Ingredients
Rice
- 300 gglutinous rice, soaked overnight
Filling
- 2youtiao
- 100 grousong
- 100 gpickled radish, chopped
- 4 tbsppreserved mustard greens
- 2 tbspsugar, optional
Equipment
- a bamboo steamer
- a clean cloth or plastic wrap
Directions
- Soak the glutinous rice overnight, then drain it and steam it over a cloth for 30 minutes, until translucent and tender.
- Steam it rather than boiling it. Boiled glutinous rice is wet and will not hold a roll, and steaming is what gives it the chew.
- Cut the youtiao into lengths and re-crisp them in a hot oven or a dry pan for a few minutes.
- Re-crisp the youtiao without fail. A soft one goes limp inside the rice, and the crunch running through the middle is the whole point of the roll.
- Lay a damp cloth or a sheet of plastic wrap flat on the counter.
- Spread about 150 g of hot rice on it into a rectangle roughly 15 cm by 20 cm, pressing it to an even 1 cm thick.
- Work with the rice hot and keep your hands wet, because cold rice will not compress and sticks to everything it touches.
- Lay a line of pork floss down the centre, then the pickled radish, the mustard greens, and a length of youtiao on top.
- Use the cloth to lift one edge over the filling and roll it up tightly into a fat cylinder, pressing as you go.
- Squeeze it firmly through the cloth to compact it, then unwrap it and serve it in the cloth or in paper.
- Eat it in the hand, warm, for breakfast.
- Shanghai’s ci fan tuan came to Taiwan with the 1949 migration, and Taiwanese breakfast shops packed it with pork floss and pickled radish alongside the youtiao.
Technique
- Compact it hard. A loosely rolled fantuan falls apart at the first bite and there is no eating it tidily.
- The sweet version, with sugar and no pickles, is sold alongside the savoury one and both are standard.
- Rousong is dried shredded pork floss, sold in tubs, and it is what makes the roll taste Taiwanese.
Substitutions
- A shop-bought fried dough stick, re-crisped, in place of homemade youtiao.
- Any crisp fried bread, or even a plain breadstick, for the crunch.
Variations
- Sweet, with sugar and black sesame powder and no pickles.
- With a salted duck egg yolk in the centre.
- Made with purple rice, which is common in Taipei now.
History
Shanghai’s ci fan tuan came with 1949 migrants; Taiwanese breakfast shops packed it with pork floss and pickled radish alongside the youtiao.
Frequently asked questions
What is Fantuan?
Fantuan is a breakfast from Taiwan: sticky rice roll wrapped around youtiao, pork floss and pickled radish. Shanghai’s ci fan tuan came with 1949 migrants; Taiwanese breakfast shops packed it with pork floss and pickled radish alongside the youtiao.
How long does Fantuan take to make?
Fantuan takes 20 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 35 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 rolls. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Fantuan?
Yes, within limits. A shop-bought fried dough stick, re-crisped, in place of homemade youtiao. Any crisp fried bread, or even a plain breadstick, for the crunch.
What is the most important thing to get right in Fantuan?
Steam it rather than boiling it. Boiled glutinous rice is wet and will not hold a roll, and steaming is what gives it the chew.
