This post is specially for piggywiggy who in her blog dedicated the post to me.
Haha.
If you people want to know the question of what the post was about you know what to do.
My answer at this VERY moment in time is actually Penang Char Kuey Teow.
My #1 favourite Malaysian in my lifetime.
Yes. The ultimate dish that would I think when I am going to die, be my last request.
It has to be the one where it's moderately oily. Not to "charred" yet has a bit of the aroma infused into the noodle. No spice or at least a tiny bit. Then with one scrambled egg, a handful of beansprouts (or taugeh as Malaysians fondly calls it), some slices of chives, a few maybe 3 prawns is nice, all fried in the wok.
BUT the most important deal in this dish is...
...the meat.
You heard it. Not just the noodles from Ipoh or an equivalent. The taugeh or the "professionally" fried aroma and colour, flavoring and not too salty taste.
But. The. Meat.
What sort of meat am I talking about?
Me being of Chinese descent, I am talking about preserved pork sausage. AKA lup cheong in Cantonese.
I will not be satisfied with a "Penang Char Kuey Teow" or will give a comment on any good char kuey teow...without this special ingredient.
I don't care if the stall specifically says it's PENANG CHAR KUEY TEOW.
But if they don't. Put. THE LUP CHEONG in there...
IT. IS. NOT.
PE.NANG. CHAR. KUEY. TEOW.
Ahem.
I apologise for my sudden change in behaviour.
It just goes to show that I take my favourite food very seriously. Of course it's not like I MUST HAVE the best or something.
Close to MY TASTE is good enough. Below is the list of what I deem my Penang Char Kueay Teow as good:
1) lup cheong must be in there. Did you know that I love the combination of char kuey teow and lup cheong because the sweetness reduces the saltiness from the soya sauce and the saltiness reduces the sweet juices of the lup cheong.
2) the noodle if possible has to be kuey teow AKA hor fun in Cantonese and Hokkien the former, from Ipoh. Their kuey teow I must say are the best in thickness, springiness (if there is such a word), and oiliness. Not thick like home made chee cheong fun, as springy as Maggi noodles and oily enough so that each strand of noodle will not stick to one another. All these factors give you, char kuey teow that does not break even if the cook like stir and "char" the stuff with strong fire and rigorous movement. That means I don't like my noodles to be broken but intact - long and springy. That would be good enough even if there is no lup cheong or taste cancerous. The width I prefer is about 1 to 1.5 cm. Those of you who have seen the various kinds of kuey teow would know what I am talking about.
3) the "taugeh" must be the big ass ones from Ipoh also. Emm...those babies are thick enough to go through so much "beating" that it stays intact and still crispy and the original taste still lingers.
4) must have 1 egg no more. Scrambled WITH all the ingredients but still part of its own. Because I am also a egg lover, I choose to have my eggs last. So if all the eggs gets stuck to the noodles I won't be able to savour the egg that is cooked with the saltiness and aroma. Savvy?
5) MUST NOT be too salty and too dark. I dread those with so much soya sauce and dark sauce. I can die just looking at it. You can see your life number above your head dwindle. The saltiness should be something like the saltiness of just boiled fishball in plain water. Emmm...
*stomach growling*
6) prawn and sometimes some sotong. Preferrably without sotong or any form of seafood. I don't like it when they put sliced crabsticks in it. What the heck is that for? Prawn in the kuey teow for me is still not within "critical" preference. It can be small or big as long as it tastes fresh and mix well with the noodles. Prawn in itself when fried creates its own saltiness so I have no qualms about it.
7) oiliness overall has to be a soft sheen not glossy. Example like Nippon Paint's satin glo effect is the way to go but not Christian Dior's Dior Addict Shine effect. I think I'll get my liver and kidneys clogged eating char kuey teow that way, let alone arteries.
8) the essential yet optional ingredient would be cockles. I don't fancy those things and I have not been having my char kuey teow with them but I have so far discovered the difference between having it in and not - the aroma. With it you get a strong smell of shell food stronger with the prawn and garlic but without, it's just the prawn and garlic and perhaps even a tinge of blendness. It's individual preference.
Once again, I am speaking on my own behalf on what my Char Kuey Teow should be for my own tastebud. People all over Malaysia would go through pains to tell everyone and even in the newspaper where anyone can find THE best Char Kuey Teow or other foods but for me, the best part about discovering the best food is when you are not looking. It should come by chance. Then THAT my friend, is more enjoyable.
Well, other than Penang Char Kuey Teow, my other favourite Malaysian food are (not in order):
1) Nasi lemak
2) Assam Laksa
3) Roti Canai
4) Bak Kut Teh
5) Most forms of curry
6) the many types of "keropok" ie udang, lekor, tapioca thins in sambal flavor or whatever you call it, papadams, etc
6) Rojak
7) Pisang Goreng/ Keledek goreng
8) Maggi Mee!
9) Mee Rebus (thick gravy with the taufu...wahhh)
10) Various local kuih
11) And I think a lot more other stuff
There you go. I LOVE food. Not jsut Malaysian. Popular Italian fare, Chinese cuisine, Indian Mamak food, Malay delicacies, Western grille and steak, Japanese!, etc.
Woww. All my life everything revolves around food. And I think food is the #1 factor that brings all the differences in the people of Malaysia, together.
With all these jumble up of ideas and general love of food, the effects are "gastro-nomical"!
HAPPY 50th MERDEKA MALAYSIA!
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