Teochew Ngoh Hiang ~ Five Spice Meat Rolls

There are many versions of Chinese 5 Spice Meat Rolls.
Some call it Lor Bak, some call it Chun Juan, Some call it Wu Xiang.

Basically, it's a meat roll, filled with pork that is minced or cut into thin strips, marinated with seasoning and spices, wrapped in beancurd sheets and cooked. If I am not wrong, the differences will be; Penang Style Lor Bak is made with pork strips, Hokkien Chun Juan/Lor Bak is minced pork and Teochew Wu Xiang/Ngoh Hiang is minced pork with the addition of taro. They are all seasoned with the essential 5 spice powder.

Last year I saw my Facebook friends Cathy and Vincent making this meat roll with the addition of taro. Curious... and I found out it's a Teochew version, (See Ellena's version here). I have always loved Chinese meat rolls and having taro in it should make it even better!

I have never made any Lor Bak, Chun Juan, or Ngoh Hiang before... so this is my first time making some :)
It's not quite a Cantonese thingy, so I didn't grow up eating this.

Made with double portion of recipe. Will be kept frozen.

I prefer my meat rolls to be porkier, so, it has less prawns comparatively. The ones I made has a higher taro amount. I deep fried the taro remove some moisture and make it more fragrant. When the taro has been fried, it serves as a better filler by absorbing excess liquid from the meat.

These meat rolls are perfect emergency food. They can be made and kept frozen until needed.
And as for Chinese New Year, it's the perfect dish if you need to 'add dishes' for sudden guests who drops by during meal time.

Teochew Ngoh Hiang

by WendyinKK

500g minced pork
100g minced prawns

250g taro, diced
50gm carrot shreds
4 water chestnut, finely chopped
2 Tbsp crispy fried shallots

1 large piece of flexible beancurd sheet (It looks like this)

Seasoning
1.5 tsp 5 spice powder 五香粉
1/8 tsp cassia powder (chinese cinnamon 肉桂粉)
1 1/4 -1 1-2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper powder
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark caramel sauce

1. Heat 1 cup of oil and put in diced taro and fry until the taro's crust feels dry but not golden. Drain from the oil and let it cool down.
2. Mix the pork and prawn with seasonings until well combined. Then add in the fried taro, carrot shreds, waterchestnuts and crispy shallots. Mix well.
3. Wipe beancurd sheet with a moist cloth and let it air dry. Cut beancurd sheets into 12-18 pieces, or any size you prefer. Spoon in some meat filling and tuck in the sides. Roll up and place on a steaming rack with the seam side down.
4. Steam the meat rolls on medium heat for 15 minutes. Let the meat rolls cool down. You can pack them into air tight bags and freeze at this point.
5. On the day of serving, pan fry or deep fry the rolls until golden and fragrant. Slice and serve.

*How many meat rolls you get depends on how much filling you put, and how big you made them.

filling ingredients

dry seasoning

marinating sequence

wrapping and steaming