As a young teenager growing up in Kuching, Sarawak my father took us out for supper few days a week. I do realized how extremely lucky my siblings and I were now.

One such supper is this Char Koay Kark . This recipe is for the plain Koay Kark aka no fresh radish grated inside, just rice flours mixture. This is the street food version. Not the ones sold in Dim Sum restaurants but it’s oh so nostalgic.

This Char Koay Kar dish brings back memories of us 5 siblings, sometimes laughing, sometimes arguing at the back of my mother’s Volvo 244 in racing green. Those were carefree days and our only worries were our parents not buying for us what we want!

I have extremely fond memories of this street food Char Koay Kark. There was an elderly gentleman with a makeshift stall selling it by an old iron fenced gate near the then Cathay cinema. He used to wrap them into a corn shape with newspaper on the outside and a piece of plastic inside.

If I remembered correctly the plain ones were 50 sen and the added eggs 70 sen. I can’t remember there being prawns but I just wanted to add to mine today.

I have not cook this for years. Hubby reminded me the other day so I decided to cook for him. He loves the preserved sweet radish and will always request for extra! I remembered a few years back when I was first experimenting to make the rice cakes, a lot went into the rubbish bin before I settled on this combo that is not too hard, nor too soft and with just enough ‘chew’

Today I have decided to write out with pics in details. If you made it please post me a pic or tag me and you would have made this post worthwhile.

TIP – Make the koay kark, rice cake at least a day ahead. After storing in the fridge it is easier to cut. Oil your knife.

Char Keow Teow or fried flat rice noodles is another of my recipe that I have lost with my old blog. So I am now replacing it.

Because I live in the UK and I missed the charcoal taste I am here using a few drop of liquid smoke to give me that special ooooomph…. just like the market stall.

Because I am a greedy (Tham Chiak Kui) I put everything possible into my Char Keow Teow. However I did not have any fish cake in my freezer so have to go without.

I have to admit that losing my old blog is still making me sad. I have to search deep for the inclination to work on this new blog. At times I have messages from friends asking for recipes and asking why my old links don’t work and that give me a boost to continue. today is one of them days that I have the ‘uuuummmph’ to write up a few more recipes. Thanks peeps.

Hope you enjoy this recipe.

Preserved Mustard (Mui Choy) with Mince Pork (梅菜肉碎) is my favourite childhood Hakka dish. My mother used to cook Mui Choy with mince pork for us but I remembered hers to bit a tad sweeter than mine.  It is because I am conscious of eating less sugar over the years that I do not use a lot of sugar in my dishes. I drink black coffee and my tea with a just a touch of milk. 

I still remember when I first found Mui Choy in UK. I was jumping up and down looking like a crazed woman in the supermarket! That was more than 2 decades since I last ate and hubby was very amused.  

While I was talking with my friends this morning about cooking this Hakka Mui Choy with mince pork, two of them asked me why theirs always so salty and another said she love this dish but hers always too salty too. So I have decided to do a write up of what to me is a simple dish but then again I home cook 99% of my food and I can always consult my mother. As usual my recipe is from my mother and I always said it’s just a guide. Use my tips and cook it seasoned to your taste. Enjoy.