← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 120 g rice flour (not glutinous)
• 30 g Wheat starch (tang mian fen)
• 15 g Tapioca starch
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 450 ml Water
• 250 g raw prawns, peeled, deveined, halved lengthwise
• ¼ tsp salt, for the prawns
• 1 tsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
• 2 Spring onion, thinly sliced
• 5 tbsp Water
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Toasted sesame oil

Method

1. Whisk the rice flour, wheat starch, tapioca starch, salt, oil and water into a thin, smooth batter and leave to rest for 30 min. Mix the prawns with the salt and cornflour.
2. Simmer the sauce ingredients in a small pan for 1–2 min until the sugar dissolves, then set aside.
3. Set up a wok with a rack and a few cm of water and bring to a rolling boil. Brush a flat metal tray (about 20 x 25 cm) that fits inside with oil.
4. Stir the batter (it settles), pour in a thin layer, about 3 mm, and tilt to cover the tray. Scatter over a few prawns and some spring onion, cover and steam over high heat for 2–3 min, until the sheet is translucent and bubbly and the prawns are pink.
5. Lift out the tray, then use a bench scraper or spatula to roll the sheet up from one end, loosening it as you go. Transfer to a plate.
6. Oil the tray again and repeat with the rest of the batter, stirring it each time. Cut the rolls in half, pour over the warm sweet soy sauce and serve straight away.

Tips

• Use two trays and alternate so one cools while the other steams; a hot, oiled tray makes thin, even sheets.
• Contains wheat (wheat starch and soy sauce) and shellfish.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Omnivore's Cookbook Sift & Simmer Taste of Asian Food