Cheung Fun (肠粉), aka steamed rice noodle rolls, is a classic Cantonese dish that describes any dish that is made from rolled rice flour sheets. This can range from rolls with no filling, shrimp, minced beef, dried shrimp, char siu, or even you tiao (Chinese doughnuts)! They are a staple at any dim sum or yum cha spot, but in Canton and ha cheung they are also often found in small street cafes and stalls. They make a delicious breakfast or snack. This dish I’m teaching you today is one of my favorites, shrimp rice noodle rolls. The rice noodle sheet is wrapped around plump shrimp and doused in a signature sweet soy sauce. You can’t go wrong with this.
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Shrimp Rice Noodle Rolls (Shrimp Cheung Fun or “Ha Cheung”)
No exaggeration, having finished this Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll recipe or xiā cháng fěn in Mandarin (虾肠粉), I feel like I just finished a triathlon lasting many years, except all the pedaling (with whisks), running (around the stove) and swimming (in endless bowls of liquid rice mixtures) took place right here in our kitchen.
After a strenuous recipe-testing saga, I feel good about sharing this Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll recipe––one I’ve worked on for the past three years. Wish you all could have been there in our kitchen to witness the drama and excitement. Now, I feel a heavy weight has been lifted––I even took two days off from blog work afterwards as a reward to myself.
What are Shrimp Rice Noodle Rolls, or ha cheung?
Shrimp Rice Noodle Rolls, or “ha cheung” (Cantonese) are a dim sum classic, and consist of light rice noodles, or cheung fun, wrapped around plump shrimp (either whole or pureed), doused in a sweet soy sauce.
It’s always a favorite at dim sum restaurants, and I’m happy to have cracked the code on a recipe for the home cook.
Important Tips for Making Shrimp Rice Noodle Rolls
Pre-cooking the shrimp before adding them to the rice roll proved to be key, as the rice batter is so thin that the rice noodle has to be cooked before the shrimp can be placed on top.
I tested this recipe many times steaming the rice noodles directly in a pan, which resulted in a rough finish. After studying numerous restaurant videos to see their methods, I found that steaming the noodles on cloth is infinitely easier. I cut up a white cotton pillowcase and followed their steps. What a difference!
This recipe calls for mung bean starch, which is a rarely seen ingredient (and many rice noodle recipes don’t call for it). However, this starch is the main ingredient in glass noodles, and I think it adds a nice texture and chewiness.
The dry ingredients in the batter will settle to the bottom of the bowl, even after being well-mixed. It must be stirred up every time before being added to the pan to steam. This is VERY IMPORTANT!
The shrimp marinating steps will make your shrimp more plump and crunchy. Skip only if your shrimp is extremely fresh.
