February 1, 2023
Char Kway Teow
South-East Asian cuisine intimidates me. Many of the recipes from Europe were complicated, but they used familiar ingredients. North America, South America, and Oceania tended to have straight-forward recipes with a few exotic visitors. Now, I’m into the deep water. To create the layers of flavor and balance desired, many of these recipes have ingredient lists as long as a CVS receipt. Most recipes will need a trip to a special grocery store, and a day planned around the multi-step creation. Did I mention that there are at least 46 countries in Asia?
Char Kway Teow, or Malaysian Stir-Fried Flat Rice Noodles made it onto our list because I had a high level of confidence in my ability to find the ingredients. Sunrise International Market did not let me down. I found the fish cakes, sambal, bean sprouts, and Chinese chives. There was even one pack of XL rice noodles left. I had toyed with the idea of making my own ho fun noodles, but it was too much for a Wednesday night.
I appreciated that the author of the cookbook warns you in the first line to prep everything. I was counting on this dish coming together in a few moments. We added one extra step. Having a healthy fear of what might be lurking on the bean sprouts, we elected to blanche them. A minute in boiling water followed by an ice bath did not change the texture and increased my confidence in serving them.
But, we fell at the last hurdle. It seems that my package of rice noodles (which only directed me to soak them in cold water for 10 minutes) did not prepare them to the point this recipe wanted. If you watch the video above, you can imagine how quickly those transparent beauties would be ready to eat. Instead, we found ourselves bailing IN water to get the noodles to texture that we could chew.
Honestly, it was worth it! The sauce was deep and complex, the veggies had a pleasant crunch, and the fish cakes were surprisingly citrus-y. Even with a tablespoon of chili paste, the boys cleaned their bowls. We served some tiny Thai bananas on the side, but this dish was exciting to eat.
The library had several children’s books by Malaysian authors or about Malaysia, so we read them all. Nana, Nenek & Nina shows the differences between the author’s two grandmothers who live on opposite sides of the world. Kaya’s Heart Song shows the main character finding the passion inside of her. Kalamata’s Kitchen discusses harmony between friends by comparing it to the harmony within a Malaysian dish.
BONUS: Kaya Toast
On the back flap of the book, the author of Nana, Nenek & Nina explains who she is through toast. She eats it with beans (British grandmother), kaya (Malaysian grandmother), or avocado (lives in California), but never all three at once. Kaya was the gem that lay hidden at the international market. I was hoping to make my own, but the universe told me it was one step too far.
It is a coconut spread, but it is also enriched by eggs and a more than healthy amount of sugar. Kaya is super thick and delicious. I could see myself using it between two layers of a cake, for that special something. Kaya toast was also Jakob’s reward for braving our spicy main course.
However, I did bake fresh bread for the occasion.