Clem's Char Kuay Kak
 

I am sure that many of you have had Char Kuay Teow (Fried Rice Strips), even maybe Penang Char Kuay Teow. Char Kuay Kak is the latter's culinary cousin (I am told that it is referred to less descriptively as Char Kuay" in Kuching). In the Hokkein language, char means "fried", and kuay kak means "cake cubes" (in this  case, invariably rice). The dish is often offered salty or sweet.

Apart from making the rice cake itself, the dish is simple to make and is just like preparing char kuay teow. Here's how (salty version):

INGREDIENTS

• Rice flour (155 g)
   
• Tapioca flour (30 g)
   
• Chai poh (preserved radish) (1 piece about 7 - 8 cm)
   
• Chives (a handful).
   
• Onion (one small) and garlic (a few cloves).
   
• Dark soy sauce (or caramel dark soy sauce) (a couple of tablespoons).
   
• Light soy sauce (a couple of tablespoons)
   
• Chilli paste.
   
• Two eggs.
   
• Bean sprouts (amount to your liking)
   
• Optional: Oyster sauce (one tablespoon)

METHOD

Prep

• Make your own rice cake:
   
  • Combine the rice and tapioca flours with a quarter teaspoon of salt.
     
  • Add 480 g room temperature water. Mix well and then place in a saucepan (non-stick will help).
     
  • Heat the flour slurry gently to make the slurry thicker.
    This step is to ensure that the flour does not settle out of suspension during later steaming.
    Stir constantly when heating because when the starch starts to thicken (gel), it will happen quickly).
    Do not let the slurry solidify into a paste. The idea is to make a thick but pourable slurry.
     
  • Now pour the thickened slurry into a container of a suitable size to produce a rice flour slab that will yield cubes of a size to your preference. I used a pan which give me a rice slab of a height of about 1.5 cm.
     
  • Place the container into a steamer and steam for at least 30 minutes or as long as necessary to solidify all parts of the rice flour slab.
     
  • When solidified, take out the container and let the rice slab cool down before cutting it into bite sized cubes.
     
• You can make your own chilli paste:
   
  • blending some soaked dried chillis, fresh chillis, onions and garlic, with some salt. Use some oil and water to help the blending.
     
• Cut the chives into short lengths and set aside.
   
• Dice and set aside the:
   
  • Onions and garlic.
  • Preserved radish.
  • A few cloves of garlic.
     
• Mix the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and oyster sauce (if used) together.
   

Frying the dish

• In a good amount of cooking oil, fry the rice cubes until you see some of them browned off. Set aside.
   
• In the same pan, fry the diced onions until just browned and then add the diced garlic and chilli paste (to taste). When you smell the fragrance, add the preserved radish followed by most of the chives (leave some for garnishing).
   
• Now return the rice cake cubes to the pan followed by the soy sauce mix.
  Fry for a few minutes while turning over to colour most of the cubes with the sauce.
   
• Push aside the rice cubes in the pan to make space for two eggs to be fried.
  Mix the cubes into the eggs before they are completely set.
   
• Now add the bean sprouts (amount to your liking).
   
• Fry for a bit more without overcooking the sprouts (leave them a bit crunchy).
   
• Serve hot after garnishing with the rest of the chives.
  You should end up with something like this:

Clem's Char Kuay Kak
 

ENJOY!!

www.clemkuek.com

25 August 2026
 

Created by Clem Kuek