Rice Noodle Rolls

Two weeks of craving this Malaysian Style Chee Cheong Fun is a torture. Desperate needs call for desperate measures. I wasted no time at the Asian grocery market picking up a pack of rice noodle rolls and had a satisfying time with an easy rice noodle recipe. In Cantonese cuisine, rice noodle rolls are prepared by wrapping shrimp or BBQ pork in rice noodle sheets. Many times you will also see long and crunchy chinese dough cruellers wrapped in them as well, served at many Cantonese dimsum restaurants. In Vietnamese cuisine, rice noodle rolls, aka "bahn cuon", are served with crispy mungbean and shrimp fritters, crispy sweet potato strips, slices of pork meatloafs, bean sprouts with fish sauce. Rice noodle rolls are also call "lai cheong fun" in Hong Kong, which literally means pulled-intestinal-like-noodles, aptly named for their appearance. I love all variation of ways they are prepared and have tried them all. I am glad that they are widely available in Southern California so every once in a while, I can pick up a fresh pack and add my favorite sauce along with any ingredients I desire.

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME : An embarrassing confession !! While preparing my rice noodle roll recipe, I had planned to mix in a particular shrimp paste that is used in the Malaysian style rice noodle roll Chee Cheong Fun, along with some sweet thick soy sauce, toasted sesame seeds, hoisin sauce and a tad of sweet bean sauce. Unfortunately, I had hastily left the plastic can of shrimp paste in the microwave w-a-y too long, resulting in a complete "melt down" !! :P

I had no choice but to dig up the next best sauce for the rice noodle roll recipe. I remembered back to my childhood years tagging along with mom to the morning market and picking up breakfast from the hawker stalls after shopping. We would always hit my favorite rice noodle roll stall first and I would be drooling as I patiently ogled the rice noodle vendor picking up the rolls, dicing them up with a blunt rectangular knife, and drowning them in a delicious light curry sauce. I always requested mine with extra ingredients like fried beancurd patties and some other scrumptious fixings similar to those found in the Japanese dish "Oden". A generous sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds and I was good to go.

CONCLUSION : My memory of this long-lost curry style Malaysian Chee Cheong Fun, is once again, rekindled ! :)
TIP : If you aren't fixing the rice noodle rolls right away after you buy them, keep them at room temperature and microwave at medium-low for about 2 minutes when ready to use. Keep in mind not to over-nuke them as they will get all mushy.

Rice Noodle Rolls with Curry Gravy

Ingredients :
1 pack ( 1 lbs ) rice noodle rolls
fresh cut red chilis
fried shallots
toasted sesame seeds
chopped green onions
curry gravy (see below for recipe)

Method :
1) Cut the rice noodle rolls into cubes, then set aside.
2) Pour the curry gravy over the rice noodle rolls, and top off with fresh cut red chilis, fried shallots, toasted sesame seeds, and green onions.

Malaysian Chee Cheong Fun Curry Gravy Recipe

Ingredients :
curry powder
minced shallots
ground cardamon
chili paste
coconut cream or milk
palm sugar and salt to taste

Method :
1) Add ingredients to a small saucepan of boiling hot water and cook to a boil.