Char Siu Rice Noodle Rolls with Sweet Soy

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Silky sheet-steamed rice noodle rolls wrapped around barbecue pork and finished with a warm sweet soy sauce — the Cantonese barbecue-shop classic, made at home. The batter is the whole technique: a thin rice-flour slurry poured into an oiled metal pan and steamed for two minutes until it sets into a translucent sheet. Buy char siu from a Chinese barbecue counter (or use leftover roast pork) and the work is cut in half.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup white rice flour (150 g), not glutinous/sweet rice flour
• 3 tbsp tapioca starch (25 g)
• 2 tbsp cornstarch (20 g)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 1/4 cup cool water (540 ml)
• 1 tbsp neutral oil, plus more for greasing the pan

• 10 oz store-bought char siu (Chinese barbecue pork), thinly sliced then cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, optional

• 1/3 cup water
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tsp oyster sauce
• 3 slice fresh ginger, smashed
• 1 scallion, white part, smashed
• 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil

Instructions

1. Make the batter first so it can rest: whisk the rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch and salt in a bowl or 4-cup measuring pitcher. Pour in the water in a steady stream while whisking until completely smooth with no lumps, then whisk in 1 tablespoon neutral oil. Let it sit 20 minutes. It should be as thin as heavy cream — if it coats a spoon thickly, whisk in 2 more tablespoons water.
2. Set up the steamer: place a round rack or a ring of crumpled foil in the bottom of a large 12- to 14-inch wok, deep skillet or wide stockpot with a lid. Add 1 1/2 inches of water and bring to a hard boil over high heat. You want an 8-inch square or 8-inch round metal cake pan (light-colored aluminum is ideal) that sits on the rack with at least 1/2 inch of clearance around it and under the lid. Keep a kettle of hot water nearby to top up.
3. Make the sauce while the water heats: combine the water, light soy, dark soy, sugar, oyster sauce, ginger and smashed scallion white in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-low for 5 minutes, then remove from heat, stir in the sesame oil, and discard the ginger and scallion. Keep warm.
4. Brush the metal pan generously with neutral oil, including the corners. Whisk the batter well — the starch settles fast and every single pour needs a re-whisk or your first rolls will be thick and the last ones will tear. Ladle in about 1/3 cup batter and tilt the pan so it coats the bottom in a thin, even layer roughly 1/16 to 1/8 inch deep. Pour off any excess.
5. Scatter a small handful of char siu strips and a pinch of sliced scallion over the batter. Set the pan on the rack, cover, and steam over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes: the sheet is done when it turns translucent, looks slightly wrinkled or bubbled, and no milky white patches remain.
6. Lift the pan out with tongs or oven mitts and set it on a rack or folded towel for 1 minute — a 60-second rest firms the sheet and is the difference between a clean roll and a torn one. Meanwhile, oil a second pan and start the next sheet if you have one, so the steamer never sits idle.
7. Brush the surface of the sheet very lightly with oil. Using a thin metal bench scraper or offset spatula, loosen one edge and roll the sheet up on itself into a loose cylinder about 1 1/2 inches thick, then slide it onto an oiled platter and cut it in half crosswise. Don't roll it tight — the airy folds are what make cheung fun feel silky.
8. Re-oil the pan and repeat with the remaining batter, whisking before each pour and topping up the steamer water with hot water as needed. You should get 7 to 9 rolls. Keep finished rolls loosely covered with foil; they stay pleasantly soft for about 20 minutes.
9. To serve, pour the warm sweet soy sauce over and around the rolls, then shower with the remaining scallions, sesame seeds and cilantro. Serve immediately, while the noodles are warm and slippery — they firm up as they cool.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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