🍽️ Satay Kway Teow

Rice noodles tossed with satay and sesame sauce, savory and rich.

Satay kway teow is a distinctly local dry-tossed noodle dish on Shantou's streets. Wide, flat rice noodles are boiled until soft, drained while hot, and tossed generously with thick satay paste—often boosted with a spoon of sesame paste or peanut oil—then topped with blanched beef slices, bean sprouts or greens. The satay sauce is simmered from dried shrimp, dried fish, peanut, sesame and spices, savory, gently spicy and slightly sweet, coating every noodle strand a reddish brown. The bite is rich and aromatic with soft, slippery noodles, while the vegetables cut through the richness. In Shantou, satay kway teow is a close cousin of beef hotpot, and hotpot restaurants commonly serve a bowl of it as the staple. The flavor is bold and filling, a favorite of hearty appetites and workers, and a daily expression of Chaoshan's satay-sauce culture.