Cheung Fun

Cheung fun (腸粉) or rice noodle roll is a classic dim sum dish. This cheung fun recipe is very simple and easy to make at home. Also, enjoy this soft and smooth without filling rice noodle rolls recipe! This cheung fun recipe is great to go with soy sauce noodles and congee which is a common Cantonese breakfast. 

Love Asian food? Check out these dim sum custard bun, siu mai, lo bak go, lo mai gai, taro buns, pan fried buns, scallion pancake, pan fried dumpling recipes. 

What is cheung fun (腸粉) ?

Cheung fun or cheung fan (腸粉) is also called rice noodle roll or steamed rice roll. It is a classic and popular Cantonese dish from southern China and Hong Kong. Also, it is a type of steamed rice noodle roll typically served as a breakfast, snack, small meal or dim sum item in Chinese restaurants. 

The name "cheung fun" is Cantonese and it translates to "long rice noodle" which describes its appearance. It is because cheung fun is made from rice flour batter. The batter is poured onto a cloth stretched over a steamer. As the batter cooks, it forms a delicate, thin and slightly translucent sheet of rice noodle. Then, roll up and cut into bite sized pieces. Or, some varieties will add filling like shrimp, beef, vegetables, or other ingredients on the cooked noodle sheets and roll up. 

The dipping sauce for cheung fun is usually soy sauce, peanut sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic chili sauce, chili oil and XO sauce to enhance the flavors. You can choose and add sauce according to your preferences. 

Variations of cheung fun:

Cheung fun is a general term for rice noodle rolls. It is a versatile dish and there are many different variations because the filling ingredients can be different and according to personal preferences. Here are the most common ones:

Plain cheung fun:

It is the classic and basic version of steamed rice noodle rolls without any fillings. Also, it is often served with a dipping sauce like soy sauce, hoisin sauce and peanut sauce. 

Char siu cheung fun:

The rice noodle rolls are filled with char siu, Chinese barbecue pork. The sweet and savory flavor of the pork complements so well with the soft rice noodle.

Shrimp cheung fun:

These rolls are filled with shrimp which gives the dish an umami flavor.

Scallop cheung fun:

It is a luxurious version in which the filling is scallop. It offers a delicate, seafood and umami flavor.

Beef cheung fun:

The filling uses marinated minced beef to make rice noodle rolls. 

Vegetarian cheung fun:

The rice noodle rolls filled with vegetables like mushrooms, carrots and other stir fry greens to make vegetarian’s version of rice noodle rolls. 

Ja leung (炸兩):

It is filled with Chinese doughnuts (youtiao) and rolled up with the rice noodle roll which adds a crispy texture.

Classic and basic steamed rice noodle rolls:

This cheung fun recipe is a classic and unique Hong Kong style chee cheong fun, the plain cheung fun. The steamed rice noodle rolls without any fillings. It is simple and easy yet delicious and tasty, especially served with a dipping sauce like soy sauce, hoisin sauce and peanut sauce to bring the plain chee cheong fun to an extra level, the sweet, savory, nutty and creamy flavor.

What is chee cheong fun (豬腸粉)?

Chee cheong fun (豬腸粉) is another name for cheung fun (腸粉) in Cantonese. Both terms refer to the same type of steamed rice noodle rolls.

The word "Chee cheong fun" (豬腸粉) literally translates to "Pig intestine noodle”. However, don't be misled by the name! The dish does not contain any pig intestines. The name might be confusing to non Cantonese speakers. Cantonese people call it chee cheong fun because it is simply a reflection of the noodle's appearance when the sheet rice noodles are rolled up and resemble the shape of a pig's intestine.

How to make dim sum steamed rice noodle rolls?

In a commercial restaurant setting, flour mixture is poured into a special flat pan with holes, similar to a flat colander, that are lined with a steam permeable cloth. Then, flour mixture steam in the pan from the bottom and produce rectangle rice noodle sheets. The noodles are very thin and it has a gummy texture.

Once the flour mixture is set, the entire freshly steamed noodle forms onto the cloth. Therefore, it needs to be scraped off with a scraper. After that, usually put it on a metal table surface and roll it. 

However, in this homemade cheung fun recipe, we use a cake pan or tray to make it and roll them afterwards. Some like to use cheung fun steamers.

What are the ingredients in plain cheung fun?

The plain rice noodle rolls can be as simple as mainly using rice flour and water. In this plain cheung fun recipe, I used rice flour, corn starch, tapioca starch, wheat starch and water.

What kind of sauce do you add for cheung fun?

Rice noodle rolls do not have flavor. In fact, the flavor mainly comes from the sauce. Normally, rice noodle rolls are served with sweetened soy sauce and hoisin sauce. Some people like to add peanut butter sauce, curry sauce from fish ball and radish, chili sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds as well. 

How long to steam cheung fun?

The steaming time for cheung fun can vary depending on the thickness of the rice noodle batter and the specific equipment you use. But, the average steaming time for traditional cheung fun with filling is approximately 5 to 7 minutes. This plain cheung fun without filling, I steamed it for 2 minutes. 

Cooking tips for rice noodle rolls: 

• Since we don’t have commercial style steamers to make cheung fun at home. The simplest way to make it is to use a cake pan. A rectangle or square cake pan is ideal. if you don’t have it, then using a regular circle one works fine too. 
• Make sure you don’t put too much flour mixture into the pan. This is because you want to make the rice noodles very thin. When it rolls up, it’s not too thick and big.
• Every time before pouring the mixture into the cake pan for steaming, make sure to mix the flour mixture very well.
• I use a 3 layers stainless steel steamer that can steam 3 rolls at the same time and save time.

FAQs:

Instructions for how to make homemade cheung fun:

Batter preparation: 

1. Put 1 cup of rice flour, 1 teaspoon of  tapioca starch, 1 teaspoon of wheat starch and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch into a bowl. 

2. After that, pour 2 cups & 3 teaspoons of water into the bowl. Mix and stir it well. 

3. Next, brush some vegetable oil on a tray. Then, pour some rice flour mixture from step 2 into the tray. (Every time before pouring the mixture into the cake pan for steaming, make sure to mix the flour mixture very well.)

Cooking:

4. Then, steam it for 2 minutes after water is boiling. Repeat steps 2-4 a few times. It yields around 8 rice noodle rolls if you use the same size of the tray. 

Peanut sauce:

5. In the meanwhile, put ½ tablespoon of peanut butter in a container and add 1 tablespoon of water. (Some people like to add oil, but my purpose is to loosen up and make it a little bit liquid. If you have peanut allergies. You can skip peanut butter sauce or use sesame sauce.)

6. Mix it very well until peanut butter is a little bit liquid. 

Roll up:

7. When the rice flour is done, let it cool down a little bit. 

8. Then, use a spatula to scrape the side. And, roll the rice noodle sheet up. 

9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 a few times. If you use the same size of the tray, you can make around 8 rolls. The following, use the spatula to cut rice noodle rolls into pieces. 

10. Lastly, add ½ tablespoon of sesame oil, ½ tablespoon of soy sauce, 1.5 tablespoons of hoisin sauce, some peanut sauce and sprinkle sesame seeds. (You can adjust the amount of sauce to your taste.)

Enjoy this homemade smooth and soft dim sum rice noodle roll or cheung fun recipe! Also, check out these almond jello, Asian shaved ice, wonton noodle soup, lychee slush, chicken satay, cashew shrimp and boiled dumpling recipes.

You May Also Like These Recipes:

• BEEF CHOW FUN (乾炒牛河)
• BRAISED BEEF HO FUN NOODLE SOUP (牛腩河)
• CHICKEN YI MEIN NOODLES
• CRISPY PAN FRIED NOODLES

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