Wok Hei · Stir-Fried Noodles

Char Kway Teow

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The smoky flavor everyone chases isn't from a special ingredient — it's 'wok hei,' the char that only comes from noodles tossed inches above roaring open flame.

Flat rice noodles are stir-fried at blistering heat with prawns, cockles, bean sprouts, egg, and slices of Chinese sausage, then finished with dark and light soy sauce. Hawkers cook each portion to order in a well-seasoned wok.

Why it's made this way: The dish grew out of working-class Chinese communities in Penang, originally sold as a cheap, calorie-dense meal for laborers.