Char Kway Teow

Char Kway Teow is a popular dish in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. It is flat rice noodles and some yellow noodles and is stir-fried over very high heat with dark soy sauce, belachan, prawns, cockles, bean sprouts, egg, Chinese sausage and fish cakes.

Char Kway Teow is unhealthy due to its high saturated fat content. It was a cheap source of energy and proteins, therefore gaining popularity from many of the coolies and other immigrants who has physically challenging jobs. The dish was first sold by fishermen, farmers and cockle-gatherers.
The Char Kway Teow in Kampar, Perak, Malaysia, is served with cockles but with no prawns (although prawns may be available on request). According to old Kampar Char Kway Teow sellers; this is because Kampar was not near any source of fresh prawns. In Singapore, char kway teow has evolved into a healthier version with more vegetables and less oil. Furthermore, the greens and bean sprouts gives off a fresh, crunchy texture that makes the dish taste even more unique from other dishes of the cuisine.

From how the dish’s evolution, we can see how it reflects the different lifestyle we have at different geographical location and periods. In early Singapore, we could tell that many wanted to save money and were not educated on the importance of health. However, as Singapore developed and education was made available to many, Singaporeans are more health conscious and make it an effort to eat healthily.

Whatever the changes we have in our local foods, we believe that Singaporeans will feel attached to them and feel very at home when enjoying the simple delicacy.

(Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Char_kway_teow,
http://popularfoodsg.com/char-kway-teow-singapores-best-noodle-dish)