Wok Star Eleanor Hoh

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How to make Malaysian Street Food, Char Kuey Teow in your Wok!

By 8 Comments

If you love Asian food, Char Kuey Teow, a famous and very popular Malaysian street food is heavenly. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll crave it and dream about it.  Its heady aroma, spicy complex flavors and textures are downright addictive. It doesn’t matter how many times you eat it, you’ll want MORE, it’s that good.
My mom used to make Char Kuey Teow on special occasions and it became one of my family’s all time favorite dishes. Today is one of those special occasions because it would have been my mom’s 90th and I wouldn’t be teaching wok cooking if it weren’t for her!
kueyteow-wok-fry
I didn’t make the Char Kuey Teow in this post, I was acting as sous chef for my sister so I could watch, take photos, shoot videos and learn all the secrets to share with you!  It’s a lot of work but with 3 sisters prepping, it’s not as intimidating, so invite your family and friends to lessen the load, it’s always much more fun cooking together.
If you follow these tips, you’ll get a better chance of success! It’s the same approach I teach in wok cooking…
1. use good, fresh ingredients
2. use a well seasoned, lightweight cast iron wok for better wok hei (high heat) Otherwise, a cast iron skillet but definitely NOT nonstick because it can’t withstand high heat required to make this dish!
3. high heat is ESSENTIAL, preferably gas not electric…
– so the noodles don’t stick and get all goopy
– to get that wonderful umami flavor when soy sauce hits the heat
4. Make small batches, the smaller the better the results. In Penang, they make enough for only one person at a time and it’s perfect every time!
Visit Char Kuey Teow Pork Jerky for tips and substitutions which are all part of being a Wok Star and my mom would have approved, she used to do that too and no one was the wiser. Make Char Kuey Teow your memory anchor for good times and I would love to hear how your dish turns out?
Char Kuey Teow was a perfect fit for this month’s Let’s Lunch theme for a summer dish from our childhood memories.  Whenever I eat this dish, all my childhood memories start flooding back, like my family at the beach or at a picnic and having a fantastic time.  But my best and favorite memory is of cooking with my sisters and mom, giggling and having a blast!
Let’s Lunch is a monthly virtual gathering of foodies from all over the world and take turns hosting with a theme. Anyone can join, just use #letslunch on twitter and someone will reach out to you or leave a comment below. Check out other Let’s Lunchers’ posts, they’re always an interesting read…
Betty Ann‘s Suam Na Mais (Corn Soup with Shrimp and Spinach) at Asian in America
Eleanor‘s Mom’s Malaysian Char Kuey Teow at Wok Star
Grace‘s Mung Bean Popsicles at HapaMama
Karen‘s Watermelon Salt Water Taffy at GeoFooding
Linda‘s Auntie Number One’s Fresh Peach Ice-Cream at Spicebox Travels
Lisa‘s Aunty Myrna’s Cabbage Rolls at Monday Morning Cooking Club

1. Prep of Kuey Teow ingredients, top left to right: blanched rappini (sub for choy sum), 4 eggs, bean sprouts, ready fried shrimp, scallions, chopped garlic, diced red chilies, dried chili flakes,
1. Prep of Kuey Teow ingredients, top left to right: blanched rappini (sub for choy sum), 4 eggs, bean sprouts, ready fried shrimp, scallions, chopped garlic, diced red chilies, dried chili flakes. If you can get Chinese pork sausage, slice thin and fry on medium heat to render the fat and soften the pork.
2. Lightly cook wide and thin dried rice noodles, should be al dente. Dry well with dish towels. But best is to use fresh noodles.
2. Lightly cook wide and thin dried rice noodles, should be al dente. Dry well with dish towels. Best is to use fresh rice noodles, just separate each strand so it doesn’t goop up.
3. Lightly stir fry bean sprouts, scallions and rappini.
3. Lightly stir fry bean sprouts, scallions and rappini (typically choy sum but you can omit and will be fine) Notice nice patina of my sister’s cast iron wok, same as mine. She had a gas stove and I got her to use the smaller burner which focuses heat at base of her wok and resulted in much better heat distribution.
4. Lightly stir fry shrimp with garlic.
4. Lightly stir fry shrimp with garlic and chilies.
5. Fry chilies and garlic, then add in one portion of rice noodles.
5. Fry chilies and garlic, then add in one portion of rice noodles.
6. Add in bean sprouts, shrimp to noodles and combine. This is when you taste and add your dark soy and little salt so it's not too dark. Test for spiciness. Push your noodles to one side and fry some chilies in wok first before recombining.
6. Add in 1/2 of bean sprouts and shrimp to noodles and combine. This is when you taste and add your dark soy and little salt so it’s not too dark. Test for spiciness. Push your noodles to one side and fry more chilies in wok first before recombining noodles.
7. Push noodles to one side and add drop 2 eggs into wok, cover the eggs with noodles to cook them a bit. Then frantically start stir frying everything so the eggs get to cook through into yummy chunks and coat the noodles.
7. Push noodles to one side and drop 2 eggs (1 egg per person) into wok, cover the eggs with noodles to cook them a bit. Then frantically start stir frying everything so the eggs get to cook through into yummy chunks and coat the noodles.  Do the whole process with the other portion and cook it fresh to eat immediately.
Ta Da! Mom would be proud of my sister's masterpiece!
Ta Da! Mom would be proud of my sister’s masterpiece!
EleanorHoh-Mom-kids-waterfallEleanorHoh-mom-beachEleanorHoh-Dad-kids
 
 
 
 

How to make Malaysian Street Food, Char Kuey Teow in your Wok!

By 8 Comments

If you love Asian food, Char Kuey Teow, a famous and very popular Malaysian street food is heavenly. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll crave it and dream about it.  Its heady aroma, spicy complex flavors and textures are downright addictive. It doesn’t matter how many times you eat it, you’ll want MORE, it’s that good.
My mom used to make Char Kuey Teow on special occasions and it became one of my family’s all time favorite dishes. Today is one of those special occasions because it would have been my mom’s 90th and I wouldn’t be teaching wok cooking if it weren’t for her!
kueyteow-wok-fry
I didn’t make the Char Kuey Teow in this post, I was acting as sous chef for my sister so I could watch, take photos, shoot videos and learn all the secrets to share with you!  It’s a lot of work but with 3 sisters prepping, it’s not as intimidating, so invite your family and friends to lessen the load, it’s always much more fun cooking together.
If you follow these tips, you’ll get a better chance of success! It’s the same approach I teach in wok cooking…
1. use good, fresh ingredients
2. use a well seasoned, lightweight cast iron wok for better wok hei (high heat) Otherwise, a cast iron skillet but definitely NOT nonstick because it can’t withstand high heat required to make this dish!
3. high heat is ESSENTIAL, preferably gas not electric…
– so the noodles don’t stick and get all goopy
– to get that wonderful umami flavor when soy sauce hits the heat
4. Make small batches, the smaller the better the results. In Penang, they make enough for only one person at a time and it’s perfect every time!
Visit Char Kuey Teow Pork Jerky for tips and substitutions which are all part of being a Wok Star and my mom would have approved, she used to do that too and no one was the wiser. Make Char Kuey Teow your memory anchor for good times and I would love to hear how your dish turns out?
Char Kuey Teow was a perfect fit for this month’s Let’s Lunch theme for a summer dish from our childhood memories.  Whenever I eat this dish, all my childhood memories start flooding back, like my family at the beach or at a picnic and having a fantastic time.  But my best and favorite memory is of cooking with my sisters and mom, giggling and having a blast!
Let’s Lunch is a monthly virtual gathering of foodies from all over the world and take turns hosting with a theme. Anyone can join, just use #letslunch on twitter and someone will reach out to you or leave a comment below. Check out other Let’s Lunchers’ posts, they’re always an interesting read…
Betty Ann‘s Suam Na Mais (Corn Soup with Shrimp and Spinach) at Asian in America
Eleanor‘s Mom’s Malaysian Char Kuey Teow at Wok Star
Grace‘s Mung Bean Popsicles at HapaMama
Karen‘s Watermelon Salt Water Taffy at GeoFooding
Linda‘s Auntie Number One’s Fresh Peach Ice-Cream at Spicebox Travels
Lisa‘s Aunty Myrna’s Cabbage Rolls at Monday Morning Cooking Club

1. Prep of Kuey Teow ingredients, top left to right: blanched rappini (sub for choy sum), 4 eggs, bean sprouts, ready fried shrimp, scallions, chopped garlic, diced red chilies, dried chili flakes,
1. Prep of Kuey Teow ingredients, top left to right: blanched rappini (sub for choy sum), 4 eggs, bean sprouts, ready fried shrimp, scallions, chopped garlic, diced red chilies, dried chili flakes. If you can get Chinese pork sausage, slice thin and fry on medium heat to render the fat and soften the pork.
2. Lightly cook wide and thin dried rice noodles, should be al dente. Dry well with dish towels. But best is to use fresh noodles.
2. Lightly cook wide and thin dried rice noodles, should be al dente. Dry well with dish towels. Best is to use fresh rice noodles, just separate each strand so it doesn’t goop up.
3. Lightly stir fry bean sprouts, scallions and rappini.
3. Lightly stir fry bean sprouts, scallions and rappini (typically choy sum but you can omit and will be fine) Notice nice patina of my sister’s cast iron wok, same as mine. She had a gas stove and I got her to use the smaller burner which focuses heat at base of her wok and resulted in much better heat distribution.
4. Lightly stir fry shrimp with garlic.
4. Lightly stir fry shrimp with garlic and chilies.
5. Fry chilies and garlic, then add in one portion of rice noodles.
5. Fry chilies and garlic, then add in one portion of rice noodles.
6. Add in bean sprouts, shrimp to noodles and combine. This is when you taste and add your dark soy and little salt so it's not too dark. Test for spiciness. Push your noodles to one side and fry some chilies in wok first before recombining.
6. Add in 1/2 of bean sprouts and shrimp to noodles and combine. This is when you taste and add your dark soy and little salt so it’s not too dark. Test for spiciness. Push your noodles to one side and fry more chilies in wok first before recombining noodles.
7. Push noodles to one side and add drop 2 eggs into wok, cover the eggs with noodles to cook them a bit. Then frantically start stir frying everything so the eggs get to cook through into yummy chunks and coat the noodles.
7. Push noodles to one side and drop 2 eggs (1 egg per person) into wok, cover the eggs with noodles to cook them a bit. Then frantically start stir frying everything so the eggs get to cook through into yummy chunks and coat the noodles.  Do the whole process with the other portion and cook it fresh to eat immediately.
Ta Da! Mom would be proud of my sister's masterpiece!
Ta Da! Mom would be proud of my sister’s masterpiece!
EleanorHoh-Mom-kids-waterfallEleanorHoh-mom-beachEleanorHoh-Dad-kids
 
 
 
 

Mangoes for Mother's Day!

By 6 Comments

I can hardly believe it’s 2 years since my mom passed away, so for Mother’s Day,  I’m celebrating her life with mangoes, one of her favorite fruit and mine!  Eaten on its own or in a salad or salsa, the creamy, smooth champagne mangoes are divine.  Mangoes always conjure up sweet memories of my childhood growing up in Hong Kong. My favorite mangoes were the tiny ones you can pop into your mouth in one bite!  Another memory was of my mom showing us how to cut the mango along the seed and cubing it inside its skin, then pushing the skin from below so the juicy cubes magically popped up ready for us to enjoy without getting our hands all sticky. I love showing this trick to my friends who’ve never seen it done before!

mango2 mangoes-green-ripe
What I’d like to remember my mom for are 2 essentials she taught me which have helped me tremendously in my daily life, thanks mom!

Mom&Me1)  Her “little bit of this and little bit of that” approach gave me permission to stray outside ‘recipes’ and I loved her for it. I didn’t understand how significant this approach was till I started teaching cooking myself.  It opens up a whole new world of exciting surprises when you don’t have to follow a rigid recipe.

2)  The way you do anything in the kitchen applies to everything you do in life i.e. put your whole focus into what you’re doing and do it well! It’s this ‘focus’ that’s motivated me in everything I do from small to large projects.
My three sisters and I are very different but we all inherited a bit of her and we’re proud of it.  She’s definitely left her stamp on all who were lucky to have met her!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there! 

Mango, Kale Salad

I dreamed up mango and kale salad by finding both at discounted prices from my local farmers’ market.  How I come up with my dishes is by seeing what’s fresh and seasonal! Though I confess I overdid it with buying a whole case of 14 mangoes!  It was a race to eat them pretty quickly because they started ripening. So, that’s how I ended up making a mango salsa with other vegetables left over from my cooking class.

mango-Laurenzos kale-laurenzos-200

The sweetness of mango in contrast with the slightly tangy flavor of kale complemented each other very well.  Because raw kale can be pretty hard to digest, ‘marinading’ with my homemade vinaigrette did wonders, they became soft and tender as if they were cooked and only for as little as half an hour before I tossed them with the rest of the fixings. So easy and what a delightful change, they brought a more crunchy texture compared with the usual field greens.  Mango, kale salad with grilled curry pork shoulder were such a treat, I’ll definitely make this again.

mango-kale-salad mango-pork-300

Mango Salsa
Cubed jicama, tomatoes, shallots, cucumber and mango with a touch of Japanese rice vinegar, tad of salt was all I added to make this salsa.  Such a versatile side, I enjoyed it in so many ways…for breakfast with fried egg, lunch with frittata or grilled sausage, with a leftover Filipino grilled pork,  for a snack with brie on crackers…

mango-salsa-friedegg mango-salsa-frittata

mango mango-salsa-sausage

mango-salsa-quinoa mango-salsa-brie-snack

Fruit Fiesta is also the theme for this month’s Let’s Lunch. Let’s Lunch is a virtual themed lunch from food bloggers all over the world! Join by posting a comment below or on Twitter using #LetsLunch.  We also have a private Facebook group where we hang out, anyone can join but needs to be invited.  Check back for more yummy fruit posts from my Let’s Lunch buddies!

Rejuvenating Balinese Green Apple Salad at Spicebox Travels.

Cantaloupe Pie at Tea and Scones.

Mango Refrigerator Cake at Asian in America.

Sticky Pears at Monday Morning Cooking Club.

Grapefruit Bourbon Cocktail at Glass of Fancy

Mangoes for Mother’s Day at Be a Wok Star.