Cheung Fun with Prawns

Ingredients

• 150g rice flour
• 30g tapioca starch
• 20g cornflour
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 500ml cold water
• 1 tbsp groundnut oil, plus more for the tray
• 300g raw peeled prawns
• 1/2 tsp fine salt, for the prawns
• 1/2 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 4 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp caster sugar, for the sauce
• 150ml water, for the sauce
• 1 spring onion, halved
• 2 coriander stalks

Before you cook

• Whisk the rice flour, tapioca starch, cornflour and half teaspoon of salt together in a jug.
• Pour in the cold water in a steady stream, whisking until the batter is completely smooth and thin as single cream.
• Stir in the tablespoon of groundnut oil and leave the batter to rest for 30 minutes.
• Butterfly the prawns down the back, remove the dark vein, and toss them with the salt, sugar, Shaoxing wine and white pepper.
• Find a flat-bottomed metal tray or a shallow cake tin that fits inside your steamer, and brush it with oil.
• Set a bowl of oil and a plastic scraper beside the steamer.

Steps

1. Put the soy sauces, sugar, water, spring onion and coriander stalks in a small pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Strain the sauce into a jug and set it aside somewhere warm.
3. Fill a wide wok with 5cm of water and bring it to a hard rolling boil with a rack in place.
4. Whisk the rested batter again, since the starch will have settled to the bottom.
5. Brush the tray with oil and ladle in just enough batter to cover the base in a thin film, about 3mm deep.
6. Lay three or four prawns across the batter.
7. Set the tray on the rack, cover, and steam over high heat for 4 minutes, until the sheet puffs into large bubbles and turns opaque.
8. Lift the tray out and rest it on a cool surface for 30 seconds.
9. Run an oiled scraper around the edges to release the sheet.
10. Roll the sheet up from one edge into a loose cylinder about 4cm across, then cut it into two or three pieces.
11. Transfer the rolls to a warm plate and repeat with the remaining batter and prawns, oiling the tray each time.
12. Pour the warm sauce generously over the rolls and serve immediately, before they firm up.