Char Siu
Cantonese roast pork made in a home oven or air fryer, with a sticky, caramelised edge and no barbecue pit.
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Cheung Fun Rice Rolls
Silky steamed rice sheets rolled around beef, char siu or shrimp, cut into segments and dressed with a boiled soy and oyster sauce — Cantonese cheung fun, made on a flat steaming tray. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 肠粉, report 105.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 肠粉_105.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 10 minutesCook: 5 minutesTotal: 15 minutesServings: 2Difficulty: MediumRegion: GuangdongFlavour: Silky rice sheets, savoury soy-based sauce
Why this works
Cheung fun is a dish of thinness: the batter must be spread no thicker than two millimetres on an oiled tray, or the sheet heats unevenly and the filling inside never reaches temperature. The sequence is two steams, not one — one minute for the bare sheet until it turns transparent and bubbles, then the filling laid on and two more minutes, so the raw beef or shrimp cooks through inside the sheet rather than staying raw in the middle. The sauce is boiled for at least thirty seconds before it touches the rolls, which both blends it and makes it safe, and its sugar-to-soy ratio of 1:3 keeps it savoury rather than sweet. Roll with a scraper the moment the tray leaves the steamer, while the sheet is still pliable; wait a minute and it sets stiff and cracks instead of rolling. Eat them hot, with extra sauce on the side for anyone who likes their rolls wetter rather than just glossed.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheung fun flour mix | 3.5 oz | 100 g | Mixed with 200 ml water and rested 5 minutes to remove bubbles. Plain rice flour plus tapioca starch (80 g + 20 g) is a workable substitute (adaptation). |
| Water, for the batter | About ¾ cup | 200 ml | — |
| Minced beef | 1.8 oz | 50 g | Marinated 5 minutes in light soy, cooking wine and starch. Choose one filling, or mix — the report gives beef, char siu and shrimp as options. |
| Char siu, sliced thin | 1 oz | 30 g | Already cooked; add with the other fillings or on its own. |
| Shrimp, deveined | 1 oz | 30 g | Cleaned and deveined. |
| Light soy sauce, for the sauce | 1 tbsp | 15 ml | — |
| Oyster sauce | 2 tsp | 10 ml | — |
| Sugar, for the sauce | 1 tsp | 5 g | Sugar to soy 1:3, per the report. |
| Water, for the sauce | 3½ tbsp | 50 ml | — |
| Neutral oil, for brushing the tray | 1 tsp | 5 ml | — |
| Light soy sauce, cooking wine and starch, for marinating the beef | A splash each | A splash each | Report gives no quantities; a teaspoon of each is the home adaptation. |
Equipment
- Flat steaming tray or a rimmed baking sheet that fits your steamer — a rectangular tray works (adaptation)
- Steamer large enough for the tray
- Scraper or spatula for rolling
Steps
- Mix the batter and fillings. Stir the cheung fun flour with 200 ml water until smooth and rest 5 minutes to remove bubbles. Marinate the minced beef 5 minutes in light soy, cooking wine and starch. Slice the char siu thin; clean and devein the shrimp.
- Steam the sheet. Brush the tray thinly with oil and pour in about 80 ml batter, spreading it to a layer no thicker than 2 mm. Steam on high heat for 1 minute until transparent and bubbling, then remove.
- Add filling and steam again. Lay about 15 g filling on the sheet — beef, shrimp, char siu, or a mix — return to the steamer and steam on high heat for 2 minutes more. Total steaming must be at least 3 minutes, so raw beef and shrimp reach at least 75 °C / 167 °F throughout; check with a thermometer if unsure.
- Roll, cut and sauce. Remove the tray and roll the sheet up at once with a scraper while still pliable. Cut into segments about 4 cm long. For the sauce, boil the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and 50 ml water for at least 30 seconds, then pour over the rolls and serve immediately, kept hot (at least 60 °C / 140 °F).
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Technique: two millimetres, two steams, roll at once
Thickness is the control point that makes everything else work: a sheet thicker than two millimetres insulates its filling, so the beef or shrimp inside stays under temperature while the outside overcooks. Pour less batter than feels right — eighty millilitres on a standard tray is plenty — and tilt the tray to spread it before it sets. If the roll cracks, it cooled before rolling; if it sticks, the tray was under-oiled or the sheet was under-steamed.
Variations
- Plain rolls: steam sheets with no filling and serve with the same sauce (adaptation).
- Egg rolls: pour a beaten egg over the sheet before the second steam (adaptation).
Frequently asked questions
What flour do I buy?
Cheung fun flour mix from an Asian grocery. In a pinch, 80 g rice flour plus 20 g tapioca starch with the same water works.
Why did my filling stay raw?
Usually the sheet was thicker than 2 mm, or the second steam was shorter than two minutes. Keep the sheet thin and the total steam at three minutes.
Why did my roll crack?
It cooled before rolling. Roll the moment the tray leaves the steamer, while the sheet is still soft.
Storage and freezing
Best eaten fresh and hot; the sheets firm up as they cool. Leftovers keep 1 day refrigerated; re-steam 2 minutes until steaming hot. Do not hold finished rolls longer than 2 hours at serving temperature — discard after that, per the report. Do not freeze.
Cheung Fun Rice Rolls — Recipe Card
Silky steamed rice rolls with beef, char siu or shrimp and a boiled soy sauce.
Prep: 10 minutesCook: 5 minutesTotal: 15 minutesServings: 2
Ingredients: 100 g cheung fun flour; 200 ml water; 50 g minced beef; 30 g char siu; 30 g shrimp; sauce: 15 ml soy sauce, 10 ml oyster sauce, 5 g sugar, 50 ml water; 5 ml oil for the tray; marinade: a splash each of soy, wine and starch.
Steps: 1) Mix batter, rest 5 minutes; prepare fillings. 2) Steam 80 ml batter 1 minute until transparent. 3) Add 15 g filling, steam 2 minutes more. 4) Roll at once, cut 4 cm, pour over boiled sauce.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 肠粉 (data/reports/105.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. The rice-flour substitute, the marinade quantities and the tray substitute are adaptations and are labelled as such. Original poster image: clouchef.com (肠粉_105.jpeg).