cuisinopedia

Flat Rice Noodles — He Fen / Sha He Fen (河粉 / 沙河粉)

Ingredient

What it is

Wide, flat, slippery fresh rice noodles, soft and tender, cut from steamed sheets. Named for the Shahe district of Guangzhou where they were perfected; the broad Cantonese "ho fun." The same family underlies Thai sen yai (pad see ew, drunken noodles) and is a cousin of Vietnamese bánh phở.

How it's made

A thin rice-flour-and-water (sometimes with a little tapioca/cornstarch) batter is steamed in trays into broad translucent sheets, oiled, and cut into wide ribbons. Best used fresh and same-day; refrigeration makes them brittle, so they're gently re-steamed or stir-fried to restore suppleness.

Flavor profile

Mild, clean rice flavor; texture is soft, silky, and slightly chewy with a delicate slipperiness that frays if overhandled.

Culinary uses

The icon is beef chow fun (gon chow ngau ho) — fresh ho fun dry-fried over screaming-hot wok heat with beef, bean sprouts, and scallion until lightly charred ("wok hei"). Also in soups (tang fun) and steamed. The wide-rice-noodle form defines Thailand's pad see ew and drunken noodles.

Regional variations

  • Cantonese ho fun — the classic chow-fun and soup noodle.
  • Thai sen yai — slightly different rice formula, used for pad see ew / rad na / pad kee mao.
  • Vietnamese bánh phở — flat rice noodle of phở (covered in Installment 2).

Cultural & historical context

Ho fun is a pinnacle of Cantonese wok cookery, where the test of a master chef is delivering charred, smoky, intact noodles without breaking or oiling them up. The form's spread south and west traces southern Chinese influence across mainland Southeast Asia.

Reference notes

  • Tags: chinese, cantonese, rice, rice-noodle, fresh-noodle, wide-noodle, gluten-free, wok-hei
  • Base: rice flour (± tapioca), steamed sheet
  • Related ingredients: dark soy, beef, bean sprouts, scallion, Chinese broccoli
  • Related cuisines: Chinese (Cantonese), Thai, Vietnamese
  • Suggested Cuisinopedia links: → Sen Yai / Pad See Ew (Thai), → Bánh Phở (Vietnamese), → Mi Fen (thin rice cousin)

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Cuisines

Chinese Thai Vietnamese

Tags

→ bánh phở (vietnamese) → mi fen (thin rice cousin) --- bean sprouts beef cantonese chinese chinese broccoli - *related cuisines:* chinese (cantonese) fresh-noodle gluten-free rice rice-noodle scallion steamed sheet - *related ingredients:* dark soy thai wide-noodle wok-hei - *base:* rice flour (± tapioca)