Guangzhou Cheung Fun

Guangzhou Cheung Fun

　　A type of rice-based dish, also known as rolled rice noodle. It is now available at snack shops, teahouses, restaurants, and hotels. Guangzhou’s “Yin Ji” Cheung Fun is the most famous. Located on Wenchang Road, this shop specializes in soy sauce beef cheung fun, renowned for its thin, chewy, and silky texture. The rice batter is steamed layer by layer in a specially designed multi-tiered steamer or on cloth to create thin sheets, which are then topped with ingredients such as meat, fish slices, and shrimp. These are steamed, rolled into long rolls, cut, and served on a plate. Varieties that include these toppings are called beef cheung fun, pork cheung fun, fish slice cheung fun, and shrimp (or shrimp paste) cheung fun; those without filling are called vegetarian cheung fun; and those with sugar added to the rice batter are called sweet cheung fun.

　　Cheung Fun, also known as “pull-steamed cheung fun,” is a type of rice-based dish, also referred to as pulled noodle, rolled noodle, or pig intestine noodle (due to its resemblance to a pig’s intestine). Because of high demand in the morning market and frequent shortages, people often queue up to buy it, hence it's jokingly called “scrambled noodle.” When served, it’s famed for being “white as snow, thin as paper, glossy with oil, and deliciously smooth.” In Guangdong, cheung fun is a very common street food—affordable, tasty, suitable for all ages, and widely recognized. It can be found in everything from five-star hotels to humble eateries and teahouses.

　　As for the origin of cheung fun, there seems to be no unified explanation. Some say, “It was first created during the Anti-Japanese War by He Xian Guan in Pan Tang.” Others claim, “Cheung fun originated in Guangzhou, as early as the late Qing Dynasty, when street vendors could already be heard selling it.” There’s also a legend that Emperor Qianlong, while traveling through southern China, was tempted by his gastronome minister Ji Xiaolan to make a special trip to western Guangdong just to try cheung fun. Upon tasting this “refreshingly soft, tender, and smooth” delicacy, Qianlong couldn’t stop praising it and remarked in delight: “This rice noodle somewhat resembles a pig’s intestine.” In Guangdong, cheung fun is the most popular breakfast dish. Its delicate, translucent appearance is simply breathtaking. The noodle skin looks white as snow, thin as cicada wings, and crystal clear. When eaten, it bursts with flavor, offering a delicate, smooth, and slightly chewy texture that’s truly unforgettable—and makes you want to eat more and more.

　　There are two main styles of Guangzhou cheung fun: one is the cloth-pulled style, and the other is the drawer-style. Due to the different tools used in making them, the resulting cheung fun also differ. Cloth-pulled cheung fun focuses on savoring the filling (the batter is mostly made from glutinous rice flour, with additions like wheat starch, cornstarch, and tapioca starch), whereas drawer-style cheung fun (made with pure rice batter) emphasizes the texture of the noodle itself and the sauces. Nowadays, cheung fun is a staple item at Guangzhou teahouses and restaurants, served both at dim sum breakfasts and evening meals. In the Chaoshan region, cheung fun is made using the same method as in Guangzhou, but due to different ingredients, the taste varies significantly by region. Cloth-pulled cheung fun is made by steaming the rice batter on cloth, hence also called cloth-pulled steamed cheung fun. Well-known shops in Guangzhou that serve cloth-pulled cheung fun include Yin Ji and Da Ke Yi. Drawer-style cheung fun is mainly used for breakfast, with the most famous version in western Guangdong being “Ducheng Cheung Fun,” which enjoys a longstanding reputation in Zhaoqing and Yunfu. In Hong Kong, cheung fun is also a common breakfast item in traditional congee shops. A typical breakfast cheung fun might be a vegetarian one topped with shrimp, or fried dough roll cheung fun, where a youtiao (fried dough stick) is wrapped inside the noodle. In the past, vegetarian cheung fun was often sold by street vendors at corners, but nowadays most are sold at fixed shops, usually pre-cut and served with sesame, sweet sauce, and chili sauce for seasoning. Note that pig intestine noodle is not the same as cheung fun, though some customers confuse the two. Although also made from rice batter, pig intestine noodle is different—it has no filling, is bland in taste, and is made by rolling the rice batter into logs and slicing it into pieces. Each slice shows irregular circular patterns, resembling tree rings, and is served with various flavored soy sauces.