Hong Kong cheung fun

You’ll find this street snack among little bowls of curry fish balls and sticks stacked with siu mai in Hong Kong’s busy nightlife districts.

Hong Kong is a bustling wonderland of food, from fine dining overlooking the harbour to quick roadside snacks by the ladies market. This rice noodle roll dish called cheung fen is a staple of the city's casual cuisine.

What is cheung fen?

Cheung fen varies a lot depending on which country you order it in. In mainland China, it can be found as a soft steamed rice noodle roll filled with egg, meat or seafood and topped with salty-sweet soy sauce. In Malaysia and Singapore it's known as chee cheong fun and served with fish cakes, tofu, hoisin and chilli sauce.

For Hong Kong locals it's tightly rolled rice noodles, typically served with hoisin-soy sauce and a peanut or sesame paste. The sauces are surprisingly simple to make at home and will keep in the fridge for weeks.

Pre-made rice noodles are easily found at Asian supermarkets in Australia. I find them most commonly at Vietnamese grocers either by the checkout or in the fridge section. If you have time you can make them yourself at home, but it's a labour of love.

For small portions (or for patient people) I developed this recipe for SBS Food to make them in the microwave.

Tips before you begin

• Trust the process! The peanut sauce might start to look awful and you may feel like it's not going to work, but it will come together and form a smooth paste, just be patient.
• Toast all your sesame seeds in a big batch, then store them for garnishes.
• If re-heating rice noodles in the microwave, cover them, then stand for a few minutes to disperse any hot patches. This will help create a more even texture.