Penang Koay Teow Th'ng

Feeling encouraged that the Char Koay Teow (Fried Rice Noodles) that I made for dinner last night turned out pretty well, I decided to try and make Koay Teow Th'ng (Rice Noodles in Soup) for dinner tonight. I always thought that the soup for the Koay Teow Th'ng was really difficult to make but I learnt today that it's not that tough after all. Also, I was pleasantly surprised AGAIN that it turned out really really well and tasted pretty authentic (don't ask me how that happened :P).

To make the Koay Teow Th'ng soup, I started by boiling some chicken stock in a big pot. Once the chicken stock goes into a boil, add in some chicken. I just added in some chicken drumsticks (that's what I had in the fridge). If you want to make really authentic Penang Koay Teow Th'ng, you should also add in some duck at this point. Cover the lid of the pot and allow it to cook.

Once the chicken is cooked, add in some yam bean (sengkuang) that has been cut earlier into big pieces and some rock sugar. Allow the soup to simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes or so. Then, remove the chicken from the soup. At this point, you can also add in a piece of phnee hoo (dried flounder) that has been deep fried and pounded finely. It's alright to leave that out if you do not have any. Add in some salt and pepper to taste and it's done.

Remove all the ingredients and floating 'scum' from the soup with a ladle. The soup should be clear. Keep the soup warm over low heat.

Shred the chicken meat from the bones of the chicken drumsticks that we had earlier removed from the soup. Set it aside.

This are all the ingredients that we need to make the Koay Teow Th'ng. Some Koay Teow (rice noodles) and Mee (yellow noodles), fishballs, sliced fish cakes, shredded chicken meat, garlic oil and some scallions. To make the garlic oil, just heat the wok and add in some peanut oil. Then fry some chopped garlic until golden brown.

Now, we need to assemble it all together. Using a sieve, heat up the noodles by dunking it into the hot soup for a bit. Then pour it into a bowl.

Repeat the same process with the fishballs, fish cakes and chicken meat. Place them on top of the noodles in the bowl. Then, pour the piping hot soup over all that into the bowl.

There we go! A nice piping hot bowl of Koay Teow Th'ng. I topped it all up with some garlic oil, chopped scallions and some sliced red chilies. I've also prepared some sliced red chilies with light soy sauce and white vinegar in a condiment dish to eat with the Koay Teow Th'ng. Nothing compliments the Koay Teow Th'ng more than sliced red chilies in soy sauce! What a yummy dinner. Hmmm, now the million dollar question. Which Penang hawker food should I try making next? :D