Ha Cheung Recipes

HA CHEUNG

Steps:

• Whisk the rice flour and tapioca starch in a medium bowl. Slowly add 1 ¼ 1 1/2 cups room temperature water, whisking continuously, until a smooth yet loose mixture forms. Try to break up any little lumps and be sure to mix in any flour on the sides of the bowl. Let sit for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the soy sauce, sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan over low heat, whisking occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Stir in the sesame oil. Set aside.
• Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and transfer to a bowl. Add a generous pinch of salt and white pepper. Toss until fully combined. Set aside.
• Set a steamer rack in a large wok or wide pot and fill with water up to the rack, about 2 inches. Bring to a full boil over high heat with the lid on.
• Generously grease two 8-inch nonstick round metal cake pans with vegetable oil, about 2 teaspoons. Set one aside. Give the batter a nice whisk to make sure it is fully combined. You will have to do this each time before making a batch. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the prepared cake pan. It will not fully coat the bottom of the pan.
• Adjust the heat under the wok to medium high, carefully remove the lid and place the pan on the rack. Cover and let steam for 15 seconds. Remove the lid again and move the pan around to try to coat the bottom as much as possible; the batter should be slightly set but still loose enough to flow. Cover again and let steam for another 15 seconds. Remove the lid, lay 4 shrimp directly in the center, creating a line down the middle. Let steam for another 90 seconds; the shrimp should be pink and cooked through. Remove the lid and, using oven mitts, remove the pan to a trivet. Let sit for 30 seconds.
• Using a silicone or plastic bench scraper or spatula, cut the rice noodle in half, creating 2 semicircles with 2 shrimp on each side. Focusing on one rice noodle semicircle at a time, gently fold over one of the sides to cover the shrimp completely. Fold the remaining side directly on top, tucking the flap under the roll to hide the seam. Repeat with the remaining semicircle. Carefully transfer the rolls to a dinner plate. Repeat with the reserved prepared cake pan.
• Continue with the remaining batter and shrimp, whisking the batter each time and using a clean paper towel to wipe down the pans before greasing them with vegetable oil. Otherwise, any residual batter could cause a rip. Drizzle half of the sweet soy mixture all over the rolls and serve the rest on the side.

BEEF CHEUNG FUN

Steps:

• For the rice noodles and dipping sauce: Whisk the rice flour and tapioca starch in a medium bowl. Slowly add 1 1/2 cups room temperature water, whisking continuously, until a smooth yet loose mixture forms. Try to break up any little lumps and be sure to mix in any flour on the sides of the bowl. Let sit for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the soy sauce, sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan over low heat, whisking occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Stir in the sesame oil. Set aside.
• For the beef filling: Add the beef, cornstarch, scallion, soy sauce, sesame oil, baking soda, sugar, white pepper and 2 tablespoons cold water to a food processor. Process on low, stopping to scrape down the sides from time to time, until the mixture is pale pink with a gummy texture, about 2 minutes. Generously oil your hands and scoop out a heaping teaspoon of the beef mixture. Flatten in your palms to form a 3-inch piece of beef filling. Lay on a greased plate. Repeat to make 10 pieces.
• Set a steamer rack in a large wok or wide pot and fill with water up to the rack, about 2 inches. Bring to a full boil over high heat with the lid on.
• Generously grease two 8-inch nonstick round metal cake pans with vegetable oil, about 2 teaspoons. Set one aside. Give the batter a nice whisk to make sure it is fully combined. You will have to do this each time before making a batch. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the prepared cake pan. It will not fully coat the bottom of the pan.
• Adjust the heat under the wok to medium high, carefully remove the lid and place the pan on the rack. Cover and let steam for 15 seconds. Remove the lid again and move the pan around to try to coat the bottom as much as possible; the batter should be slightly set but still loose enough to flow. Cover again and let steam for another 15 seconds. Remove the lid, lay 2 pieces of the beef filling directly in the center, creating a line down the middle. Let steam for another 90 seconds. Remove the lid and, using oven mitts, remove the pan to a trivet. Let sit for 30 seconds.
• Using a silicone or plastic bench scraper or spatula, cut the rice noodle in half, creating 2 semicircles with a piece of beef filling on each side. Focusing on one rice noodle semicircle at a time, gently fold over one of the sides to cover the beef completely. Fold the remaining side directly on top, tucking the flap under the roll to hide the seam. Repeat with the remaining semicircle. Carefully transfer to a dinner plate. Repeat with the reserved prepared cake pan
• Continue with the remaining batter and beef filling, whisking the batter each time and using a clean paper towel to wipe down the pans before greasing them with vegetable oil. Otherwise, any residual batter could cause a rip. Drizzle half of the sweet soy mixture all over the rolls and serve the rest on the side.

SHRIMP CHEUNG FUN (RICE ROLLS)

Steps:

• Rice rolls:
• Sift the rice flour, tapioca starch, wheat starch, potato starch, and salt into a large bowl. Mix in the lukewarm water, stirring until a consistency of very thin glue is reached.
• When ready to cook, mix again until there are no clumps. Using a brush, generously oil a rimmed eighth sheet pan. Using a ladle, pour just as much batter in the pan as needed to form a thin, even layer. (The thinner you can keep your roll, the better.) Put 3 medium to large or 6 small shrimp onto each roll, placing them 1 inch from one narrow edge.
• Set up a 12-inch steamer: Fill a wok with enough water to come up to the lower rim of a steamer but not so much the waterline is above the food bed. (If you do want to DIY it, just use a plate in a pot. Fill a pot with ½ an inch of water. Then make a sort of tripod out of tinfoil by forming three golf ball- sized balls and placing them in the bottom of the pot, making sure their tops rest above the water- line. Rest the plate on the tinfoil, cover, and steam.) Bring water to a boil.
• Place the sheet pan in the steamer, cover, and steam for 6 minutes, or until you see bubbles on top of the mixture. If you need more water- water tends to evaporate-add boiling, not cold, water so as not to stop the steaming.
• Carefully remove the sheet pan from the steamer and set on a work surface (it will be hot, so be prudent). Let cool for a minute or so. Then, using a bench scraper, start rolling the rice roll from the top of the pan away from you until folded into a loose roll. Cut in half widthwise.
• Brush the pan with oil again and repeat until you've used up all the batter.
• When ready to serve, briefly re-steam the rolls for 1 to 2 minutes until hot.
• Sweet dipping sauce:
• Heat a small saucepan to medium-low heat and add all ingredients. Stir until sugar and chicken powder are dissolved. Spoon atop rice rolls.