Ngoh hiang recipe by Hed Chef
Ngoh Hiang should be made with pork shoulder butt or belly pork that is grinded just once as Hedy Khoo recreates this recipe by Mdm Koh Pin Joo.
Singapore, July 16, 2012
She liked the dish so much, she decided to learn it and even came up with her own version.
This week, systems analyst Koh Pin Joo, in her 40s, shares her recipe for ngoh hiang (pork rolls wrapped in beancurd skin).
The dish is a big hit with her two sons, aged 14 and 16.
She says with a grin: “My sons will selectively avoid vegetable dishes, but with ngoh hiang, they cannot pick out the vegetables.”
Despite it being an essentially meaty dish, it contains a fair amount of vegetables with water chestnuts and carrots thrown in the mix.
Be sure to finely dice the water chestnuts or they may poke and tear the delicately thin beancurd skin, advises Madam Koh.
Do not buy ready-minced pork.
Instead, select pork shoulder butt or belly pork and ask the butcher to put it through the meat grinder just once.
Madam Koh likes her dishes simply seasoned, so she has omitted the use of five spice powder and other seasonings, except for light soya sauce.
The fried beancurd sheets are quite salty, so there isn’t a need to add extra seasoning, she says.
After steaming the wrapped rolls, allow them to cool before frying, otherwise the rolls may tear.
Instead of deep-frying the ngoh hiang, she prefers to dab the steamed rolls with cooking oil and puts them in a oven toaster to toast until crisp.
This is an option for the health-conscious.
Excess steamed rolls can be kept in a plastic box and stored in the freezer after steaming.
Simply let them thaw, then fry or toast when needed.
As I prefer a stronger-flavoured filling, I used my mother’s tip of wiping the beancurd sheets with a damp cloth to take away some of the oil and salt.
Doing this balances out a heavier dose of seasoning I use in the filling.
As the saltiness of the beancurd sheets can vary, to suit your own preference, I suggest you wrap a small roll and pan-fry it for a taste test before you proceed wrapping the entire lot.
For added texture, I threw in 100g of yam into the filling.
The result is a powdery smooth texture in the final product which blends well with the meat and sets off the crunchy bits of water chestnuts.
To bind my extra ingredients together, I added eggs and flour.
The first time I tried the recipe, I ended with rather deflated rolls after steaming because I had not wrapped them tightly.
Madam Koh’s advice to prevent this is to wrap the rolls tightly and firmly.
This prevents excess air from being trapped within the rolls.
With this in mind, a second go at the recipe rendered nice plump rolls.
Still, they do get a little squashed if you slice them open as I did for the photo shoot.
MADAM KOH's RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
1-2 sheets of tau kee (fried bean curd skin)
800g minced pork
250g prawns
3 water chestnuts, finely diced
Half a carrot, finely diced
2 stalks of spring onions, finely sliced
Dash of pepper
1 tbsp light soya sauce
METHOD
De-shell and de-vein the prawns. Mince finely.
In a bowl, add the pork, prawns, chestnuts, carrot and spring onion.
Mix and add the pepper and light soya sauce.
Cut the fried bean curd sheets into 8cm by 11cm pieces.
Place about 1 1/2 tbsp of the meat mixture along one length, leaving an allowance of about 1cm from sides.
Roll and twist the two ends to seal.
Lightly brush the steaming rack with oil and place the rolls on it.
Steam for 10 minutes, allow to cool, then pan-fry until brown and crisp.
HED CHEF’S VERSION
INGREDIENTS
2 sheets of fried bean curd skin
800g minced pork
300g prawn meat
4 dried mushrooms, soaked and diced
8 water chestnuts, finely diced
Half a carrot, finely diced
100g yam, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
10 shallots, sliced and fried
2 stalks of spring onion, finely sliced
20g coriander, finely sliced
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 small eggs
Seasoning
2 tbsp five spice powder
1/4 tsp white ground pepper
11/2 tbsp light soya sauce
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 tbsp sesame oil
METHOD
Steam the yam on a perforated metal rack for 5 minutes. Allow to cool.
Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Add the seasoning and mix well.
Using a damp cloth, gently wipe both sides of the beancurd sheet.
Wrap and cook as above method.
Hedy Khoo | The New Paper | Mon Jul 16 2012
Singapore, July 16, 2012
She liked the dish so much, she decided to learn it and even came up with her own version.
This week, systems analyst Koh Pin Joo, in her 40s, shares her recipe for ngoh hiang (pork rolls wrapped in beancurd skin).
The dish is a big hit with her two sons, aged 14 and 16.
She says with a grin: “My sons will selectively avoid vegetable dishes, but with ngoh hiang, they cannot pick out the vegetables.”
Despite it being an essentially meaty dish, it contains a fair amount of vegetables with water chestnuts and carrots thrown in the mix.
Be sure to finely dice the water chestnuts or they may poke and tear the delicately thin beancurd skin, advises Madam Koh.
Do not buy ready-minced pork.
Instead, select pork shoulder butt or belly pork and ask the butcher to put it through the meat grinder just once.
Madam Koh likes her dishes simply seasoned, so she has omitted the use of five spice powder and other seasonings, except for light soya sauce.
The fried beancurd sheets are quite salty, so there isn’t a need to add extra seasoning, she says.
After steaming the wrapped rolls, allow them to cool before frying, otherwise the rolls may tear.
Instead of deep-frying the ngoh hiang, she prefers to dab the steamed rolls with cooking oil and puts them in a oven toaster to toast until crisp.
This is an option for the health-conscious.
Excess steamed rolls can be kept in a plastic box and stored in the freezer after steaming.
Simply let them thaw, then fry or toast when needed.
As I prefer a stronger-flavoured filling, I used my mother’s tip of wiping the beancurd sheets with a damp cloth to take away some of the oil and salt.
Doing this balances out a heavier dose of seasoning I use in the filling.
As the saltiness of the beancurd sheets can vary, to suit your own preference, I suggest you wrap a small roll and pan-fry it for a taste test before you proceed wrapping the entire lot.
For added texture, I threw in 100g of yam into the filling.
The result is a powdery smooth texture in the final product which blends well with the meat and sets off the crunchy bits of water chestnuts.
To bind my extra ingredients together, I added eggs and flour.
The first time I tried the recipe, I ended with rather deflated rolls after steaming because I had not wrapped them tightly.
Madam Koh’s advice to prevent this is to wrap the rolls tightly and firmly.
This prevents excess air from being trapped within the rolls.
With this in mind, a second go at the recipe rendered nice plump rolls.
Still, they do get a little squashed if you slice them open as I did for the photo shoot.
MADAM KOH's RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
1-2 sheets of tau kee (fried bean curd skin)
800g minced pork
250g prawns
3 water chestnuts, finely diced
Half a carrot, finely diced
2 stalks of spring onions, finely sliced
Dash of pepper
1 tbsp light soya sauce
METHOD
De-shell and de-vein the prawns. Mince finely.
In a bowl, add the pork, prawns, chestnuts, carrot and spring onion.
Mix and add the pepper and light soya sauce.
Cut the fried bean curd sheets into 8cm by 11cm pieces.
Place about 1 1/2 tbsp of the meat mixture along one length, leaving an allowance of about 1cm from sides.
Roll and twist the two ends to seal.
Lightly brush the steaming rack with oil and place the rolls on it.
Steam for 10 minutes, allow to cool, then pan-fry until brown and crisp.
HED CHEF’S VERSION
INGREDIENTS
2 sheets of fried bean curd skin
800g minced pork
300g prawn meat
4 dried mushrooms, soaked and diced
8 water chestnuts, finely diced
Half a carrot, finely diced
100g yam, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
10 shallots, sliced and fried
2 stalks of spring onion, finely sliced
20g coriander, finely sliced
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 small eggs
Seasoning
2 tbsp five spice powder
1/4 tsp white ground pepper
11/2 tbsp light soya sauce
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 tbsp sesame oil
METHOD
Steam the yam on a perforated metal rack for 5 minutes. Allow to cool.
Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Add the seasoning and mix well.
Using a damp cloth, gently wipe both sides of the beancurd sheet.
Wrap and cook as above method.