Penang Char Kway Teow (Malaysian Noodles with Crab and Sausage) #FoodieExtravaganza

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month.

Posting day for #FoodieExtravaganza is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

This month Sue of Palatable Pastime is hosting this month's #FoodieExtravaganza. She asked us to help her celebrate National Noodle Month. Now that is a month I can get behind! Here's the list of our noodle creations...

• Instant Noodles Egg Masala by Sneha's Recipe
• Linguine with Salmon and Cilantro Pesto by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Penang Char Kway Teow (Malaysian Noodles with Crab and Sausage) by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Sesame Ginger Noodles by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells by Making Miracles
• Thai Coconut Curry Noodles by Magical Ingredients
• Torta di Rigatoni by Food Lust People Love
• Tsuivan (Mongolian Noodles with Meat and Vegetables) by Tara's Multicultural Table

Years ago, we were obsessed with Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern.* And, in the Singapore episode, he visited the hawker stands that serve street food. We were drooling.

So, when I saw fresh dungeness crab, I decided to make my own version of Penang Char Kway Teow, Malaysian noodles with crab and sausage for this event. Yum!

First though, I had to crack and clean the crabs. All that succulent crabmeat was totally worth it. I did have to keep myself from sneaking pieces though. I wanted it all for the dish.

Ingredients

• dried rice noodles (I used a mixture of flat - like tagliatelle - and thin - like vermicelli)
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup diced carrots
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
• 1 to 2 Tablespoons sambal chili paste, to taste
• 3 sausages (lop chong would be traditional, but I used red pepper-chicken sausages), cut into 1/4" slices
• 1 to 2 cups fish stock
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 pound shelled, cooked Dungeness crab
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 
• lemon wedges for serving

Procedure 

Submerge rice noodles in a large bowl and cover with warm water. Let stand until tender, approximately 30 minutes. Drain and rinse. While the noodles soak, crack and clean crabs if not already done.

Heat a large, flat bottom pan, heat oil. Add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook until softened and the onions are translucent and beginning to caramelize. Add the sambal chili paste and sausages. Cook until sausages are browned.

Pour in stock and stir in soy sauce. Bring to a simmer. Add the noodles and stir to coat. Cook until the liquid is absorbed and the noodles are soft.

To serve: fold in the cilantro and crab meat. Serve with lemon wedges.

That's a wrap on our noodle event. We'll be back next month, celebrating carrots with Sneha of Sneha's Recipe at the head. Stay tuned....

*This blog currently has a partnership with Amazon.com in their affiliate program, which gives me a small percentage of sales if you buy a product through a link on my blog. It doesn't cost you anything more. If you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to go directly to Amazon.com and search for the item of your choice.