Cheung Fun
Ingredients
- 1 cup (140g) rice flour (not glutinous)
- 2 tbsp (20g) tapioca starch
- 2 tbsp (16g) wheat starch
- 1.5 tsp neutral oil, plus more for brushing
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2.5 cups (590ml) cold water
- 8 oz (225g) head-on shrimp, peeled, deveined, finely chopped (reserve shells for stock)
- 3 stalks scallion, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp dried shrimp, soaked in warm water 10 min, drained, chopped
- 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
- 0.25 cup light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1.5 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp shrimp shell stock or chicken stock
- 0.5 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Whisk rice flour, tapioca starch, wheat starch, salt, and 1 tsp oil in a bowl. Slowly stream in the 2.5 cups cold water, whisking until completely smooth with no lumps. Rest the batter 20 minutes — this hydrates the starches and gives the finished noodle its bouncy snap.
- While the batter rests, toss chopped shrimp with Shaoxing wine, scallion whites, and dried shrimp. Set aside. Build a steamer: a wide pot with 1.5 inches of water, a rack, and a tight lid. Bring water to a rolling boil.
- Make the sweet soy: combine light soy, dark soy, sugar, and stock in a small saucepan. Simmer 4 minutes until syrupy, then finish with sesame oil off heat. The dark soy is non-negotiable here — it's where the lacquered color and caramel depth come from.
- Brush a 9×13 metal baking pan or rimmed sheet pan generously with oil. Whisk the rested batter (it separates fast), then ladle in about 0.5 cup, tilting to coat the bottom in an even thin layer. Scatter 2 tbsp of the shrimp mixture across the surface.
- Float the pan on the boiling water (or set on the steamer rack) and cover. Steam exactly 4 minutes — the batter goes from opaque white to translucent and the surface bubbles up. Pull the pan, run the bottom under cold water for 5 seconds to make the noodle release.
- Using a thin offset spatula or bench scraper, lift one edge of the steamed sheet and roll it into a loose log, jelly-roll style. Slice the log into 2-inch sections with an oiled knife. Repeat with remaining batter and filling — you should get four to five rolls total.
- Arrange rolls in a shallow bowl. Ladle the warm sweet soy generously over the top, scatter scallion greens and sesame seeds, and serve immediately. Cheung fun must be eaten hot — the texture turns waxy as it cools.
Inspired by Laurence Louie’s winning cheung fun. This is a plausible recreation, not the chef’s original recipe.