Crave: Bean Curd Skin Pork Rolls

One of my family all time favourite dishes happens to be 'Bean Curd Skin Pork Rolls' or 'Ngor Hiang' as it is called in Cantonese.The crisp texture of the fried Bean Curd skin and the crunch of the water chestnuts along with the flavorsome pork mince makes my tastebuds come alive. This indeed is comfort food that soothes, the something savoury just to make you feel that the world is a safer place when you are tired and stressed.

The recipe may be halved but I always make a large amount and freeze for times when I"m just too lazy to cook. I have listed five spice as an optional ingredient, you may use it if you like, but don't go ballistic as it's flavor is very potent. I choose not to include it when I cook this dish as this is how my children prefer it. As seasoning quantities go,please regard the specifications in my recipe as the merest guidelines as I always marinate my food in "Agaration".( you won't find this word in Wikipedia or any dictionary, this word is made up by me, Carol Rodé, from the malay word 'agak- agak' which means 'approximate' or 'guesswork' HA!HA!)




Having said that, my recipes are tried and tested over and over and I serve them with confidence at dinner parties that I so frequently hold. If you have any questions regarding any of my recipes, I would be happy to answer them. You can pose your question in the 'comment' section or e-mail me at this address: carol-rode@hotmail.com

BEAN CURD SKIN PORK ROLLS

Ingredients

• 2 packets of bean curd skin
• 400g pork mince
• 1 carrot peeled, julienned and minced
• 4 stalks spring onion sliced thinly
• 1 small can of water chestnuts, drained and roughly chopped.
• 5 tbsps of oyster sauce
• 2 tbsps of fragrant sesame oil
• 1/2 a tsp of white pepper
. 1/2 tsp five spice (optional)
• 2 tsps of maltose ( use honey if maltose is unavailable)
• Enough Veg oil to deep fry


Method

Mix all ingredients except bean curd skin and veg oil. Cut bean curd skin into approx. 8 cm width strips. Work with one strip at a time – with a clean damp cloth, dab the bean curd skin on both sides to soften and remove excess salt.( be careful , as the bean curd skin tears quite easily.) Rinse the cloth after treating each strip of skin) working with the 8 cm width towards you, place about a heap tablespoon of pork mixture onto the bean curd skin, leaving an edge of about 2 cms.

Roll the skin over the mince 4 times, flattening and smoothing the meat as you go. On the 4 th roll, dab some water along the edge of the bean curd roll to seal. Repeat the process until all the meat mixture is used up. Steam the meat rolls for 4 minutes and drain all liquid. Set aside to completely dry out( about half a hour ).

Heat enough oil to deep fry the meat rolls. When the oil is hot , place a few rolls at a time into the oil and fry until golden brown. This will take no time at all. Remove quickly to prevent over browning. Drain rolls on some kitchen paper and serve immediately along with sliced cucumber and your favorite sweet chilli sauce or fresh sambal blachan with sliced shallots and lime juice ( my absolute favorite)