If you love smoky rice noodles in a savory sweet sauce with Chinese sausage, fish cake, egg, shrimp and veggies then you'll love this Penang char kway teow! A great main or meal ready in 30 minutes. Better-than-takeout saving you money!
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Penang Char Kway Teow features rice noodles stir fried in a piping hot wok with Chinese pork sausage (aka Lap Cheong), shrimp, eggs, fish cakes, garlic chives, bean sprouts in a savory sauce.
It's a very popular Asian noodle dish from Malaysia. These noodles are commonly served at many Malaysian restaurants or at hawker stands in a banana leaf with chili garlic sauce or sambal.
This Penang version is slightly different from the Kuala Lumpur version, where the noodles are drier and do not contain as much sauce.
Whenever my husband and I visit his hometown in Malaysia, we always order these noodles! They're incredibly tasty especially with the smoky flavor from the wok.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Rice Noodles: ideally the dried flat wide kind. These are sold at Asian markets in the dried noodle section. Or substitute with fresh rice noodles and microwave them for 2-3 minutes at 60 second intervals until they can easily peel apart.
- Jumbo Shrimp: get the easy peel that has been pre-deveined to make it easier.
- Chinese Pork Sausage (aka Lap Cheong): a Chinese red extra-lean pork sausage that is sweet in flavor and hard in texture.
- Fish Cakes or Fish Balls: these are rectangular, circular or flat sheets made of minced seafood like fish, shrimp, crab, lobster, or squid combined with starch and seasoning. Asian markets sell them in the refrigerated or freezer section. Pick a flavor that you would enjoy! Or substitute with shrimp if you can't find them.
- Large Egg
- Mung Bean Sprouts: or substitute with soy bean sprouts.
- Garlic Chives (aka Chinese chives): these are very long and flat green chives and they are not the same as regular chives. They're sold at Asian markets. Or substitute with green onions.
- Garlic
- Water: to help cook the noodles.
- Chilli Garlic Sauce (aka Sambal Oelek): a red chili garlic sauce sold at many Asian markets in the sauce section and used in South-East Asian cooking or as a condiment. Feel free to use homemade (recipe here) or store-bought.
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
Noodle Sauce
- Dark soy sauce: this is thicker and darker than regular soy sauce. If you can't find this, substitute with regular soy sauce but the noodles won't be as dark in color.
- Sweet Soy Sauce (aka Kecap Manis): this is a sweetened dark and thick soy sauce sold at many Asian markets and used in a lot of South-East Asian cooking. Or substitute with dark soy sauce and add ½ teaspoon granulated sugar.
- Oyster sauce: this is a thick brown sauce made of oysters that adds a lot of umami flavor. Or substitute with vegetarian stir-fry sauce. If you're gluten-free: substitute with a gluten-free version.
Note: Most Asian grocers will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
Expert Tips
- Get the easy-peel and pre-deveined shrimp to make things easier.
- Make sure to rinse the bean sprouts to remove the natural odor in them and strain out as much excess water.
- Prepare the ingredients in advance because the cooking process is fast.
- Don't over soak the dried rice noodles in hot boiling water or they will become soggy quickly. You won't want to soak them until they become loose, limp and firm.
- Push the cooked ingredients to the side of the pan to prevent overcooking.
- Taste test the rice noodles as you go. If they're not al dente, adding a few splash of water helps a lot!
- Char the noodles if you're using a steel wok because the steel wok infuses a smoky flavor into the noodles found in most takeout.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make Penang char kway teow:
- In a small bowl, combine the noodle sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- In a large bowl, soak dried rice noodles in hot boiling water for 4 minutes until limp and firm. Strain immediately. Rinse with cold water until cool to touch. Gently separate any noodles that are stuck together with your hands and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon or 15 ml of vegetable oil in a large pan or wok on medium-high heat. Fry shrimp until pink and slightly curled. Then fry the sliced sausage for 30 seconds. Remove and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon / 15 ml of vegetable oil into the pan and scramble the beaten eggs. Push to the side of the pan and fry sliced fish cakes and garlic for 10 seconds. Mix chili garlic sauce with other ingredients and push everything to the side of the pan.
- Add remaining vegetable oil into the empty space of the pan. Toss in rice noodles with noodle sauce mixing everything together. Taste test the noodles and if they are not al dente, add 2-4 tablespoons of water and cook until they become soft and chewy. If you're using a steel wok, let the noodles sit in the pan undisturbed so they can slightly char for a smoky flavor.
- Toss in cooked shrimp and sausage and mix with noodles. Then finally toss in the bean sprouts and garlic chives and stir fry for another 20 seconds. Remove off heat to serve.
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat and add a few splashes of water to help loosen the noodles.
- Freezer friendly? I don't recommend freezing char kway teow because the noodles, eggs and vegetables will change in texture.
Pairing Suggestions
This dish serves well with:
- starters like Malaysian Curry Puffs
- noodle dishes like KL Hokkien Mee, Char Kway Teow, Singapore Curry Noodles or Mee Goreng
- rice dishes like Nasi Goreng
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
- protein dishes like Malaysian Curry Chicken, Curry Chicken Wings, Curry Fried Fish, and Malaysian Curry Tofu
- desserts like kuih seri muka, apam balik, or pandan custard cake
FAQ
Can I make this in advance?
Penang char kway teow can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat and add a few splashes of water to help loosen the noodles.
Is Penang Char Kway Teow gluten-free?
Penang char kway teow is not gluten-free even though we are using rice noodles because the soy sauce, oyster sauce and fish cakes contain gluten.
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Penang Char Kway Teow
If you love smoky rice noodles in a savory sweet sauce with Chinese sausage, fish cake, egg, shrimp and veggies then you'll love this Penang char kway teow! This easy noodle dish is ready in 30 minutes. Better-than-takeout saving you money!
Ingredients
- 7.05 oz dried wide flat rice noodle
- 8-10 jumbo shrimp deveined & peeled except for tails
- 1 Chinese-style pork sausage thinly sliced (aka Lap Cheong)
- ⅓ cup fish cake thinly sliced (or sub with fish balls)
- 1 large egg beaten
- ½ cup mung bean sprouts washed and strained (or sub with soy bean sprouts)
- ½ cup garlic chives chopped into 1-inch long pieces
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (aka Sambal Oelek)
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 2-4 tablespoon water to cook the noodles in the pan
Noodle sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sweet soy sauce (aka kecap manis)
- 1.5 tablespoon oyster sauce or vegetarian stir fry sauce
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the noodle sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- In a large bowl, soak dried rice noodles in hot boiling water for 4 minutes until limp and firm. Strain immediately. Rinse with cold water until cool to touch. Gently separate any noodles that are stuck together with your hands and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon or 15 ml of vegetable oil in a large pan or wok on medium-high heat. Fry shrimp until pink and slightly curled. Then fry the sliced sausage for 30 seconds. Remove and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon / 15 ml of vegetable oil into the pan and scramble the beaten eggs. Push to the side of the pan and fry sliced fish cakes and garlic for 10 seconds. Mix chili garlic sauce with other ingredients and push everything to the side of the pan.
- Add remaining vegetable oil into the empty space of the pan. Toss in rice noodles with noodle sauce mixing everything together. Taste test the noodles and if they are not al dente, add 2-4 tablespoons of water and cook until they become soft and chewy. If you're using a steel wok, let the noodles sit in the pan undisturbed so they can slightly char for a smoky flavor.
- Toss in cooked shrimp and sausage and mix with noodles. Then finally toss in the bean sprouts and garlic chives and stir fry for another 20 seconds. Remove off heat to serve.
Enjoyed my recipe?Please leave a 5 star review (be kind)! Tag me on social media @christieathome as I'd love to see your creations!
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Nutrition
Calories: 602kcal | Carbohydrates: 90g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 1795mg | Potassium: 410mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 592IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 3mg
Jessica
This was SO GOOD and the leftovers were even better
I did make some substitutions (like fresh rice noodles, more Chinese sausage, gailan) but made no changes to the sauce. Love how it turned out and the fact that you can add pretty much anything to it!
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Jessica! I'm so glad you enjoyed my Char Kway Teow!
Dan
Finally found a recipe where I could use the abundant Garlic Chives in my herb garden. And what a delicious recipe it is. All of the ingredients were singing from the same hymn book and inspiring a few solo performances, such as the shrimp which was the star of the show. All ingredients were easy to find except for the fish cakes which my grocer doesn’t stock. But next time I’ll substitute firm tofu if I can’t find it someplace else. Another Asian classic that will be on frequent weeknight menu rotation. Thanks, Christie!
christieathome
So happy you enjoyed my Char Kway Teow recipe, Dan! It's truly a great way to use up garlic chives isn't it. Thanks for making my recipe and glad it'll be apart of your weeknight rotation! - Christie
Amanda
The whole family loved it! It was perfectly balanced in flavours. I really enjoyed the smokiness from the Chinese sausage.