Ngoh Hiang

This is what it looks like before it goes into the steamer. (I forgot to take a photo after I pan-fried them)

Ngoh Hiang (五香) is a unique Teochew/Hokkien dish served as an entree in Singapore and Malaysia. My mum is a Teochew (her ancestors were from Chao Zhou, a city in the Guandong province of China) and I got some tips off her. Some know this as prawn rolls, others know it as pork rolls.

I kinda missed this dish which my mum used to make in large quantities during Chinese New Year. Upon my request, my mum made these when she visited me last year. I froze some so that I could eat them some time later (see recipe below).

I have seen quite a number of recipes online and have also obtained my mum's. With my mum's blessings, I decided to adapt from those recipes and make my own. The difference lies in the ingredients and seasoning.

Dried beancurd skin

1kg minced pork (fatty ones)
300g water chestnuts (I bought frozen ones from Asian grocery store. I reckon you could use canned ones too)
12 medium size prawns, shelled and deveined
1 large sheet of beancurd skin*
1 egg
2 tsp Massel chicken stock powder
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
generous dash of white pepper
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp five-spice powder
2 Tbsp fried onions/shallots (I used store-bought ones)
2 french shallots, finely chopped (available from Woolies)

*I could not locate beancurd skin from Yuen's. The one I used was brought over from Singapore. But I reckon you could search for them at other Asian grocery stores. There would be different types of beancurd skins available. Enquire from the store if those can be used to wrap minced meat.

Place all ingredients (except for the beancurd skin) into a large bowl and stir to combine well. For best results, cover the bowl with cling wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour (or overnight) to allow all the seasoning to infuse.

Remove the meat mixture from the fridge and allow it to come up to room temperature. Gently run a moist clean cloth on the beancurd skin to remove excess salt. Using food scissors, cut the skin to 15-20cm square pieces. Place enough meat mixture (around 2-3 Tbsp, so that you may obtain a roll of around 2.5cm thick) on the end of the square sheet of beancurd skin closer to you. Begin to roll, starting with the end of the sheet closer to you, like how you would wrap a sushi roll. Make sure that the pork roll is tight but also take care not to break the skin. Dab some water on the last bit of the skin so that the roll can be sealed. Do not worry about the ends as they will 'wilt' when steamed.

Steam the rolls for 10 mins and allow to cool. At this point, you may store the rolls in takeaway containers and freeze them for future consumption. When you are ready to eat, pan fry the rolls with cooking oil until they turn golden brown on both sides. You may deep fry them if you like but I chose to pan fry them for health reasons.

To serve, slice the rolls into 1.5-2cm thick pieces. You may slice them at an angle too. Serve with sweet chilli sauce or sweet dark soy sauce like kecap manis.