Koay teow (flat thin rice noodle) 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, and 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 just use cabbage, fish cakes, and pork balls. I forgot to get green vegetables today. So, I decided to do garlic oil instead of cut chili with soy sauce.
Anyway, without green vegetables, and fish balls; it is comforting and delicious, we slurp the soup and noodles with chili sauce and garlic oil. Let’s cook!!!!
Ingredients
2 packets of koay teow
3 blocks of bee hoon, soaked in hot boiling water
12-14 cabbage leaves, cut to bite size
3 packets of pork balls, cut in half
3 packet fish cake, slice thinly
chicken pieces (See Drumsticks stock and method)
water
salt
Garnish
40 g chopped garlic
1/8 c vegetables oil
chili sauce
Drumsticks stock
12 drumsticks
4-6 c water, just enough to cover the drumsticks slightly above 1”
5 garlic cloves
1 c chick stock, bought
1 Tsp chicken powder stock (OPT)
1” ginger
salt
black peppercorns
Method
Do chicken stock one day in advance
In a pot, add drumsticks, 4 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 it is done, strain stock through sieve into another pot (I usually line it with a muslin cloth).
Add remaining stock ingredients into pot with drumsticks. 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 it cool and remove meat from bones. Keep in an airtight container in fridge. Add in 1 cup of chicken stock into stock. Bring it to boil for more stock 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.
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.
The following day
Microwave each packet of koay teow for easy to tear it into strips. Once done, bring kettle to boil and open bee hoon packet and put in a basin. When water boiled, pour into bee hoon to softened and then drain. Set aside.
When finished tearing koay teow, blanch them quickly in boiling water till softened and then drained. Divide koay teow and bee hoon into serving bowls. Next 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.
Bring out the drumstick stock pot reheat until warm through and gives a couple of stirs about 20-25 minutes. Remove lid add in cabbage cook for about 20 minutes until cabbage leaves cooked, chicken pieces warmed up, pork balls and fish cakes slice until they float to the surface of the soup. Remove and place some fish cakes about 4-5 in each serving bowls. Remove and place some pork balls into the serving bowls.
When chicken pieces and cabbage leaves are warmed up and cooked. Check the seasoning. Warm up serving bowls with the ingredients prepared in microwave for 1-2 minutes. Ladle some chicken pieces, cabbage leaves and soup onto the warmed serving bowls. Garnish with garlic oil and chili sauce. Serve with a glass of wine. Enjoy!!!
Note: You can just use pork ribs instead of chicken stock or both. You can add pork lard. You may omit bee hoon just use koay teow only or add mee. You can omit garlic oil and chili sauce; just use cut chili and soy sauce. You can add carrots, spring onions, buk choy, kai lan, and fish balls.
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 tang oh and lettuce. You can add prawns and calamari rings. You can use pork ribs instead of drumsticks.
For my other koay teow bee hoon chicken pork balls and vegetables noodles soup:
Koay teow th’ng with red wine
https://helenscchin.com/2021/05/15/koay-teow-thng-with-red-wine/
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