Marts Cili Padi

Let me remind you, char koay teow and fried koay teow are two different things, and do not confuse yourself either when you find something that says koay teow with gravy or Cantonese koay teow.

Fried koay teow is a dry version of fried koay teow, you can almost find this in any food stalls or restaurants anywhere. The usual ingredients are flat noodles(koay teow), beansprouts and other vegetables. Some might add chicken pieces, prawns or even beef. Char koay teow on the other hand is some kind of specialty, it is fried koay teow with gravy and usually has prawns and cockles(kerang) in it. Some people call it char koay teow kerang. Char koay teow might not be so hard to find but to find a good char koay teow is something hard. Penang probably has the best char koay teow in Malaysia, that is why sometimes people referring this special food as Penang char koay teow.

I spent years in Penang, so I have had my shared of eating plenty of great char koay teow there.  I remembered bringing my friends there to have char koay and each of them ordered a second plate of char koay teow! It was that good. I think that the secret to delicious and mouth watering char koay teow is the gravy. The gravy is barely there actually, it is just enough to wet the noodles. Cockles and prawns, the staple ingredients for char koay teow really add something extra to it. 

The char koay teow above was bought from a char koay teow seller from a pasar malam at my place. The char koay teow is as good as the one I had in Penang. I think it's about time for me to learn how to cook char koay teow at home, and using minimal fire of course. :-D