Cheung Fun, Steamed Rice Noodle Rolls (肠粉)

Method14 steps · about 35 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Have the two rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, half onion and four garlic cloves thinly sliced before heating the pan. Heat the sauce’s ½ tbsp oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Fry the onion, garlic and mushrooms until the onion softens and its edges turn slightly brown.

   Uses ½ tbsp neutral cooking oil for the sauce · ½ onion, sliced · 4 cloves garlic, sliced · 2 dried shiitake mushrooms, already rehydrated and thinly sliced

2. 2

   Step 2: Add the sauce’s 120 ml water and bring to a boil. Cover, lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes to infuse the water with the aromatics.

   Infuse sauce · 3 minUses Fried aromatics and sauce oil · 120 ml water for the sauce

3. 3

   Step 3: Uncover and add 4 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce and 2 tbsp sugar. Stir and bring back to a boil, then remove from the heat.

   Uses Infused sauce base · 4 tbsp light soy sauce · 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce · 1 tablespoon oyster sauce · 2 tbsp sugar

4. 4

   Step 4: Strain through a sieve into a bowl, keeping the liquid sauce and setting the aromatic solids aside for another use. Set the sauce aside for serving. This makes about 150 ml sauce, which may be more than the rolls need.

   Uses Cooked sauce and aromatic solids

   
5. 5

   Step 5: Mix the 100 g rice flour, 50 g wheat starch, ¼ tsp salt and the batter’s 1 tsp oil in a bowl. Stir in one third of the weighed 350 g room-temperature batter water until smooth, then stir in the remaining two thirds to make a thin, lump-free batter. Leave it to rest briefly while preparing your chosen fillings, until trapped bubbles subside.

   Uses 100 g rice flour · 50 g wheat starch · ¼ teaspoon salt · 1 tsp neutral cooking oil for the batter · 350 g room-temperature water for the batter, weighed

   
6. 6

   Step 6: Prepare only the fillings you want: finely chop scallions, have dried shrimp already rehydrated, thinly slice ready cooked Char Siu pork, or shell and devein raw shrimp. You may make plain rolls or combine the scallion and ready filling options. Keep the raw-shrimp route separate because it has a different steaming sequence. Keep pork and shrimp refrigerated until needed.

   Uses Optional finely chopped scallions for filling · Optional dried shrimp, already rehydrated, for filling · Optional ready cooked Char Siu pork, thinly sliced, for filling · Optional raw shrimp, shelled and deveined, for the shrimp-filling route

7. 7

   Step 7: Use a small, lightweight tray that fits your steamer; an 18 × 18 cm tray works for this batch. Brush a very thin layer of the separate brushing oil over its surface before each roll, even if the tray is non-stick.

   Uses A little additional neutral cooking oil for brushing the tray before each roll

   
8. 8

   Step 8: Bring the separate steamer water to a full boil, with the tray supported above the water on a rack or in a steamer basket. Stir the rested batter thoroughly immediately before every pour because the starch settles. Pour only enough batter to cover the oiled tray in a thin layer, about 60 ml for an 18 × 18 cm tray.

   Uses Water for the steamer, replenished as needed · Thinly oiled tray · About 60 ml stirred batter for an 18 × 18 cm tray

   
9. 9

   Step 9: Plain or ready-filling route: leave the batter plain, or scatter your chosen scallions, rehydrated dried shrimp and/or ready cooked Char Siu pork over it. Cover and steam over medium heat for about 3 minutes above fully boiling water, without opening the lid. Bubbles should appear and the sheet should be set and cooked through; any cooked-pork filling should be thoroughly hot. Skip the next two raw-shrimp steps for this roll.

   Steam plain or ready-filled sheet · 3 minUses Thin batter layer in the tray · Chosen scallions and/or ready fillings only

   
10. 10

    Step 10: Raw-shrimp route only: use this instead of the plain or ready-filling route. Cover the tray of plain batter and steam above fully boiling water for 1 minute, until the batter begins to set. Do not add the raw shrimp yet.

    Set sheet before raw shrimp · 1 minUses Thin batter layer for the raw-shrimp route

11. 11

    Step 11: Place your prepared raw shrimp over the partly set sheet, cover and steam for another 2 minutes. The shrimp should be pearly and opaque throughout and cooked through, and the sheet should be set. Continue steaming if needed. This is the second part of the three-minute raw-shrimp route.

    Steam shrimp on set sheet · 2 minUses Partly set sheet for shrimp filling · Prepared raw shrimp only

12. 12

    Step 12: After completing whichever one filling route you chose, uncover carefully and lift out the hot tray. Let the cooked sheet cool for about 1 minute before rolling, so it is less sticky.

    Cool sheet before rolling · 1 minUses Cooked plain or ready-filled sheet, if that route was chosen · Cooked shrimp-filled sheet, if that route was chosen

13. 13

    Step 13: Use a straight-edged scraper or spatula to loosen the cooled sheet from one end and roll it gently towards the other end. Repeat the thin oiling, batter stirring, pouring and selected steaming route with the remaining batter. This batch makes about six rolls with an 18 × 18 cm tray; the number depends on how thinly you pour. If using two trays, rotate them so one steams while the other sheet cools and is rolled.

    Uses Cooled cooked sheet · Remaining rice-noodle batter · More chosen filling, only as needed · A little additional neutral cooking oil for brushing the tray before each roll · Water for the steamer, replenished as needed

    
14. 14

    Step 14: Transfer the cooked rolls to a serving plate and cut them into bite-sized pieces with the scraper. Spoon over as much strained sauce as you like, or serve it separately for dipping. Add toasted sesame seeds only if using them. Refrigerate any unused sauce promptly.

    Uses Completed rice noodle rolls · Strained sauce as desired for the rolls or dipping · Optional toasted sesame seeds for serving