Jyu Cheung Fan 豬腸粉

Jyu cheung fan 豬腸粉 is one of my favorite dim sum dishes to have. It might appear to have a strange name, but transliterated it means pig intestine noodle. There are no intestines in it, but I think it's named this because the long rolled shape of the noodles resemble intestines. Strangely, in some dim sum menus, I've seen this listed as crepes, but more commonly as rolled noodles or just cheung fan for short. 

Maybe it's because I love noodles so much, but these nourishing and chewy noodles always leaves me feeling happy to have them. About two years ago during my last visit home, I was surprised to find out that my mom picked up this recipe (I think from a friend) and passed it on to me. So now, I'm happy to pass it along to anybody else that wants to make this at home.

RECIPE: 12 Jyu Cheung Fan and Sweetened Soy Sauce

Jyu Cheung Fan batter:
2 cups rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup potato flour
4 cups water and possibly an additional 1/4 cup water
Neutral oil
*optional, added toppings such as green onions, cha siu, dried shrimp, or beef meatball

Mix all ingredients in a bowl or pitcher until well combined to make the batter. 

Prepare a rack in a wok or a large pot for steaming. Add water just below where the pan will be located and bring the water to a boil over high heat. 

Meanwhile, lightly oil 11 x 7 non-stick baking pans or similar sized pans. Oiling is only needed for the first batch.

When the water comes to a boil, stir the batter as some of the flour will settle. Ladle about 3/8 cup of the batter into the prepared pan so when you shake the pan, the batter will be as even and thin as possible. Add any toppings at this point. Common additions include green onions, cha siu and green onions, dried shrimp and green onions, or beef meatball. If using ingredients that you can sprinkle, use about 1 cup of each ingredient. Sprinkle about 2 heaping tablespoons of each ingredient or two really big pinches. (Also a good way of using leftover cha siu!)

Steam for about 3 minutes or until the noodles and any added ingredients are cooked. This can vary on how strong your burner. 

Remove a tray and let it cool for a few minutes. When cooled, use a rubber spatula to roll the noodle. It is easier to roll the noodle when it is slightly cooled. While waiting for one tray to cool, repeat the last few steps to prepare and cook another tray. 

Positioning the tray with the short end facing you, roll the noodles toward your body by repeatedly folding the noodles with a rubber spatula and your other hand to help control the roll. If the noodles are too sticky for your hand, it may help to have a bowl of water to dip your fingers in it before rolling.

Serve by cutting the noodles with scissors and top with sweetened soy sauce to your liking.

Sweetened Soy Sauce:
2-3 cloves of garlic
Netural oil
1 1/2 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tbsp. water
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dark soy sauce

Mix light and dark soy sauce, water, and sugar in a bowl. Set aside.

Chop garlic. In a small saucepan, coat the bottom of the pan with a small amount of oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir until the garlic is golden.

Add garlic and oil to the bowl of sweetened soy sauce.

*At most dim sum restaurants, this soy sauce is not made with fried garlic oil. Instead of water, they add the best stock that they have available to this. Completely fine to use water when making this at home. If you're too lazy to make fried garlic oil, you can add a little bit of sesame oil instead.