Char Kuey Teow - Stir-Fried Rice Noodles

By garciamoss

Shrimp, Chinese sausage, chiles, and chives bring intense flavor to these wok-fried noodles, a popular Malay street food. This recipe first appeared in our October 2011 issue along with Jayanthi Daniel's article Hungry City.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon dried shrimp paste
• 3 dried chiles de árbol, stemmed, torn into pieces, and soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes, drained
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 12 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
• 1 (6-inch) dried Chinese link sausage, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 (10--ounce) package fresh broad Chinese rice noodles, rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon double black soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 egg
• 4 ounces mung bean sprouts
• 6 Chinese chives or scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths

Preparation

Step 1

Place shrimp paste on a small piece of foil, and wrap around paste to form a packet; heat broiler to high and broil packet until fragrant, about 8 minutes. Let paste cool slightly, then transfer to a cutting board and add drained chiles; using a chef knife, cut and mash paste and chiles together until a smooth paste forms; set paste aside.

Heat oil in a 12-inch wok or nonstick skillet over high heat. Add paste, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add garlic, and cook, stirring, until just golden, about 30 seconds. Add shrimp and sausage, and cook, flipping shrimp once, until barely pink, about 1 minute. Break noodles apart with your fingers and add to wok along with soy sauce and sugar; cook, stirring often, until noodles are evenly coated and heated through, about 1 minute.

Make a well in the center of the noodles; add egg, and cook, without stirring, until the white is half-set, about 45 seconds. Add sprouts and chives, and stir noodles and egg until evenly incorporated and sprouts and chives begin to wilt, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.