Ngoh Hiang is a family staple for many households of my generation, be it the Peranakans or the Chinese. Having roots in southern Chinese cuisine, different dialect groups each have their own version. Even amongst relatives and close friends whom I have discussed this dish with, there are variations and nuances to the ingredients used, to the method of preparation. And this is true about many other dishes of course, each family’s recipe differing from the next. Amongst the Peranakans, Ngoh Hiang is favoured by the babas and nyonyas in Singapore, more so than those slightly north in Malacca. The peranakan community in Penang however has their own version called Lok Bak where strips of pork are used instead of minced pork in the southern ngoh hiang.
Just like I’d said earlier, there are a million and one ways of preparing ngoh hiang, each family’s recipe differing from the next. Sometimes even within the same family, the daughters would do it slightly differently as well, despite all learning the dish from the same mother. Whichever recipe one uses, the freshness of the ingredients is important. Do not be penny-pinch to your ingredients like fresh prawns and a good piece of pork with the right fat to meat ratio, to be ground into minced meat. Don’t try to add more five spice powder or pepper in attempt to mask or guise the unpleasant taste and odours from using cheap stale pork or prawns that will bring down the standard of the Ngoh Hiang.
After all the ingredients like carrots, onions, prawns, spring onion, corriander were cut and chopped into morsels of the right size, all that is left is to give everything a good mix! Use hands to get everything properly amalgamated.
Next comes the wrapping 0f the ngoh hiang. Traditionally ngoh hiang are made into long rolls, like half a foot long which was pretty much the standard. You can even wrap it shorter for greater ease of eating and no need for cutting. The beancurd skin are first cut into the right width but the length was kept long, to be trimmed after each roll is wrapped.
After the beancurd skin is cut to the right width, the surface is wiped very quickly with a piece of slightly damp cloth to remove any excess salt or debris that might be sticking on it. After that, a generous dollop of filling is spread across the width of the beancurd skin leaving a small 1 cm perimeter near the edges.
A little egg wash used for the later pan frying is dabbled and rubbed gently around the perimeter which acts as a sealant for the sides. Sometimes, I would use the remnant egg and starch mixture from inside the filling for the same purpose. Lift the width of the beancurd skin closest to you to partially cover the filling and at the same time, press firmly down on the two sides to seal part of the excess skin on the sides… The ngoh hiang is carefully rolled one time round, pressing the filling gently yet firmly against the beancurd skin as one does so to push out any trapped air within because air bubbles would expand during the frying process and burst the skin…
The ngoh hiang is then rolled over one more time and the excess beancurd skin trimmed off. The ends are also smeared with some egg wash to seal the opening. Do not attempt to roll over too many times as one would end up eating a lot of skin which can be rather salty. The sides are given one final press to secure the edges. This is important to prevent the filling from leaking during the frying process…
The whole process is repeated until all the beancurd skin or meat filling is used up whichever runs out faster that is. Place the rolls on an oiled tray, making sure that there is a gap between each roll. Put water in a wok and bring it to a boil, Place the tray onto the rack to steam for about 15 mins. After steaming, let it cool completely before removing the rolls from the tray. Otherwise, the rolls will break. The steamed Ngoh Hiang can be freeze for later use. Place the roll into a container without the rolls touch each other, especially the end parts. Place a clean plastic sheet over the first layer before stacking the next layer on top of it.
Any excess filling can either be frozen for the next batch, or a bit more flour could be added and the filling could be deep fried as they are as meat balls instead. The five-spice meat rolls are now ready for frying.
Oil temperature control is important in the frying process. The oil should be sufficiently hot to prevent the meat rolls from absorbing too much oil, something that would happen if the oil wasn’t hot enough when the ngoh hiang are introduced into it. Yet, it cannot be too hot which would cause the skin to darken and brown too quickly before the filling is cooked through. It takes a bit of practice to get there. Flip the meat rolls carefully to prevent the skin from tearing during the frying process. Once both sides are beautifully light golden brown, the fire is turned up slightly for just that few seconds to “purge” out any excess oil from within the ngoh hiang, a trick which Grandma taught when I learnt the dish from her. And according to her, take the meat rolls out of the frying oil when the beancurd skin is still a shade lighter than the desired colour as the rolls would continue to cook with the residual heat from within and darken further even as they are being drained in a wire rack or sieve. If we had cooked the ngoh hiang to “colour perfection” while the meat rolls were still in the wok, they would become too dark when we put them on the dining table later on, she would repeatedly remind us.
Ingredients
1kg minced pork (preferably with a fair bit of fat)
500g shrimp, meat only, cut into small chunks (save shells for other dishes like laksa lemak)
1 big yellow onion and 3 medium size red onions peeled and diced
300g carrots, peeled and diced (about 10 pieces)
60g spring onion, chopped (a few sprigs)
2 eggs
6 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp five spice powder
1-1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp white granulated sugar
2 tsp pepper
2 pieces of ngoh hiang beancurd skin, cut into 10-12 cm wide strips
Cooking oil for frying
Method
Mix all the filling ingredients in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed.
Wipe the surface of the beancurd skin with a very slightly damp kitchen towel
Wrap the ngoh hiang as shown in the photo tutorial above.
Repeat until all the meat filling is used up.
In a heated wok, pour oil and maintain at medium high heat.
Carefully slide each roll of ngoh hiang into the wok of oil and fry one side until they are lightly brown.
Turn the meat rolls gently onto the other side and fry until they are lightly brown.
Turn them over once again and bring up the heat slightly and fry until they darken slightly to light golden brown.
Remove from wok, drain off excess oil in a wire sieve or rack and place them on a plate lined with kitchen towel to absorb any remnant oil.
To pan fry them with egg wash, simply slice the ngoh hiang when they have cooled down slightly into thick slices.
Dip each piece generously with egg wash before pan frying them on both sides until the egg wash crisps up.
Remove from oil, drain and plate.
Serve warm with chili sauce and dark sweet sauce.