Hong Kong-Style Rice Noodles with Fish Balls

When I hear the phrase ‘street food,’ I picture plastic take out boxes of fresh homemade rice noodles coated in a yummy blend of sweet, savory, and spicy sauces, topped with fish balls. Growing up in New York, I was always lucky enough to be close to Chinatown in Manhattan. Each Chinatown in each city has a different variety of cuisines, sometimes it’s more Southeast Asian and sometimes it’s more Chinese. The Chinatown that I grew up near has a lot of Chinese food including a lot of speciality dishes such as rice noodle carts including the famous Chang Lai food cart.

What is a rice roll?

Rice rolls (肠粉, cháng fěn, cheong fun, cheung fun, rice noodles) are a type of noodle dish originating from Hong Kong. They’re made from a mixture of specialty flours and then steamed. This gives them a soft, delicate, and light texture. These noodles are versatile and can be served in multiple ways. They can be filled with dried shrimp, scrambled eggs, beef, fresh shrimp, or scallions. It is a dish commonly eaten as a snack, appetizer, for breakfast, or lunch.

At Chinatown in New York rice noodles are a specialty dish that is sold at certain bakeries, restaurants or food carts. Rice rolls are typically prepared using a specialized rice roll steamer. This appliance, typically made of stainless steel, includes multiple flat rectangular or square trays. To begin, a thin layer of the rice noodle mixture, resembling milk, is remixed and poured onto the tray to create a thin layer. The steamer makes it easy to steam multiple trays at once and cooks the noodles evenly. The filling is then added or it can be left plain before rolling it up. Finally, it’s topped with sauces such as hoisin, soy sauce-based sauces, sesame paste, peanut sauce, or sriracha.

What are Hong Kong-style rice noodles with fish balls?

Hong Kong-style rice noodles with fish balls (肠粉鱼丸 cháng fěn yú wán) consists of rice noodles and fish balls which is made from a paste of white fish and seasonings. Since rice noodles have a mild flavor, it takes on the flavors of the other ingredients that it pairs with while adding a satisfying smooth, silky, and slightly chewy texture. The rice noodles can be served in sheets or rolled into logs. It can be topped with hoisin sauce, soy sauce-based sauces, sesame paste, peanut sauce, or sriracha.

Why This Recipe Works

Rice rolls are usually made using a special rice roll steamer. This stainless steel machine has multiple flat trays, perfect for steaming lots of rolls at once. It’s super handy for busy restaurants that need to churn out tons of orders. Personally, it is not a practical appliance to have in my kitchen because rice rolls are not something that I am eating multiple times a week. In my recipe, I’ve got a simpler way to make rice noodles at home, no fancy gadgets needed. It’s a straightforward method that anyone can tackle, whether you’re an expert cook or new to cooking.

Special Ingredients

Which ingredients are needed to make rice rolls?

Rice rolls are made up of specialty flours that contribute to taste, structure, and translucent look. You can find them in the dry pantry aisle at the Chinese grocery store. Please don’t make substitutions!

• Rice flour
• Potato starch
• Cornstarch
• Wheat starch
• Filtered water
• Neutral oil

What is rice flour?

If you’ve had Vietnamese, Chinese, or Thai food, you’ve most likely have had noodles made from rice flour (粘米粉, zhān mǐfěn) before. Rice flour is made out of rice, milled into a fine white powder. Please note the this item is very different from glutinous rice flour, sometimes called sweet rice flour, which is made from sticky rice grains. When cooked, it transforms into a smooth, soft, and bouncy texture. The rice flour that I use the most often to make rice rolls is a Thai one. You may purchase rice flour from the pantry aisle section of your Chinese grocery store. It is generally sold for for less than $3 per bag. If you have extra bags of rice flour left over, you can also use it with my Turnip Cake (Luobo Gao) or Crystal Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gow) recipes.

What is potato starch?

Potato starch (淀粉, diàn fěn) is made from the starches that is extracted from high starch varieties of potatoes. It’s a bit different from corn starch, which has a slightly off-white color. It looks like a fine white powder. This stuff is full of carbohydrates and can soak up a lot of liquid. In Chinese cooking, potato starch is used for its properties that contribute to texture. It’s often used to thicken up soups or sauces without messing with the flavor. When it comes to making rice rolls, potato starch is like the glue that holds everything together. It gives rice noodles that smooth, slightly chewy texture we love, and it helps thicken up the batter so we can shape it into rolls. 

You may purchase potato starch from the pantry section of your Chinese grocery store for less than $3 per bag. It’s important to note that Chinese groceries also sell Sweet Potato Starch. Although they’re similar, they have slight differences. Be sure to stick with the regular potato starch.

What is wheat starch?

Wheat starch (澄面, chéng miàn) looks like a fine white powder that comes from grains of wheat. It is a common ingredient in dim sum. Wheat starch is different from wheat flour, as it contains mainly starch and very little protein. This is why it appears different from all-purpose flour, which typically has an off-white color and may contain specks of wheat bran. You may find wheat starch from the pantry section of your Chinese grocery store for less than $3 per bag.

When it comes to making rice rolls, wheat starch gives rice noodles that smooth, slightly chewy texture, and it helps thicken up the batter so we can shape it into rolls. If you have extra wheat starch, you may also use it to create some other recipes such as Turnip Cake (Luobo Gao), Nian Gao (Brown Sugar Rice Cake), Taro Dumpling (Wu Gok, Yu Jiao), and Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gow).

What are fish balls?

Fish balls (鱼丸, yú wán) are a popular Chinese food made from a mixture of white fish and seasonings. Fish balls have a bouncy and slightly chewy texture. They have a light, savory taste and absorb the flavors of whatever they’re cooked with. They can be served on skewers and grilled, in hot pot, or with rice noodles. I ate them the most growing up during hot pot with family where it was cooked in a pork bone-based broth along with other vegetables, thinly sliced meat, and noodles. There are several types of fish balls:

1. Plain Fish Balls: These are simple, round, and smooth.
2. Stuffed Fish Balls: These have fillings inside, like ground pork.
3. Colored Fish Balls: These can come in different colors like green or orange, depending on what ingredients are added.
4. Fish Dumplings: These are stuffed fish balls but shaped like regular dumplings. The outer layer is made from fish paste instead of a thin wheat dough.

For my rice noodle recipe, I’m using store-bought plain fish balls that come with a packet of curry sauce. I chose these because they can be easily microwaved and served immediately without the need for boiling.

Special Equipment

What equipment is needed to make rice rolls at home?

To prepare rice rolls, you will need to gather a few essential items: a short wire steaming rack, a square or rectangular ceramic glazed plate, a brush for applying a thin layer of oil, a wide and tall pan to accommodate the homemade steaming setup, and a silicone spatula for rolling.

Which pan is needed?

To start, you’ll require a cooking vessel with a lid that is both wide and tall enough to accommodate both the steaming rack, the plate it rests on. You’ll need to make sure that the lid can fully close for adequate steaming. I use a 4.5 quart Saute Pan from Caraway which is 12-inches in diameter. The ceramic-coated cookware and heavy lid was able to provide the perfect insulation for a strong steam.

Which steaming rack is needed?

Secondly, you will need a round or rectangular wire rack (or iron roasting rack) with at least 1/2-inch to 1-inch of height. This serves as a little bridge which allows water to boil beneath without bubbling up and splashing onto the food that you’re steaming. This rack is important for protecting your cookware and also, preventing the dilution of the flavors in your food. You don’t want to end up with a watery fish. This wire rack also doubles as a cooling rack for when you have hot plates. I found a variety of racks at my local Chinese grocery store. I purchased the one that had the lowest height and smallest width.

Which plate is needed?

Finally, you’ll require a plate—either square or rectangular. Choose a glazed plate, distinguished by its smooth coating applied to the surface, which works best for making rice rolls. Unlike unglazed plates, which can absorb moisture and flavors from food, glazed plates also prevent sticking. It should also be narrow enough to fit comfortably inside your sauté pan, which has a diameter slightly smaller than that of the pan itself. The appropriately sized plate allows you to remove it easily when necessary and ensures safe handling. By leaving some space around the plate, steam can escape freely and circulate around the food.