Three white rice noodle rolls cut into segments lie on a white oval porcelain plate with pink shrimp showing through the skin, a pool of dark brown sweet soy sauce below and chopped scallion on top, with chopsticks provided.
Rice noodle rolls are thin sheets of steamed rice batter, rolled around fillings such as beef, pork, shrimp or fried dough, cut into pieces and dressed with sweet soy sauce, or left plain. Most cookbooks date their origins to the 1930s. A 2024 report places the introduction of filled sheets at the Hexianguan teahouse in Pantang, Xiguan, in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by the Wanchang teahouse steaming batter on cloth for thin sheets. These accounts lack citations or identified supporting texts, and no dated primary text was found. Guangzhou has 3 methods: cloth-steamed, drawer-style and basket-steamed; Chaoshan makes a thicker sheet.
What
Rice noodle rolls are thin sheets of steamed rice-flour batter rolled around fillings such as beef, pork, shrimp or fried dough, cut into pieces and dressed with sweet soy sauce; some are plain. The batter is often mixed with tapioca starch or glutinous rice flour, and the rolls are generally served in multiples of 3.1,2
When
Most cookbooks date its origins to the 1930s. A May 29, 2024 report places the introduction of filled sheets at the Hexianguan teahouse in Pantang, Xiguan, in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by a cook at the Wanchang teahouse adopting cloth steaming. These accounts lack citations or identified supporting texts; no dated primary text was found, and the switch to cloth steaming remains undated.2,3
Where
Rice noodle rolls are believed to originate in Guangdong and are often associated with the teahouses and street stalls of Guangzhou's Xiguan, but there is no official historical record.2,3
How
The batter is spread on cloth or in a drawer-style tray, steamed over high heat for a few minutes, topped with filling, rolled and cut. Guangzhou has 3 methods: cloth-steamed, drawer-style and basket-steamed. The 2 home recipes use rice flour, tapioca starch and wheat starch, with steaming times of 3 minutes and about 4 minutes, respectively.3,4,5
Why
Rice noodle rolls are a Guangzhou breakfast food, with a local tradition of selling them from street stalls.2,3
Impact and influence
In 2024, Guangzhou's rice noodle roll shops included Yinji, Yuanji and Fangji. Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam each have a relative of the dish, and the Chaoshan sheet is thicker than the Guangzhou one.2,3
Legend has it that in the 1930s and 1940s the Hexianguan teahouse in Pantang, Xiguan, Guangzhou, began rolling fried dough, cooked pork or shrimp into the steamed rice sheet, and so made filled rolls. Later a cook at the Wanchang teahouse spread the batter on cloth over a copper-wire rack and steamed thin white sheets.
Told in: A local food story told in Xiguan, found in a Guangzhou Daily report of May 29, 2024. The report presents it as local food history and does not name the texts behind it.
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
This is the simpler way I make it at home: instead of a cloth or drawer steamer I set a flat steaming dish on a rack in a wok to spread the sheets, and I fill them with fresh shrimp. The ratio of flour to water is my own choice, between those of two published recipes.
Ingredients
Rice flour, for the sheets 100 g
Tapioca starch 15 g
Wheat starch 15 g
Water, for the batter 400 ml
Cooking oil, for the batter, plus a little to brush the dish 15 ml
Salt, for the batter a small pinch
Fresh shrimp 18 (about 180 g), peeled and deveined
Salt, for the shrimp 1/4 teaspoon
White pepper a pinch
Chopped scallion from 1 scallion
Hot water, for the sauce 60 ml
Sugar 20 g
Light soy sauce 30 ml
Dark soy sauce 15 ml
Oyster sauce 15 ml
Sesame oil 1 teaspoon (5 ml)
Steps
Put the rice flour, tapioca starch, wheat starch and salt in a bowl, stir in half the water until there are no lumps, then add the rest of the water and the 15 ml of oil and mix well. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
Mix the shrimp with the salt and pepper and leave for 10 minutes. Put them on a plate in a steamer over boiling water and steam for 2 minutes, until they are pink, firm to the touch and no longer translucent inside. Take them out to cool.
Make the sauce: dissolve the sugar in the hot water, then stir in the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil.
Brush a flat steaming dish about 20 cm across with a thin layer of oil and set it on the rack in the wok over high heat. Stir the batter each time before scooping, because the starch settles. Pour in about 70 ml, tilt to spread it, cover and steam for 3 to 4 minutes, until the sheet puffs up, is no longer translucent and springs back when pressed.
Take the sheet out and let it cool for 1 to 2 minutes, loosen it from the edge with a scraper or thin knife, lay 3 shrimp and a little scallion at one end and roll it up. Brush the dish with oil again and repeat to make 6 rolls in all.
Cut each roll into three or four pieces and spoon the sauce over them.
Tips
The flour settles when the batter sits, so I stir it with a spoon before every pour; this is my own habit.
When a sheet is spread too thick I find it turns chewy and hard, so I pour just a thin layer each time, about 70 ml.
