Char Kuey Teow (Singaporean Style)

Steps

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1. 1
   Prepare the chilli paste: cut about 30 dried chillies into pieces, remove seeds, soak in boiling water for 5 minutes and drain. Roughly chop 1 large red onion.
   ≈1:13
2. 2
   Blend the drained dried chillies and onion separately with a clean dry blender until fine paste. Add a little oil and water to half cover.
   ≈1:39
3. 3
   Heat oil and add about 2 cups of ground chilli. Fry until the chilli separates the oil and becomes crisp.
   ≈2:09
4. 4
   Stir in the ground onion. Add 3 tbsp sugar, salt, 0.5 tbsp seasoning powder (optional) and water 2-3 times. Continue cooking until very dry, about 30 minutes.
   ≈2:24
5. 5
   Prepare shrimp oil: take 500g large shrimp, separate shells and heads from the meat. Devein the shrimp meat and set aside for frying.
   ≈3:02
6. 6
   Fry the shells and heads over low heat for about 7 minutes until the oil changes colour. Turn off heat and strain out the shells.
   ≈3:28
7. 7
   Prepare soy sauce mixture: combine 3/4 cup light soy sauce, 1/2 cup sweet soy sauce, 1/4 cup oyster sauce and 1/4 cup caramel soy sauce. Mix well and set aside.
   ≈4:01
8. 8
   Clean chives: rinse well, trim roots, cut lengthwise into 1.5 inch pieces. Watch for sand near the roots.
   ≈4:47
9. 9
   Prepare bean sprouts: choose dried unsoaked sprouts for crispness. Optionally trim the tails.
   ≈5:10
10. 10
    Prepare garlic paste: roughly chop garlic and blend until smooth.
    ≈5:22
11. 11
    Fry the char kuey teow (1 serving): heat the wok, add shrimp oil. Add 1 tsp garlic paste and fry until fragrant.
    ≈5:48
12. 12
    Add 1 handful flat rice noodles and 1 tbsp chilli paste, mix well.
    ≈6:02
13. 13
    Add 1 egg and 2 shrimp, stir-fry quickly. Push shrimp to the side and keep them from overcooking.
    ≈6:19
14. 14
    Pour in 3 tbsp soy sauce mixture and keep stirring until everything is well combined.
    ≈6:33
15. 15
    Finally add bean sprouts and chives, quickly fry until charred edges form. Adjust soy sauce to taste if needed.
    ≈6:50
16. 16
    Serve immediately. Key tip: keep the wok very hot with high heat, cook one serving at a time, and do not wash the wok between servings—this preserves the crispy caramelized edges.
    ≈7:09