Recipes › Char Kway Teow

Char Kway Teow

Published 12 October 2026

Char kway teow means, roughly, fried flat noodles, and the char is the point: the noodles need to catch a little on a very hot wok so they take on a smoky edge. It is a Penang hawker dish, cooked to order in about three minutes and never in a large batch. Home versions fail when the pan is not hot enough or the pan is too crowded, so the noodles steam instead of fry. One or two portions at a time is the whole trick.

Ingredients

• 300 g fresh flat rice noodles, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon kecap manis
• 1 teaspoon chilli paste or sambal oelek
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 Chinese sausage (lap cheong), thinly sliced
• 8 prawns, peeled
• 60 g blood cockles or extra prawns (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 80 g bean sprouts
• 4 garlic chives or 1 small bunch of Chinese chives, cut into 4 cm lengths
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• White pepper

Method

1. Separate the noodles with your hands before cooking. If they are cold from the fridge they will clump and tear; let them sit out for half an hour.
2. Mix the dark soy, light soy, kecap manis, chilli paste and sugar in a small bowl. Everything moves fast once the wok is hot, so nothing can be measured mid-cook.
3. Heat a wok over the highest heat your hob will give for a full two minutes. Add the oil and swirl.
4. Fry the garlic for 10 seconds, then add the Chinese sausage and prawns. Cook for 45 seconds until the prawns turn opaque.
5. Push everything to one side, crack in the eggs and scramble them roughly for 20 seconds, then mix through.
6. Add the noodles and pour the sauce over. Toss continuously for 60 to 90 seconds, pressing the noodles against the hot metal and letting them sit for two seconds at a time. That contact is what produces the char.
7. Add the bean sprouts and chives, toss for another 30 seconds, season with white pepper and serve immediately.

Notes and tips

• A domestic electric hob struggles here. A cast-iron wok or a heavy carbon steel pan preheated for several minutes is the workaround.
• Do not add water. If the noodles look dry, add a teaspoon more oil, not liquid.
• Fresh flat rice noodles are sold in the fridge section of Asian grocers. Dried ones must be soaked and are noticeably inferior for this dish.
• Cook one portion per batch. Two portions in one pan is steaming, not frying.
• The cockles are traditional but divisive. Extra prawns are the common substitution.

Questions

Where does the smoky flavour come from?

From the noodles touching a very hot surface and caramelising slightly. It is a heat-and-contact effect, not an ingredient, which is why the wok must be hot and the batch small.

Can I use dried rice noodles?

Yes, but soak them in warm water for 20 minutes until pliable rather than boiling them, and expect a softer, less toothsome result.

Is it very spicy?

Only as spicy as the chilli paste you add. One teaspoon gives a background warmth; two tablespoons is closer to the hawker standard.

What can replace Chinese sausage?

Thick-cut bacon or a firm smoked sausage. The dish loses sweetness but keeps its structure.

Cooked it? Tell us how it went on the contact page — corrections and regional variations are always welcome.