Char Kway Teow is another iconic Penang dish that visitors shouldn’t ever miss. But there’s a catch, albeit a really fun one, and that is that there are at least 3 major variations of it on the island alone. If you include the Singapore, Thai, Vietnamese, Myanmarese and Hong Kong versions into the mix, that makes 6 different kinds to befuddle your taste buds. Yet, Penang Char Kway Teow is still considered the definitive version of this humble dish, even the Malay and Indian variations.
Comprising thin, flat rice noodles stir fried in dark soy sauce with cockles, prawns, slices of fish cake, chives, garlic and beansprouts. In the old days, adding an egg to it made it a deluxe version. And admittedly it does have a high fat content so it’s one of those things that should be considered to be only an occasional indulgence. But it tastes so good that most Penangites won’t hesitate to eat it at least twice a week! So where did Char Kway Teow come from?
Penang Char Kway Teow is of Chinese origin. Cooking and selling it was a way of earning extra income for farmers, fishermen and people who gathered cockles for a living. Back then the thin, flat rice kway teow noodles were cheap, as were cockles and fish cakes were largely home made.
When you come to Penang, you must try out all three varieties, so let’s have a quick peek at what you should look for when you’re in Penang.
Malay Char Kway Teow
It must have a bit of gravy derived from water or stock, the prawns and garlic. The kway teow must be silky smooth and moist, the seafood fresh and springy. Oddly enough, if you order fried mee (yellow wheat noodles) instead, you won't get a similar dish. The usual Malay char kway teow is, however, only mildly spicy and the gravy is usually a lot less red (more brown actually) than shown here but if that’s too much even for you, remember to say “Tak mau cabai” when ordering it!
Indian Char Kway Teow
This is also called Mamak Char Kway Teow sometimes, and it’s served with a bit of sliced lettuce and half a lime. You should squeeze the lime juice evenly over the dish. There are no stalls specialising in it because it’s usually sold as part of the Mee Mamak man’s repertoire of dishes. The most common version has no seafood in it, though the stock which goes into it is often derived from braising dried squid. It’s also very red though that need not mean that it’s spicy because it’s fried with tomato sauce. Still, it’s best to remember to say “Tak mau cabai” when ordering it!
An interesting fact about the Hong Kong version is that it’s sold as a Malay dish on the island.
Other things to know –
“Mai huan cheo” is Penang Hokkien for “No chilis”.
“Tak mau cabai” is Malay for “No chilis”.
“cabai” is pronounced “char-bye”
