String Hoppers

String hoppers are pressed strands of dough cooked by steaming. Roshani Wickramasinghe’s Sri Lankan recipe selects white string-hopper flour, salt and lukewarm water, using the traditional press and lightly oiled trays.

The author recalls them as a breakfast and comfort food while growing up in Sri Lanka. She describes the desired finished texture as soft and fluffy, with the cooked strands firm, springy and no longer sticky.

The selected flour and salt are mixed, then the main warm water is added little by little. Hand mixing and kneading bring the lumps together into a soft pliable dough; a little more of the same flour or water can adjust its consistency.

The trays receive a thin coat of the listed unspecified cooking oil. The press is partly filled with the same dough, then strings are squeezed onto each tray in circular motions and cut off with a finger.

The filled trays are placed in the steamer with minimal overlap and cooked through. The string hoppers are removed, stacked and covered while the remaining batch cooks; ready coconut sambol is selected alongside.