Ngoh Hiang (Lor Bak)
This is an old family recipe, pockmarked with water-damaged holes, that I dug out from my dusty files. I remember sitting around the kitchenplace dining table, helping to wrap these meat rolls up. Beware though, as this is extremely labour-intensive. So if you're like us, who have just 4 hands in total, this will take up to 3 hours to prep it all. The excessively-long prep time may be because I like my ngoh hiang finger food-sized, so wrapping them takes a much longer time than if you were to wrap big rolls. But I happen to think they're cuter this way. Even if you do end up eating a lot more of these crispy babies because they function like a snack food of sorts. On a more practical, and less fluffy note, wrapping them up into 3" lengths negates the need for post-frying slicing into bite-sized portions.
Also, although most recipes call for a ground pork base, I prefer combining the ground pork with turnip, for a sweeter, juicier finish. Another variant I see in some recipes is to add in diced Chinese black mushrooms for succulence and an earthy accent.
Ingredients (makes about 70 2.5" long x 1" wide mini rolls):
600gm pork belly (get the butcher to grind pork belly in front of you)
300gm prawns, deshelled and diced roughly
1 turnip, grated
1 carrot, grated
1 yellow onion, minced finely
1 leek, minced finely
4 water chestnuts, minced finely
1 egg
Dried beancurd skin
Seasoning:
1.5 tbsp light soy
1-2 tbsp Chinese Five-spice (I use 2 tbsp for a stronger flavour)
2 tbsp plain flour
Dash of white ground pepper
Optional: 1 tsp white granulated sugar
Turnip prep:
1) To prep the turnip, shred it onto a clean muslin, and leave it alone for about 5 minutes to release its liquid content.
2) Wrap it up and squeeze about 90% of the water out. You want to prevent the rolls from being waterlogged, but still get a juicy roll, so you'll have to retain a little bit of the turnip liquid.
Directions:
1) Mix the pork, prawns, turnip, carrots, onion, leek, chestnuts, egg, and seasoning together in a large mixing bowl.
2) The end result should look like this post-mixing.
3) Dollop about 2-3 tsp of mixture onto a 4" x 2.5" length beancurd skin rectangle, and roll it, packing it tightly and sealing it with some egg white or water.
4) If not frying right away, steam, covered, for 7-10 minutes.
5) The cooked steamed rolls should look like this. Freeze for later use up to 2 weeks.
6) To serve, pop them into a gently bubbling oil to deep fry, until golden brown. They should float to the top when they're cooked. Drain on paper towels, to rid them of the oil, before serving.
Also, although most recipes call for a ground pork base, I prefer combining the ground pork with turnip, for a sweeter, juicier finish. Another variant I see in some recipes is to add in diced Chinese black mushrooms for succulence and an earthy accent.
Ingredients (makes about 70 2.5" long x 1" wide mini rolls):
600gm pork belly (get the butcher to grind pork belly in front of you)
300gm prawns, deshelled and diced roughly
1 turnip, grated
1 carrot, grated
1 yellow onion, minced finely
1 leek, minced finely
4 water chestnuts, minced finely
1 egg
Dried beancurd skin
Seasoning:
1.5 tbsp light soy
1-2 tbsp Chinese Five-spice (I use 2 tbsp for a stronger flavour)
2 tbsp plain flour
Dash of white ground pepper
Optional: 1 tsp white granulated sugar
Turnip prep:
1) To prep the turnip, shred it onto a clean muslin, and leave it alone for about 5 minutes to release its liquid content.
2) Wrap it up and squeeze about 90% of the water out. You want to prevent the rolls from being waterlogged, but still get a juicy roll, so you'll have to retain a little bit of the turnip liquid.
Directions:
1) Mix the pork, prawns, turnip, carrots, onion, leek, chestnuts, egg, and seasoning together in a large mixing bowl.
2) The end result should look like this post-mixing.
3) Dollop about 2-3 tsp of mixture onto a 4" x 2.5" length beancurd skin rectangle, and roll it, packing it tightly and sealing it with some egg white or water.
4) If not frying right away, steam, covered, for 7-10 minutes.
5) The cooked steamed rolls should look like this. Freeze for later use up to 2 weeks.
6) To serve, pop them into a gently bubbling oil to deep fry, until golden brown. They should float to the top when they're cooked. Drain on paper towels, to rid them of the oil, before serving.
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