Har Cheong Fun (Shrimp Rice Noodle Rolls)

This recipe is my take on a very common Dim Sum dish, consisting of fresh shrimp wrapped in rice noodle rolls, which are then steamed and served with a light, sweetish soy sauce. You can make the rice noodle rolls yourself if you like, but it's a tricky proposition and time consuming if you're a novice, so I just buy the rolls premade from the 99 Ranch Market (most Asian markets will stock this in the same section where they have their other rice noodle products). Just make sure you buy the sheets of rice noodles, not the cut noodles themselves. 

1 16-oz. package of rice noodle sheets (DO NOT REFRIGERATE! Best to make these the same day you buy them, or else they'll start drying out and break into pieces as you try to handle them)

1 lb. medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 tsp. baking soda

Cold water

2 cups ice

Shrimp Marinade:

1/8 tsp. white pepper
1/8 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. water

1/2 tsp. rice wine
1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Sauce:
3 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. dark soy sauce

1 tsp. oyster sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
4 tsp. sugar

1/3 cup water

Garnishes (optional):
Fresh cilantro, chopped

Scallions, chopped

Chinese sweet mustard
Your fav Asian chili sauce

1. Place the shelled & deveined shrimp into a bowl and sprinkle with 1 tsp. baking soda. Stir together until well-combined. Cover the shrimp with cold water, about 1" above the shrimp, then add 2 cups of ice. Set aside for at least 1 hour (up to 2 hours). This step will make the shrimp "bouncy" and super tender.

2. Place the shrimp into a colander and rinse very well; put into a bowl and blot dry with paper towels. If the shrimp are on the large side, cut each into halves or thirds (approx. 1" sections). Add the marinade ingredients to the shrimp and stir to combine (I like to just use my hands with disposable gloves to do this). Cover and set aside in the refrigerator.

3. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl until the sugar has dissolved; set aside.

4. Carefully unroll and separate the rice noodles into sheets. Cut into approximately 7-8" x 6" rectangles.

5. Oil the bottoms of 2 heatproof medium glass casseroles or plates. After trial and error, it's easier to steam these rolls directly on the plates that you will serve them in - otherwise, removing them from the steamer usually results in a mess of broken rolls.

6. Line a single row of shrimp down the middle of each rice noodle sheet and roll the sheet over to make a roll (make sense?). Place 3-4 rolls in a single layer on each dish. 

7. Heat a generous amount of water in a large wok or pot for steaming (I use a double decker Chinese stainless steel steamer). Once water is boiling, place the casserole dishes with the shrimp rolls in the steamer and steam over high heat for about 5-6 minutes, or until shrimp is just cooked through. DO NOT OVERCOOK or shrimp will be tough. 

8. Remove shrimp rolls to serving plate and pour soy sauce mixture over the rolls. Garnish with cilantro and serve with Chinese sweet mustard and the Chinese or Asian chili sauce of your choice on the side. 

Shell and devein 1 lb. of shrimp; marinate in baking soda and iced water for at least 1, up to 2 hours. If the shrimp are on the large side, cut into 1" sections.

After rinsing off the shrimp, marinate in white pepper, sugar, salt, cornstarch and sesame oil. 

Here's the sauce.

Rice 'Noodle' ('cause it's really one large sheet of noodle, I guess)

Put a row of the marinated shrimp along the rice noodle square (think, spring roll), then roll the roll over. Sheesh, a whole lot of rolling going on...

Place rolls onto oiled glass casserole dishes. You can also place on oiled heat-proof serving plates, which is best so you don't have to try to lift the delicate rolls onto serving dishes after they are steamed (very messy).

  Steam over high heat 5-8 minutes, or until shrimp are just done (DO NOT OVERCOOK).

Voila!

Pour the sweet soy-sesame oil sauce over the shrimp rolls, and serve with Chinese mustard & chili sauce on the side.