Flat Rice Noodles

Flat Rice Noodles is known as Kuay Teow (Kuih Tiaw) in Hokkien.

They are available from Asian supermarket either fresh or dried.  The dried forms are imported from Vietnam or Thailand where they are used for Pad Thai and Pho.

Flat Rice Noodles is cooked in many varieties in different countries and is a popular street food.

Pad Thai is made with soaked dried rice noodles, which are stir-fried with eggs and beansprouts.  It may also contain fresh shrimp or chicken.  It is normally served with a wedge of lime and roasted peanuts.  Pad Thai is thought by some to have been introduced to Ayutthaya during the time of the Ayutthaya Kingdom by Chinese traders and subsequently altered to reflect Thai flavor profiles.

Phở is a Vietnamese soup consisting of rice noodles (Banh Pho) with herbs and meat, primarily made with either beef (phở bò) or chicken (phở gà).  Pho originated in the early 20th century in northern Vietnam, and was popularized throughout the rest of the world by refugees after the Vietnam War.

Char kway teow, literally “stir-fried ricecake strips“, is a popular noodle dish in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.

The dish is considered a national favourite in Malaysia and Singapore.  When 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.  In olden days, it was often sold by fishermen, farmers and cockle-gatherers who doubled as char kway teow hawkers in the evening to supplement their income.

Another variety of this dish is Tomato Kway Teow and is especially popular in East Malaysia.  The Kway Teow is first fried with oil and soya sauce and put aside.  The gravy with tomato sauce added are cooked separately and then poured onto the Kway Teow.

Last but not least (in fact most popular) variety of rice noodles is Wat Tan Hor.  The Kuay Teow is also cooked separately, often added with bee hoon (fine rice noodles).  The gravy is egg based and very tasty.

Last night, I was super busy preparing Char Kuay Teow and Wan Tan Hor which I will be bringing over to my daughter’s for dinner tonight.

For my Wan Tan Hor, I added some chicken stock, light soya sauce, sesame oil and finished off with two eggs and some Chinese wine.  The sauce is packed separately and will reheat to be poured on top of the pre-cooked Kuay Teow.

Looking forward to the flat noodles feast tonight.