Char kway teow

Char kway teow
Char kway teow at a hawker centre in Singapore
Alternative namesChar kuey teow
TypeShahe fen
Place of originChina (original)
Malaysia[1] and Singapore[2] (adaptation)
Region or stateSoutheast Asia[1][2]
Associated cuisineMalaysia and Singapore
Created byOverseas Chinese laborers in Southeast Asia
Main ingredientsShahe fen, light and dark soy sauce, chili paste, belachan, whole prawns, deshelled blood cockles, bean sprouts, Chinese chives, Chinese sausage
Char kway teow
Traditional Chinese炒粿條
Simplified Chinese炒粿条
Literal meaningstir-fry ricecake strips (i.e. stir-fried ricecake strips)
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinchǎo guǒ tiáo
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationcháau gwó tìuh
Jyutpingcaau2 gwo2 tiu4
Southern Min
Hokkien POJchhá-kóe-tiâu
Tâi-lôtshá-kué-tiâu
Alternative name in
Cantonese-speaking regions
Traditional Chinese炒貴刁
Simplified Chinese炒贵刁
Literal meaningtranscription from the original name pronunciation in Hokkien (Min Nan)
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinchǎo guì diāo
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationcháau gwai dīu
Jyutpingcaau2 gwai3 diu1

Char kway teow (sometimes also spelled as char kuey teow, Chinese: 炒粿條; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhá-kóe-tiâu) is a stir-fried rice noodle dish from Maritime Southeast Asia of southern Chinese origin.[3][1] In Hokkien and Teochew, char means 'stir-fried' and kway teow refers to flat rice noodles.[4] It is made from flat rice noodles (Chinese: 河粉; pinyin: hé fěn; Cantonese Yale: hó fán) or kway teow (Chinese: 粿條; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kóe-tiâu; pinyin: guǒ tiáo; Cantonese Yale: gwó tìuh) of approximately 1 cm or about 0.5 cm in width, stir-fried over very high heat with garlic, light and dark soy sauce, chili paste, whole prawns, shelled blood cockles, chopped Chinese chives, slices of Chinese sausage, and bean sprouts.[5][6] Other common ingredients include fishcake and belachan.[6]

Originally developed and catered to overseas-born Chinese labourers in the Southeast Asia region, the dish has achieved widespread popularity within the region from the late 20th century onwards, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore. The dish has also acquired a reputation of being unhealthy due to its high saturated fat content, as it is traditionally stir-fried in pork fat with crisp croutons of pork lard.

  1. ^ a b c "Char Kway Teow". Tourism Malaysia. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  2. ^ a b Tan, Bonny. "Char kway teow". Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board.
  3. ^ "Malaysia's humble 'king of noodles'". BBC. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  4. ^ Tan, Bonny. "Char kway teow". Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  5. ^ Mok, Opalyn. "The famous Penang char koay teow | Malay Mail". www.malaymail.com.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Singapore was invoked but never defined (see the help page).