Lort Cha
លតឆា
Short pin-shaped rice noodles stir-fried hard in dark soy with bean sprouts and chives, topped with a fried egg — Phnom Penh's great street-cart supper.
By Cambodian Cookbook Kitchen · July 6, 2026
ភ្នំពេញ Phnom PenhRecovery era, 1979–1993
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Serves
- 2
- Level
- Intermediate
Lort cha is Phnom Penh after dark — the noodle the night carts and market stalls fire off by the single plate under a bare bulb. The noodle itself is lort: short, plump, tapered at both ends like little silverfish, pressed from rice-flour dough through a perforated mold. Stir-fried hard in dark soy with garlic, a little beef, bean sprouts and garlic chives, then crowned with a runny fried egg, it is fast, cheap, savory-sweet and deeply satisfying. Its bones are the Chinese wok cooking that came up the Mekong generations ago, but the plate is Cambodian street craft, and it belongs to the recovery-era markets that brought this kind of casual, sociable eating back to the capital.
The whole thing rides on heat and restraint. This is a wok-hei dish — cook it in single portions over the highest flame you have, let the noodles catch the metal so a few edges crisp, and keep the greens in for only a breath so they stay loud and crunchy. Dark soy does the heavy lifting on color and that faint sweet gloss; the fried egg's broken yolk becomes a sauce as you eat. Get a wok truly hot, work fast, and do not be tempted to double the batch — lort cha rewards the cook who serves one perfect plate at a time.
Cook it in single portions over the highest flame you own. Lort cha is a wok-hei dish — double the batch and you steam the noodles into a sad clump.
ពាក្យពីចុងភៅ · A word from the kitchen
Ingredientsគ្រឿងផ្សំ
Serves 2
០ of ១៣ gathered
Noodles and aromatics
Sauce
To finish
Methodវិធីធ្វើ
Step 1: Mix the sauce
Stir dark soy, light soy, oyster sauce, sugar and fish sauce together. The dark soy is what gives lort cha its signature near-black gloss and a faint sweet edge, so do not swap it for regular soy.
Step 2: Sear the meat
Get the wok ripping hot with oil, add garlic for a few seconds, then the sliced meat. Sear it fast and push it up the side of the wok — you want color, not a braise.
Step 3: Fire the noodles
Add the lort and let them sit against the hot metal for a moment before tossing, so a few edges catch and crisp. Pour in the sauce and toss hard until every noodle is coated and glossy.
Step 4: Fold in the greens
Throw in the bean sprouts and chives and toss just ten seconds — they should stay crunchy and bright, a fresh snap against the dark, chewy noodles. Slide onto a plate.
Step 5: Top with a fried egg
Fry an egg with a lacy, crisp edge and a runny yolk and lay it over the noodles. Break the yolk into the lort as you eat and serve with sriracha and a lime wedge.
ឧបករណ៍ · The tools
Equipment
Clay pot
ឆ្នាំងដីThe earthenware pot for kho — caramel-braised pork or fish. Holds a low, even heat that keeps a braise gentle and carries it to the table still bubbling.
Shop on Amazon →Carbon-steel wok
ខ្ទះFor char kroeung, loc lac, and every fast fry — a well-seasoned wok gets screaming hot and moves food fast, the whole point of a stir-fry. Flat-bottomed for a home stove.
Shop on Amazon →Tiered steamer
សម្ភារៈចំហុយStacked tiers for amok cups, steamed cakes, and fish — gentle, even heat that sets custards without breaking them. A wide pot with a rack stands in.
Shop on Amazon →Charcoal grill
ចង្ក្រានអាំងCambodian grilling is charcoal grilling — sach ko ang, grilled fish, skewers. The smoke is half the flavour, and a small clay or steel grill is all you need.
Shop on Amazon →
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Questions from the kitchen
What are lort noodles and what can I use instead?
Lort are short, plump rice noodles, tapered at both ends like little pins or silverfish, made from rice-flour dough pressed through a perforated mold. If you cannot find them fresh, the closest home swap is the thickest rice vermicelli you can buy, boiled and cut into short lengths.
Is lort cha the same as Thai or Chinese fried noodles?
They are relatives — the wok, dark soy and sprouts all point to a shared Chinese ancestry that came up the Mekong long ago. But the specific short pin noodle, the sauce balance and the fried-egg crown make lort cha its own Phnom Penh street dish, especially beloved by night-market crowds.
Why does mine turn out mushy?
Two usual culprits: too big a batch, or too little heat. Lort cha needs a hot wok and small portions so the noodles fry rather than steam. Cook one plate at a time and keep the flame high the whole way through.
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