Char kway teow
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| Char kway teow | |||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 炒粿條 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 炒粿条 | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | stir-fry ricecake strips (i.e. stir-fried ricecake strips) | ||||||||||||||
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| Alternative name in Cantonese-speaking regions |
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| Traditional Chinese | 炒貴刁 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 炒贵刁 | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | no literal meaning (see Etymology) |
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Char kway teow, literally "stir-fried ricecake strips", is a popular noodle dish in Indonesia,Malaysia and Singapore. The dish was (and still is in some places in Malaysia) typically prepared at a hawker stall.
It is made from flat rice noodles (河粉 hé fěn in Mandarin Chinese) of approximately 1 cm or (in the north of Malaysia) about half a centimetre narrower in width, stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, whole prawns, deshelled cockles, bean sprouts and liberally chopped up Chinese chives. Variants may include serving the dish with slices of Chinese sausage and fishcake, stir-fried with eggs, or stir-fried with chopped up cuttle fish in addition to or in substitution of whole prawns. It is stir-fried in pork fat, with crisp croutons of pork lard, giving it a characteristically rich taste.
Char kway teow has a reputation of being unhealthy due to its high saturated fat content. However, when the dish was first invented, it was mainly served to labourers. 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. When the dish was first served, it was often sold by fishermen, farmers and cockle-gatherers who doubled up as char kway teow pedlars in the evening to supplement their income.
In Indonesia, the dish is served in Chinese restaurants, the char kway teow is less oily, it uses no lard, and normally uses beef, or chicken to cater the majority of the population, who are Muslim. But some Chinese restaurants in Indonesia do serve the pork and lard variety.
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[edit] Etymology
The term "char kway teow" is a transliteration of the Chinese characters "炒粿條", based on the Min Nan spoken variation of the Chinese language. More precisely, "炒粿條" is pronounced as chhá-kóe-tiâu? in Min Nan, and cháo guǒtiáo? in Mandarin. The literal translation is "stir-fry ricecake strips" ("炒" = "stir-fry", cf. "炸" = "fry"; "粿" = "ricecake"; "條" = "strip" or "string") which is a result of the incorrect grammar of the Min Nan language. In the Min Nan language, the proper grammar should be "kway teow char" ("粿條炒"), which means "stir-fried ricecake strips" or rather "stir-fried dish of ricecake strips".
The word "條" (or "strip") is employed because flat rice noodles are technically not noodles ("noodles" = "麵") in the Chinese meaning. The production processes between "粿條" and "麵" are essentially different. The former being basically ricecakes sliced into fine strips, although modern production methods have introduced ingredients making it more of a hybrid between ricecake strips and noodles. Original ricecake strips are no longer part of the ingredients in today's char kway teow, and is generally substituted by shahe fen (沙河粉), which is generally called "flat rice noodles".
Owing to the dish's popularity and spread to the Cantonese-speaking people, the term "char kway teow" has been corrupted into "炒貴刁" in Cantonese. This is pronounced as caau2 gwai3 diu1? in Cantonese and cháo guìdiāo ? in Mandarin. The term "貴刁" has no meaningful meaning in the context of the food, but its pronunciation in Mandarin is similar to "粿條" in Min Nan.
In Hong Kong, "char kway teow" is often known as "Singaporean char kway teow" (星州炒貴刁) or "Malay char kway teow" (馬來炒貴刁) in order to emphasise the origin of the dish, although the origin of the dish has nothing to do with the Malays and it is arguable whether it actually originated from Singapore.
In Vietnamese cuisine, a similar stir-fried noodle dish is called hủ tiếu. Thai cuisine has its own version called pad see ew.
[edit] Variations
Over the years as the dish became popular, most char kway teow served have undergone various alterations resulting in the various forms of the dish which are slightly different and in which the nuances would be discernible by Asian food connoisseurs and char kway teow enthusiasts only. Depending on one's exposure and experience in relation to char kway teow, the Penang-style char kway teow is generally the most popular variety. Until recently, pedlars in Malaysia and Singapore would affix the word "Penang" or "槟城" to "char kway teow" at their stalls or stations in food courts in order to pass off as an authentic "Penang Char Kway Teow" or "槟城炒粿條" to lure more customers.
Unfortunately, not all alterations to the ingredients and style of preparation result in a better tasting dish. As more amateurs peddle the dish, almost all of the alterations resulted in the impairment of its authentic ingredients and style. For example, char kway teow was originally served without eggs added (which was only added as a special order), stir-fried in pork lard or oil, and exclusively using flat rice noodles. But in recent times, eggs have become a standard part of the ingredients of the dish, and typically feature ordinary cooking oil or highly adulterated pork oil and using a mix of flat rice noodles and Chinese noodles. A likely reason for including eggs as a part of the ingredients is because eggs give the dish a thick fragrant taste which will cover up any deficiency in the preparation skills of the preparers, and excluding pork lard or oil is popular with the dish's modern customers who are generally less critical of the dish's taste and more health conscious. Cost factors and demand for a more filling meal, as well as ignorance of the nuances in taste between flat rice noodles and Chinese noodles, in the guise of variety of styles were the original reasons to the introduction of Chinese noodles into the dish. Indeed, many parts in Malaysia (especially in the central and southern regions where no history of char kway teow exists), Chinese noodles are used exclusively, and flat rice noodles are available only if specially requested when ordering the dish.
The char kway teow in Kampar, Perak, Malaysia, is served without prawns, although one might make a special order to have them included. In fact, no seafood except for deshelled cockles are part of the ingredients of Kampar char kway teow. According to general opinions and the old Kampar char kway teow sellers, this is a result of the fact that Kampar is not near to any fresh seafood source and thus historically altered the original recipe of char kway teow to suit their environment. As a result, Kampar char kway teow lacks the distinctive seafood flavour, and is slightly hinted with a sourish taste. Nevertheless, the people of Kampar will swear that their char kway teow is as good as any available.
The char kway teow served in places such as Sarawak, Malaysia, (which has no history of the dish and is unexposed to ethnic Chinese cooking of West-Malaysia) is an entirely different variety of the original dish. The char kway teow served here is generally akin to a very bad amateur imitation of the original, with badly done char siu substituting the seafood, no Chinese chives, generally no bean sprouts, and is generally almost tasteless despite the copious amount of eggs added, giving char kway teow a bad name to the unexposed and inexperienced food enthusiasts. In spite of the Sarawakians calling it "char kway teow", it is merely an ordinary stir-fried noodle dish since it is fundamentally different or altered.
A variety of alterations have also been made in accordance with the preparers in relation to their customers. For example, muslim preparers in Malaysia (with the first well-known halal-style char kway teow served at the Hill Side Food Court Centre, Tanjung Bunga, Penang, Malaysia, in the early 1990s) have made various alterations to the dish served, chief among them are the exclusion of pork lard or oil, the extra light and dark soy sauces to suit the Malay taste buds, the extra spices, and the use of the broader width variety of flat rice noodles (due to the fact that they are purchased only from muslim producers who ordinarily only produce the broader width types). There are also vegan-style varieties at Vegetarian food stalls in Singapore and Malaysia that serve the popular dish.
There are also the so-called "gourmet versions" of char kway teow. They are commonly found in Ipoh and the island of Penang, Malaysia. Generally, they are prepared and served with either a larger version or quantity of the seafood or added with some uncommon ingredients (for example, some versions of char kway teow are stir-fried with duck's eggs for a richer taste or crab meat for its unique sweetness).
Char kway teow is also popular at takeaways in Australia and New Zealand.
In Myanmar, a variety called the Beik Kut kyae kaik (the Beik Scissor bite) exists. It is popular in the southern coastal regions around the town of Mergui ("Baik" is the Burmese pronunciation) and in Yangon, the largest city in the country. It uses more pepper and seafood compared to the kway teow of Singapore and Malaysia. The rice noodles are slightly thinner, and are stir-fried with boiled soft brown peas, bean sprouts, squid and prawns, spring onions and dark sweet soy sauce. After being stir-fried, the noodles are cut with scissors (kut kyae in Burmese), thus its name. In many Asian fusion restaurants in America, such as the popular Cafe Asia chain, this dish is offered under the name Gway Tiao.
Many Southeast Asian restaurants in Hong Kong offer char kway teow as a Malay specialty although it is of South-East Asian Chinese origin. The char kway teow served in Hong Kong is an entirely different dish: A Chinese-style stir-fried flat rice noodles with prawns, char siu, onions, bean sprouts, seasoned with curry, and is bright yellow in colour.
[edit] Unique styles of preparers
Kampar char kway teow are prepared and served from lowered hawker stalls or stations with the preparers seated on small wooden stools laid at ground level, which is quite unique among food preparers and servers in Malaysia and Singapore. The height of the hawker stalls or stations are lowered to the level of the respective char kway teow preparers' working height while seated, with the customers generally standing over the char kway teow stalls or stations. Owing to the limited mobility of the char kway teow preparers at these stalls or stations, the stalls or stations are hence set up so that the preparers can reach everything without having to move from their seat or stand up, giving the stalls or stations a small, compact, and neat look. Also, as opposed to almost all char kway teow preparers and servers, large frying pans are used instead of woks to stir-fry the kway teow, although some of them do use woks.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- What to look out for when eating Char Kway Teow
- Where to eat Char Kway Teow in Malaysia
- Singapore Tourism Board's Char Kway Teow recipe
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