Homemade Cheung Fun (Rice Noodle Rolls)
Hooray! We finally have a homemade cheung fun recipe on the blog! I’ve been working on this recipe on and off for 2 years. It’s a simple recipe but it’s taken me a long time to work out the kinks because I wasn’t sure if anyone wanted to go through the whole process of steaming individual sheets of rice noodles. But after a year of pandemic living and not having easy access to fresh cheung fun, now seemed like a great time for chewy, bouncy rice noodle rolls!
Oh, and you know what else we finally got?! A pup! I can’t wait to introduce you to Olive! We adopted her over the weekend and will officially be taking her home in a few days! We are so excited and love her so much already.
Anyways, back to cheung fun (that would have been a cute dog name too!). Cheung fun are rolled up bundles of steamed rice noodles. They are just the best! They can either be served stuffed or unstuffed. One of my favorite dishes at dim sum is cheung fun stuff with shrimp and a drizzle of sweet soy sauce! My family will order at least 6 plates of that stuff because it’s everyone’s favorite. BBQ, mushrooms, dried shrimp and scallops, and scrambled eggs are all popular ingredients to stuff them with!
Simple unstuffed cheung fun is also humbly delicious. It takes on sauce so well. This is one of my favorite ways to eat them! You also can’t go wrong tossing them with your favorite chili oil.
Rice noodle batter
I mentioned earlier that the recipe is quite easy. The batter consists of rice flour, tapioca starch, salt, and water. You whisk it all up until it’s smooth and that’s it! Rice flour is the bulk of the batter, but a little tapioca starch gives the steamed noodles their classic bounce and chewiness. Make sure to give the batter a whisk in-between each steaming session because the rice flour and starch in the batter has a tendency to settle!
Setting up your steaming apparatus
Having the right steaming set up is honestly the hardest part of this whole process. You could purchase one of these monster things, but I have zero room in my house to even keep something like this so I just made my own set up using the equipment I already have.
To build your own steaming set up, here’s what you’ll need:
1/8th rimmed sheet pans or small/medium rimmed plates. I love my mini sheet pans for making cheung fun because they are flat, shallow, and fit well in my steamer. However you can use a plate, preferably something with a rim or dips down slightly to keep the batter in.
A wide-mouth and semi-deep braiser or frying pan with a fitted lid. This will be your steamer. The sheet pans or plates need to be small enough to fit inside of your steaming vessel. A fitted lid is important because it will keep the steam securely trapped inside. You will want to fill this up with about 1-inch of water. I have a little trivet I set in the water so the pans/plate can sit on something right above the water.
A flat bench scraper. This is so handy when it comes time to rolling up the rice noodle sheets. If you don’t have you can also use a spatula or anything that has a thin flat edge to get underneath the rice noodle roll.
Rice Noodle Roll Best Practices
Make sure to lightly grease the sheet pans or plates with oil so the rice noodles don’t stick.
The rice noodles roll up and release from the pans easier after they have had a minute cool.
The whole process goes by much quicker if you have 2 to 3 pans or plates to steam with.
Adjust the amount of batter based on what surface you use to steam, but normally 1/4 to 1/3 cup will do just fine.
leftover cheung fun
If you want to make a big batch of cheung fun and save them for later, just stack the rolls up on a plate and tightly wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 4 days. Once they are chilled the noodles will firm up. To soften the noodles again, you can resteam for a few minutes or microwave for 2 to 5 minutes while covered with a damp paper towel. They will be as good as new!
homemade cheung fun
(rice noodle rolls)
makes 8 to 10 rolls (serves 2)
materials;
130g (1 cup) rice flour, finely ground
40g (1/4 cup) tapioca starch
1/4 tsp salt
454g (2 cups) water
neutral oil for brushing
steps:
Prepare steamer set up and bring water to a strong simmer.
In a medium bowl, whisk to combine rice flour, tapioca starch, salt and water.
Lightly grease 1/8th rimmed sheet pans or small rimmed plates (that fit in your steamer) with oil. Give the batter a quick mix because the rice flour tends to settle. Pour about 1/4 cup (will have to adjust based what you’re using to steam the sheets) of batter into the prepared sheet pans and spread into an even layer. Steam for 2 minutes.
Remove from the steamer and allow to cool for 2 minutes. While cooling, prepare another sheet for steaming, making sure to mix the batter to prevent settling. To roll up the rice noodle sheet, use a bench scraper or spatula to get under one edge of the noodle sheet. Gently release the noodle from the pan and continue to roll up the sheet into a rope. Place rice noodle roll on a plate and repeat with remaining batter.
Serve the rice noodle rolls however you like! Ideas below:
With dark or sweet soy drizzled over the top.
Tossed in oyster sauce and your favorite chili oil
Pan fried and topped with sesame paste/tahini and hoisin