teow.JPG, Singaporean-style char kway teow, cooked with a mixture of yellow wheat noodles and flat rice noodles. File:Char kway teow in parit buntar.jpg, Penang-style char kway teow, here served on a piece of banana leaf.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Char Kway Teow Fried noodles Hong Kong noodle dishes Malaysian noodle dishes Singaporean noodle dishes

History and etymology

Variations

See also

References

External links