Chee Cheong Fun

Chee Cheong Fun is one of my most favorite breakfast and it has been a mighty frustrated task for me as i could not get the right texture that i like. I liked the type that is sold for breakfast in Petaling Jaya and it is not the commercial rolled ones that is selling with fish balls etc. This is flat and has a speckle of dried shrimps and green onions. The sauce is diluted 'teem cheong' which used to be dark red but now has been replaced by a brown sweet sauce. I have been looking for the recipe for more than half of my lifetime. Recipes after recipes, my poor daugther has to eat the yurky results. Some recipes do turn out alright but the method of making them is not worth it. My conclusion is that it is not the recipe, I have been barking up the wrong tree, it is the method and of course an undesirable ingredient - Borax. It can be omitted, but it makes the sheets glozzier, more elastic, and less sticky and this is the texture that I like. The desirable method is to have the pan floating on top of boiling water and so a skillet with a tight fitting lid that can accommodate the pan and still allow room for steam to circulate is required.

With sweet sauce, garlic oil, fried onions and sesame seeds

With X O Sauce, Chilly Sauce, Garlic oil, Fried onions & sesame seeds

With sambal Hae Bee, Garlic oil, soya sauce, fried onions and sesame seeds

Spray pan with vegetable oil. I use 2 eight inch pans.

Heat oiled pan

Measure 1/4 cup of batter

Pour into pan

Swirl and tilt pan around to level batter, cover and steam until cooked.

Remove from steamer, leave pan in cold water bath for 2 minutes. Then using a spatula, loosen the sides and roll it up

Cheong fun is ready

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of rice flour
1 tbsp of tapioca flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp borax powder (pangsah)
1 tbsp oil
3/4 cup of cold water
1/2 cup of hot boiling water
1 tbsp of chopped spring onions
2 tbsp of chopped dried shrimps (presoak dried shrimps in hot water to soften)


Method:

Spray 2 eight inch pan with vegetable oil.

Pour water 3/4 inch deep into a skillet.

Make a cold water bath by filling a second large pan with 1 inch of cold water.

In a medium bowl, combine the rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, borax powder and oil. Add 3/4 cup cold water and stir until smooth.

Stir in the hot boiling water and chopped spring onions.

Bring the water in the skillet to a boil, then reduce the heat so it is barely bubbling.

Float the oiled pan on the water to heat it through.

Give the batter a quick stir and ladle 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan and a sprinkle of chopped dried shrimps, tilting the pan to spread the batter evenly.

Cover and steam for 3 - 4 minutes, or until the sheet has cooked through.

Transfer the pan to the cold water bath for 2 minutes.

Use a flat spatula to loosen the sheet along one edge, then roll it up loosely.

Transfer the roll to a plate.

Repeat with the remaining batter, cleaning and oiling the pan each time, and replenishing the simmering water in the skillet as necessary.

To serve, cut the roll into 1 inch slices and top with sauces of your choice.

Sweet Sauce


2 tbsp grounded teem cheong/tau cheong/mein see
2 heaped tbsp creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp soya sauce
1/2 tsp dark soya sauce
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar
2 cups water

In a big microwavable bowl, combine the grounded teem cheong, peanut butter, garlic & onion powder, soya sauce and dark soya sauce. Mix them well by adding a little water at a time. Finally add in all the water.

Cook on high in the microwave for 2 minutes. Stir and add in 1/4 cup sugar, Stir well and continue to cook for another 2 minutes until all the sugar has dissolved.

Adjust taste by adding more sugar and if the teem cheong is not so salty, a dash of salt should be added to bring out the sweetness.

Cook further for 1 minute and sauce is ready. It will taste better if you serve the sauce while it is warm as the chee cheong fun has to be at room temperature.

Note:

This chee cheong fun has to be eaten as soon as it is made.

I made a batch earlier and left them cover in the warm water that was left behind after the steaming, thinking that it will be still warm when i serve later. When i wanted to serve them, they were all cracked and not presentable at all.