How many ways can you eat pork lard?

Ah, pork lard (or chee yau char).....crispy little nuggets of pure delight...one of the most unhealthy things on earth one can eat....but also one of the most satisfying! :D  I've not come across someone who doesn't like pork lard.....yet.


In a western-style dish, the chef would always try to put a crispy element on the plate to provide a textural contrast to the palate.  And I guess, in the same way, the Chinese do that too...with pork lard! ;D


Well, we don't usually consume it on its own (not that I say you can't).  It's usually a condiment that we have with something else to amp up the flavours of the dish even more.

#1 - With Rice


Of course the very first way to have it is just with plain rice.  I've heard some bak kut teh places serve pork lard rice that way (but I've not been fortunate enough to encounter such BKT shops...but then I don't eat much BKT), so my pork lard rice experience has always been with other goodies in the rice bowl as well.

#2 - With Pork Noodles


Probably one of the most common noodles that comes with pork lard is pork noodles.  Well, since it's a bowl with all sorts of porky ingredients, it might as well include crispy pork lard too. ^o^

#3 - With Fried Hokkien Mee

What is fried Hokkien mee without pork lard?  So this is certainly the other noodle that you'd most commonly find served with pork lard...and one that'll get you the most.  Some stalls top their fried noodles with more pork lard (maybe to make it more visible) though I can't say I'm a fan of that.


I prefer my pork lard to be tossed with the noodles as it's somehow much tastier that way to me...coated in the dark sauce and all.  That could be the reason why I don't usually request (or pay) for additional pork lard (when it comes to fried Hokkien mee) just in case it comes sprinkled on top.  

#4 - With Kuey Teow Soup


Whether it's kuey teow soup or fish ball noodles, you can expect a sprinkling of fried garlic or pork lard (or, even better, both) on top.


While a Penang-style kueh teow th'ng might come with pork innards and coagulated pig blood (or with duck meat and blood).

#5 - With Nasi Lemak


We've all eaten nasi lemak, be it Malay or Chinese-style ones, but have you had one where the sambal contains pork lard? ;)  Well, they simply make that by stirring in some crispy pork lard into a sambal of onions and chillies...extra yum :)

#6 - With Char Kway Teow


A good char kway teow needs pork lard oil and crispy pork lard to make the noodles fragrant although this is probably the dish that comes with the least pork lard (CKT sellers are very stingy with it while some don't even have it)! >_<

#7 - With Prawn Mee


Pork lard with prawn mee was the most surprising for me coz it's kinda weird if you ask me.  Predominantly, it isn't usual at all for pork lard to be served with prawn mee.  I've only encountered such a case in one prawn mee though.

#8 - With Wantan Mee


It's also possible to expect dry wantan mee to come with a few pork lard crisps since the dark sauce + oil concoction used to toss with the noodles may be made with pork lard oil for a more flavourful sauce.


Not only does it happen with local-style wantan mee, you may find some crispy pork lard hidden among the noodles of a Hong Kong-style one with shrimp roe too.

#9 - With Penang Koay Chap


Again, similar to pork noodles, since the dish is already made up of pork belly and innards, you might as well include some pork lard to go along with it.

#10 - With Pasta


But pork lard with pasta is something quite unthinkable...so let this be known that this is a Malaysian-ised version of pasta, of course (otherwise westerners' eyes will certainly pop out of their socket thinking we 'desecrated' their pasta dish).

#11 - With Beef Noodles


Even beef noodles are getting in on the action by adding pork lard crisps to their dry lai fun noodles.  Well, if you can't beat them, you might as well join them.

#12 - With Sam Kan Chong Noodles


You won't find many sam kan chong noodles serving it with pork lard...only a few.  This one is unique as it's also uncommon to serve it with fried intestines! :P

#13 - With Mee Pok


When it comes to mee pok (or bak chor mee), pork lard croutons make or break the dish since the noodles are tossed in a subtle (or bland to some) sauce of vinegar and oil, so it certainly needs the pork lard to amp up the flavours.

#14 - With Kai See Hor Fun


In a bowl of kai see hor fun (just like fish ball noodles), you may find it served with some fried pork lard and garlic too.

#15 - Or just about with any dry noodles


Basically, you can expect to find pork lard crisps in just about a bowl of dry noodles of any kind seeing that dry noodles are usually tossed in a mixture of oil (or pork lard oil) and dark soy sauce.

#16 - With Vegetables

Even vegetables have jumped on the bandwagon by serving them with pork lard croutons.  Not that I'm complaining.

#16.1 - With Kangkung



#16.2 - With Choy Sum



#16.3 - With Cabbage


I think it works best with stir-fried vegetables to make it really tasty...and not with blanched vegetables.  The one paired with cabbage turned out to be the one I enjoyed the most.


Pork lard has become so popular that food vendors have become creative to come up with different flavours these days such as garlic, curry, salted egg, malat, tom yum, BBQ, belacan, (even) cheese (!) and more.  It's even rumoured that pork lard (much like shortening) makes pastries (think egg tarts) and cookies extra crumbly...and delicious. ^_~

Praise the Lard...haha! ^.^  Love them.....or hate them!  If you're the former...what's your favourite way to eat them?  And haters...maybe you're just trying to convince yourself (unsuccessfully) that you don't like them...kekeke! ;)