I love Chinese rice noodle rolls (chee cheong fun).  These are steamed and can have various fillings such as shrimp, Chinese BBQ pork, ground beef, or dried shrimp and green onions.  They are also delicious plain when served with the flavourful sweet sauce (teem cheong / timzheong) and sesame paste.  We order this a lot in Hong Kong restaurants, so I was ecstatic when I learned how easy it is to make.  I love making food from scratch to avoid the added preservatives and chemicals.  I’ve heard that the cheong fun sold in grocery stores (and used by the restaurants) contain a particularly harmful additive – borax.  (For cheong fun with shrimp, see here.  For cheong fun with dried shrimp and green onions, see here.)

Cheong Fun (Rice Noodle Roll) Recipe

makes 8 to 10 rice noodle rolls; adapted from Waitakere’s Redneck Kitchen (The video instruction here is very helpful.)

150 g rice flour

1 1/2 tbsp wheat starch

2 tbsp cornstarch

150 ml cold water

250 ml hot (boiling) water

1 tbsp vegetable oil plus more for greasing the pans

1/2 tsp salt

teem cheong (sweet sauce), recipe below

sesame paste (Note:  use the Asian type or substitute with tahini)

toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Whisk together the rice flour, wheat starch, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl.  Stir in the cold water and mix well.  Then stir in the hot water and mix well.  Add the oil and stir well until you have a smooth, thin batter.  Let the batter rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour (this is important or else your rolls will come out too sticky).

Set up your steaming equipment (see instructions here).  I set a rack in a wok of water.  Bring the water to a boil over high heat.  Meanwhile, prepare a bowl of cold water that’s large enough to put your pan in – this will be the cold water bath.  Then lightly grease as many non stick, round cake pans as you own (I use 9 inch round pans).  When the water is boiling, ladle enough batter into your cake pan to spread a thin layer across the bottom that reaches the edges of the pan.  Place the pan on the rack, cover the wok with the lid, and steam for 5 or 6 minutes over high heat.  Remove the tray from the steamer and set it in the cold water bath.  While it’s cooling, pour the batter into the next prepared pan and repeat this process.  You may need to re-grease your pans between uses.  When the steamed rice noodle is cool enough to handle, run a rubber spatula around the pan to release the edges of the rice noodle.  Then working from one end of the pan to the other, gently peel the rice noodle from the pan as you roll it.  Set the roll aside on a clean plate and repeat the process until you have used up all of the batter.  Using a sharp, lightly greased knife, cut the rolls into 1 inch long pieces.  Serve warm.  You can serve the sweet sauce (teem cheong) and sesame paste on the side for dipping or you can pour them over the cheong fun.  Garnish with sesame seeds.  Once cool, the rice noodle rolls can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.  Or they can be frozen.  Defrost before reheating in the steamer or in the microwave.

Sweet Sauce (Teem Cheong) Recipe

adapted from Waitakere’s Redneck Kitchen

3 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce (brand Lee Kum Kee)

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

4 tbsp water

Mix all of the ingredients together in a small sauce pot and cook over medium heat until slightly thickened.  Stir frequently to prevent burning.  Cool completely.  Pour onto warm chee cheong fun (steamed rice noodle rolls) or serve this sauce beside sesame paste for dipping.