Koay teow (flat thin rice noodle) th’ng (soup) is the favourite food for Penang people we can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The noodles are usually blanched first, then garnished with parboiled pork or chicken meat, sliced fish cakes, fish balls and a sprinkling of chopped scallions and some golden crisp-fried chopped garlic in oil.

Grandma’s koay teow soup method is a combination of pork bones, chicken, chicken feet’s, ikan bilis (dried anchovy) and duck. Her protein garnishing’s are chicken meat, chicken innards, fish balls. The soup looks plain but it packs a full delicious sweet savoury umami punch. The specialty of all koay teow th’ng is not in the soup, it not in the koay teow but is the fish balls. The fish balls are specially made by the owners themselves and of course contain secret recipe that make the fish balls delicious.

Made it with chicken drumsticks soup base that my mother had taught me. I didn’t have Thai fish cakes, and green vegetables. I have added extra fish balls, cabbage leaves, bean shoots, chicken meat, and spring onion. The soup is delicious, comforting with each mouthful bring me back to my memoirs of truly having authentic koay teow th’ng (soup) in Malaysia, Penang. Hopefully one day, I can go back and eat it every day. Let’s cook!!!

Ingredients

3 packets thin koay teow
10-12 cabbage leaves, cut to bite size
4 stalks of spring onion
3 packets fish balls
2 packet fish cakes
2 packets pork balls

Drumsticks stock

18 drumsticks
6 c water, just enough to cover the drumsticks slightly above 1”
6 garlic cloves
2 c chicken stock, bought (OPT)
1 Tsp chicken powder stock (OPT)
2” fresh ginger
1 Tsp oil
salt
black peppercorns

Garnish

40 g chopped garlic
1/8 c vegetables oil
bean shoots
fried shallots
spring onion, cut 1 inch long
12-14 small red chili, cut thinly
soy sauce

Method

In a pot, add drumsticks, 6 c water and bring it to a simmer on low heat about 35 minutes. As it simmers, skim the foam (impurities) off the top with a fine-mesh skimmer or a spoon. When time up 35 minutes simmering drumsticks stock, strain stock through sieve into another pot. (I usually line it with a muslin cloth).

Add remaining stock ingredients into pot with drumsticks and lower the heat to simmer very gently for 1-2.5 hours. The longer the stock, the more flavour it will have, but the drumsticks will lose flavour. Remove the drumsticks from the pot once it has cooked.

Let drumsticks cool and remove meat from bones, and set aside. Keep in an airtight container in fridge. Add in 2 c chicken stock, 1-2 c chicken stock; if you want more soup, and powder stock into stock for more flavour. Bring it to boil for about 20-25 minutes and check seasoning. Switch off hob. When the stock had cool completely, store the whole pot in fridge. I like it to be overnight to absorb more flavour. Remove stems of bean shoots and set aside in fridge with water in container.

The following day

Bring out chicken meats from fridge to room temperature. Microwave each packet of koay teow for easy to tear it into strips. When finished tearing koay teow, bring kettle to boil; blanch them quickly in boiling water till softened and then drained. Divide koay teow into serving bowls. Bring out the drumstick stock pot reheat for about 15 minutes and check seasoning. Gives a couple of stirs and add in cabbage leaves; cook for about 20 minutes until cabbage leaves are cooked.

Meantime, put oil and chopped garlic in a deep bowl with a saucer and microwaves it 30 seconds for 3-4 times, stir in between until garlic is golden crispy. Don’t burn it and be careful, oil will splutter, I use a plate to cover the bowl.

When chicken meat is at room temperature, add in chicken meat in to the drumstick stock along with fish and pork balls, fish cakes and cook for about 2-4 minutes. I used ready-made fish and pork balls, which are usually pre-cooked, so this part is just to reheat them till pork and fish balls puff up in size and fish cakes slices floats to the surface of the soup. I like to add in cut spring onion into the soup for 1-2 minutes. You don’t have too.

Warm up serving bowls with koay teow in microwave for 1-2 minutes. Remove fish and pork balls, and fish cakes. Place them in the koay teow bowl along with a few pieces of chicken meat. Ladle 2 ladles or more soup with cabbage leaves into warmed up koay teow serving bowls. Spoon the golden crisp-fried chopped garlic in oil, for my bowl I added cut chili with a bit of soy sauce. Serve immediately with a glass of red wine for a change. Enjoy!!!!

Note: Keep chicken pieces extra in an airtight container in fridge for 2-4 days. To have more stock for next day or two add in 1-2 extra cup of water and 1-2 Tsp powder stock into stock. Bring it to boil and check seasoning. Switch off hob. If you have leftover stock and when the stock had cool completely, spoon into sterilized jars with tight lids, label name and date make before you refrigerate them.

When you want the chicken pieces, use a clean dry spoon to scoop the amount you want. You can add the chicken pieces with anything. At least you have ready cook meat. Save you time. You can freeze them if you want to keep them for more than 4 weeks to 6 weeks. You can add Thai fish cake, and buk choy, tang oh and lettuce or kai lan. You can add prawns and calamari rings. You can use pork ribs instead of drumsticks.

https://helenscchin.com/2021/05/15/koay-teow-thng-with-red-wine/

For my other koay teow soup recipe:

Koay teow soup with pork balls chicken pieces and vegetables:

https://helenscchin.com/2021/04/16/koay-teow-soup-with-pork-balls-chicken-pieces-and-vegetables/

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