We’ve made this little dim sum treat before, once using fresh shrimp fillling and once using the dried shrimp and spring onions. This version is a cheung fun rice roll twist that I discovered online and had to try as I love, love, love Chinese dried pork floss. Oh it was as good as I hoped it would be, that deliciously intense meaty filling packed the slightest crunch, contrasting wonderfully with the slippery rice sheet wrapping.
These Pork Floss Cheung Fun rice rolls 肉鬆腸粉 are simple to make once you get the trick of making the rather delicate rice wrapping. But no worries, we’ll show you how to do it!
Chinese pork floss 豬肉鬆 has got to one of my favorite foods. Whenever I see it peeking out of a bun or pastry I’m like, that one, that’s the one that I want! It’s deliciously savory, the pork having been cooked with seasonings before being dried and processed into floss. It’s light and fluffy when you first bite into it, with a slight crunch. As you chew on it the floss releases more and more savory flavor. Yummilicious indeed!
Pssst…there’s also fish floss 魚肉鬆 but it’s harder to find, you got to look for it. It’s tastes pretty similar to the pork floss.
To make the rice roll sheet to snuggle the yummy pork floss in you will start with rice flour, two types of starches, a wee bit of oil and salt. Plus water, of course.
Your wet batter is ready to go. Note that the starches will settle pretty quickly to the bottom so you gotta remember to mix the batter each time you make a roll.
The set up for making the rice roll at home requires a metal tray, a steamer rack trivet and a steamer large enough to hold the metal tray inside it. We steamed in our wok which works wonderfully for steaming large dishes as the wok is very wide and has a domed cover.
It’s necessary to first oil your steaming tray. Very important to ensure that your beautiful rice sheet doesn’t end up sticking to the tray! Once the steamer is steaming, the rice batter is scooped onto the tray. As the batter is wet and you’ve just oiled the tray the batter will kinda just glump about. You have to use a brush and encourage the batter into all areas of the tray. As the batter heats up you will find that it starts to stick where you want it to.
Do note that the amount of batter you use will determine the ultimate thickness of the rice roll. More batter means thicker rolls that will fold flat and are a bit more sturdy. Less batter means thinner, more delicate rolls that will scrunch up when folded but are more slurpable.
See how the batter has now covered that whole of the metal tray? It’s time to cover the steamer and let the rice roll cook.
Once the roll is completely cooked (poke with a chopstick to check) remove from steamer and add the fluffy pork floss. I like to add ALOT of floss, lol.
Time to fold! Grab an oiled scraper or a spatula and slide under the rice sheet and fold. Repeat until all folded. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look neat, trust me it’s still gonna be delicious.
With the pork floss rolled into the rice sheet, we finally divide the roll into two (more manageable sizes) and plate up with a sprinkle of pork floss and a splash of sweetened soy sauce. Get ready for the savory yummiliciousness of pork floss encased in silky rice roll, a real treat for pork floss fans and beyond!
Pork Floss Cheung Fun
Sauce
肉鬆腸粉
(makes 8 rolls). Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 5 mins each
Ingredients:
Rice rolls
- 10" by 7" shallow metal tray
- 1/4 cup rice flour, 40g
- 2 1/2 tbsp potato starch, 30g
- 1 1/4 tbsp tapioca starch, 10g
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups water, 300 ml
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 cup pork floss
- 1 1/2 tbsp oil for brushing tray and scraper
Sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp water
Directions:
Make the sauce: Add soy sauce, sugar and water to pot. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the sugar is melted. Let the sauce cool.
Make the cheung fun batter: Add rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch and salt to a mixing bowl. Whisk. Add water and mix. Lastly add the oil and mix.
Prepare the steamer: Add steam trivet to a pot large enough to hold steaming tray inside. Add steaming tray on top of the trivet and then add 1 to 2 inches of water to pot. Heat until boiling, then turn heat down to a simmer. Add 1/2 tsp oil to tray and brush to coat the plate and the sides.
Note: Each cheung fun should have a clean and dry tray that is preheated in steamer before adding oil.
Make and steam cheung fun: Mix the batter thoroughly. You will need to do this each time as the starch settles to the bottom quite quickly. Add 3-4 tbsp of batter to the oiled and heated tray. (3 tbsp= thinner, 4 tbsp=thicker, but note that this amount should be adjusted to the size of your tray.) Use a brush to brush the batter until it completely covers the tray.
Add the lid and let steam over high heat for 5-7 mins for 3 tbsp of batter and 8-10 mins for 4 tbsp of batter. Check if ready by testing the rice sheet with a gentle poke from a chopstick. If the chopstick goes through let cook for another minute.
Fold cheung fun: When done remove tray from heat. Lay down a line of pork floss on the rice sheet, around 2 tbsp, 1 1/2 inch from one side. Starting from that edge use a well oiled scraper (I used a bread scraper) and gently scrape, lift and fold over the pork floss. This is your first rollover. Repeat until you reach the other side. Slice roll in half and lift onto serving plate. Sprinkle with some pork floss and spoon some sauce around the cheung fun before serving. Enjoy!
Tip: If you have leftover batter you can save it in the fridge for up to two weeks or so. To use just make sure to stir the starch up completely.
Delectable Dim Sum at The Hong Kong Cookery:
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