Penang Char Koay Kak

Day 41-43 Circuit Breaker: Making it from scratch! 

One by one of my friends talked about Char Koay Kak (fried steam rice cake). It started with Shu-Yin, then Eleen and Hooi Ling, the hits and misses, and apparently it is not easy to make the rice cakes at all. I took it as a synchronicity sign from the universe inspiring me to master this Penang hawkers dish. Challenge accepted!

I knew I wanted to make the rice cakes from scratch. That's the fun part of it. But oh my, I had no idea what I signed up for. The technique and effort required was enormous and it stretched my culinary skills.

• Day 1: Steam rice cake 
• Day 2: Fry the rice cake 

Thankfully, I had my mom to guide me over the phone. I admire my mom. She is a walking recipe book.

Steaming the rice cake

Making crispy pork lard

Frying in process

It was so yummy! I had 3 plates.

I am very satisfied with my Char Koay Kak. I have also learned to enjoy eating this. 😅😋 If not for my mom, I would not have made it successfully on my very first attempt. Thank you mom for the voice-only cooking masterclass. 😍😘

Ingredients:  

• 1 cup of rice flour 
• 3 cups of water 
• 1-2 tablespoon of tapioca flour or corn flour 
• 100% pork fat  
• Olive oil 
• Garlic
• Chai Poh, both sweet and salted (picked radish)
• Salty dark soy sauce 
• Fish sauce 
• Ku Chai (Chinese chives) 
• Beansprout 
• Egg 
• Banana leaf 

Preparation: 

Day 1: Steam plain rice cake

1. Coat a stainless steel bowl with a layer of oil. 
2. Combine rice flour, water and tapioca flour in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Stir it until the paste thickens. 
3. Transfer the paste to a greased stainless steel bowl.
4. Steam it for 1.5 hours - 2 hours. 
5. Use a satay stick to see if it's cooked. Top up water in the steamer if needed. 
6. Once cooked, let it cool down. 
7. Once cooled down, refrigerate it overnight. 
8. The next morning, take it out from the fridge and check the texture. It's supposed to bounce up when you gently press with your finger.
9. If texture looks good, cut the rice cake into small cubes. 

Day 2: Fry the rice cakes

1. Fry pork lard with oil and put aside. 
2. Add oil onto your pan.
3. Saute garlic, chai poh and pork lard.
4. Add rice cakes.
5. Add dark soy sauce and fish sauce. 
6. Add chilli paste (optional).
7. Add beansprout and kuchai. 
8. Finally, add egg. 
9. Serve on banana leaf. 

Tips:

• The pork lard will make or break the dish. This is a must have.  
• The pork lard shrink into tiny bits once fried. 
• Smash the rice cake into smaller pieces so that more surfaces are coated with sauce. 

The foodgasm verdict: 9/10