Recipe - Char Kway Teow (Stir-Fried Rice Noodles)

2 Chinese sausages (lop
cheong)
One fourth pound Medium shrimp (36 to 40 per
pound), shelled and
deveined
1 teaspoon Salt
One fourth pound Cleaned squid, with
tentacles (See Technique
Note)
One fourth pound Chinese barbecued pork
One fourth teaspoon White pepper
1 One half tablespoon Dark soy sauce
1 One half tablespoon Light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Oyster sauce
2 pound Fresh rice noodles, in
5/8inchwide strips
4 tablespoon Peanut oil
4 Cloves garlic, chopped
4 Shallots, cut or sliced up (One half cup
cut or sliced up )
6 Fresh red chiles, seeded
and chopped
1 cup Bean sprouts, tails removed
1 cup Shredded Chinese cabbage
2 lg Eggs
4 Green onions, chopped
Fresh coriander sprigs, for
garnish

Nothing is more fascinating and delicious than eating at the open
air street hawker centers in Asia, particularly in Singapore. Each
stall serves a specialty, typically an honest, unpretentious,
homestyle dish for $1 to $3 a plate.
This rice noodle dish is hawker food at its best. If done right, its
fragrance will tell you how good it's going to be as soon as it
arrives at your table. Singapore hawkers will use whatever seafoods
are available, including cockles and cut or sliced up fish cakes in addition to
those suggested in this recipe. Feel free to experiment.
1. Steam the sausages for 10 minutes. Cut them in thin diagonal
slices. Toss the shrimp with One half teaspoon of the salt. Let them
stand for 10 minutes, rinse well with cold water, drain, and pat dry.
Cut the squid into One fourth inch rings and tentacles. Cut the barbecued
pork into 1/4inchthick slices. Combine the white pepper, soy
sauces, and oyster sauce in a bowl; set aside.
2. Just before cooking, put the noodles in a large bowl and pour
boiling water over them. Stir gently with chopsticks to separate the
strands, drain, and shake off the excess water.
3. Preheat a wok; when hot, add 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the
remaining One half teaspoon salt and the garlic, shallots, and chiles and
cook over mediumhigh heat until the garlic is golden brown.
Increase the heat to high and toss in the shrimp and squid; stirfry
until the shrimp turn bright orange and the squid looks opaque white,
about 2 minutes. Add the sausage slices, barbecued pork, bean
sprouts, and cabbage; toss and stir until the vegetables begin to
wilt. Remove everything in the wok to a platter and set aside.
4. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the wok; when hot,
toss in the welldrained noodles. Gently toss and flip the noodles
to heat them through. Be careful not to break them; it is okay if
they brown slightly. Push the noodles up the sides of the wok to make
a well in the middle; pour in the soy sauce mixture, then toss the
noodles gently to sauce them evenly. Make a well again and break the
eggs into the middle. Without mixing them with the noodles, scramble
the eggs lightly. When the eggs begin to set, add the green onions
and return the seafood mixture. Gently toss together to reheat and
mix. Serve hot, with a hot chill sauce for seasoning to taste.
Garnish with coriander sprigs.
NOTE: Both here and in Asia, fresh rice noodles are usually
purchased rather than made at home. Look for them in Asian markets
or Chinese takeout dim sum shops. This dish can be prepared with
dried rice noodles; however, it is worth taking the time to seek out
the fresh variety.
Make certain that your wok is well seasoned or the fragile rice
noodles will break apart and stick to the pan. Although I hesitate
recommending that you cook with a non stick wok or skillet, they will
work fine if you are more comfortable with them.
TECHNIQUE NOTE; To clean squid, start by separating all the
tentacles from the heads, cutting across as close as possible to the
eyes. Squeeze out and discard the hard, pea sized beak in the center
of each cluster of tentacles. Rinse the tentacles and drain them in
a colander. Grasp the mantle (the saclike "body" of the squid) in one
hand and the head in the other and pull apart; the entrails will pull
out attached to the head. Pull the transparent quill out of each
mantle. Discard everything but the tentacles and mantles. Running a
little water into each mantle to open it up, reach in with a finger
and pull out any entrails remaining inside. (Working over a second
colander to catch all the debris will make cleanup easier.) You can
remove the spotted outer skin or leave it on (I prefer to remove it).
Transfer the cleaned mantles to a cutting board, slice them crosswise
to the desired size,and add them to the tentacles in the colander.
Give everything another rinse and drain thoroughly.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

From "Asian Appetizers" by Joyce Jue, Harlow and Ratner, 1991. ISBN
0962734519.

Posted by Stephen Ceideburg

File ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/cberg2.zip