Loh bak or five-spice pork roll (卤肉) is one of the festive dishes in my family. Much like many Nyonya or Straits Chinese families in Penang, my family celebrates festivals according to the Chinese lunar calendar. Every year, there are numerous festivities when special festive foods are served: Chinese New Year, homage to ancestors, the 7th month of Chinese calendar or “the hungry ghost festival,” winter festival, etc. Different festival calls for different offerings or festive foods, but loh bak is always served.
Growing up, I remember many occasions when I helped my family rolling loh bak. Loh bak is made with marinated pork in Chinese five-spice powder and then rolled up with bean curd skin (soy bean skin/腐皮). My aunt is an expert in making these pork rolls and her loh bak is always moist, aromatic, and delicious. She also makes a killer vegetarian version which is made of taro (locally called “yam” or 竽头). The vegetarian version is often served during the “Kao Ong Ya” (Nine Emperor God/九王爷) festival when many Straits Chinese observe up to 9 days of pure vegetarian meals. The very thought of loh bak–both meat and vegetarian versions–simply makes my mouth water…
Here is my family’s recipe for loh bak, another classic Nyonya/Straits Chinese recipe.
2 pieces bean curd sheets (cut into 6″ x 8″ rectangles)
500g lean pork (cut into strips)
300g water chestnuts (skinned and chopped finely)
1 onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 cucumber(optional)
Seasoning:
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chicken stock granules (chicken bouillon)
2 tsp five-spice powder
1 egg (lightly beaten)
2 tbsp tapioca flour
1 dash of white pepper powder
Method:
- Combine the seasonings and add in lean pork strips and marinate the pork overnight.
- Chop the water chestnuts and combine with the marinated pork, add garlic, onion and mix well.
- Lay one sheet of pre-cut bean curd skin on a flat surface. Light dab it with some water to soften it. Spoon the mixture onto the sheet, fold in the two sides and roll up tightly. Seal the edges with the marinate juice.
- Heat up your wok, pour in 2 cups of cooking oil and deep-fry the meat rolls over medium heat until golden brown.
- Drain on on paper towels. Serve with sliced cucumber and chili sauce.
Cook’s Note:
Loh bak can be found in the many Chinese kopitiam (coffee shops) in Penang as an appetizer or snack. At home, loh bak is served as a main dish as part of a multi-entree family meal.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
Can you use any cut of lean pork or should it be a specific kind? Thank you!
Bruleeblog – yes, you can use any cut of lean pork, it’s up to you. :)
Would you mind posting the vegetarian version? That sounds really good but I don’t eat pork.
Foodie – yes, I will try making them but have to call home to ask my aunt her secret recipe first. I haven’t had the vegetarian ones for a long time now so I also wanted to eat them. :)
yummy!! i’ve been waiting for this recipe to make an appearance in your blog. :)
loh bak is one of my favourite snacks and during CNY mum always has rolls and rolls of them in the freezer waiting to be fried. they disappear really fast!
Lingzie – yes, Chinese New Year has so much food. Drool!
I looove this! Thanks for the recipe :) I believe this is eaten in China (particularly in Fujian and Chaoshan) and Taiwan too.
Correct. A lot of early Chinese immigrants who came to Nanyang were from Fujian province of China. They settled down in Malaysia and brought along their recipes. The Taiwanese version is called jijuan (chicken rolls) but it’s ground chicken and pork. This is the Straits Chinese version. :)
This is my all time favorite dish. A must when I return to Malaysia. If I can help it … it would be on every meal!!! LOL!!!
Tricia – LOL. I know what you mean!
Did you wet the bean curd skin (腐皮) to soften the skin before you used it to roll the ingredients? Or I might be thinking of different type of 腐皮. :) Thank you!
Kikiree – you are right, I just updated the method with instructions how to soften the skin with water. Thanks for reminding.
Inspired to make this right now! Please post the vegetarian too. It sounds really intriguing.
Madampino – yes will try to make the vegetarian version soon!
Your site never ceases to amaze me! Fantastic pictures. I love the way you celebrate your cuisine.
Trissa – awww, that’s such a sweet comment. Thank you.
I enjoy reading your blog because not only do you share your family recipe, but also give a bit of history on the food. Fantastic way of sharing the Nyonya food and culture to the world who has no or limited knowledge on the Straits Chinese. I have done Loh Bak before, but find it quite hard perfecting to the same texture and flavour as the Penang hawker style. I will give it a go with your recipe since I still have a few packets of bean curd skin.
Btw how about sharing the Loh Bak Lor recipe (if you have one)? That is a must with the chilli sauce. :-)
Victor – loh bak is hard to master as there are different variations and recipes. I think the loh bak lor is the same as the sauce in loh mee. I have a recipe in my cookbook, but never tried making it. I love the lor very much, as a kid, I am more interested in eating the lor than the loh bak. LOL.
Hi Bee…been following u at RasaMalaysia…btw…is it possible to replace pork with other meat like chicken for this recipe?
Cimee – yes, of course, you can try with chicken with no problem. :)
Ohh..I so adore these!
My granny used to make them with a strip of liver and a strip of fat! Yup..decadent alrite.. but all goes into my tummy all the same! Hehee
Liver and fat, that sounds divine!
This is a delicious-looking loh bak. Penang is very popular with it. I especially like biting into the crunch of the water chestnut.
these look so amazing
mmm… never thought to use water chestnuts. That sounds delicious, thanks so much for sharing :) Can’t wait to try it!
Water chestnuts are great for loh bak.
I’d like to try this with beef, but find the bean curd sheets too tough sometimes. Any advise how to make the sheets easier to eat?
can i substitute tapioca flour with wheat flour?
In Kuching, we call this ngo hiang. My late nyonya grandmother makes the best ngo hiang. Her version has shrimp, shredded carrots and green onion. I just made some a few days ago actually. I’ve discovered that the tauhu skin from the grocery store here in SF bay is not as good as the ones from back home. Which brand of tauhu skin do you normally buy?
I’m now living in France and everytime I go back to Singapore or Malaysia, I make sure that I get to eat this. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe, I would like try this recipe out and hope you can give us the vegetarian version as well.
hi NF, do you know how to make the sauce as well? Would be great if you could show us how.
I will try.
Is this the same as Ngoh Hiang?
I think Ngoh Hiang is the Singaporean version of loh bak. I haven’t tried ngoh hiang so I can’t be sure.
I think Ngoh Hiong is similar. Some has a bit of white turnip in, some has a bit of yam. I’m gonna make a bit of this for a gathering tonight. Think minced pork, instead of striped pork will be ok? I read elsewhere that the lobak has to be steamed before frying. Yours only requires frying. Much simpler for me, and better! :-)
Oh, would you post something on devil’s curry as well? Don’t know if it’s part of your heritage but I know Malaccans consider it their Nyonya dish. My husband is craving for it. Thanks!
Jayne – sorry, I don’t know how to make devil’s curry because it’s not really a part of Penang Nyonya food. :(
Hi! Nyonya Food, I want to try your recipe for my upcoming home pary. I noted there are three types of bean curb sheet in the market, one type is dry & hard, second type is soft with plain taste and third type is soft with salty taste, can you please tell me which is the one to use?. Am I suppose to use one layer of bean curb skin, just to cover the filling or roll thicker layer to make the Loh Bak more crispy? Thanks
Should be the second one soft with plain taste or the hard and dry. For the hard and dry, just moistened it a little before wrapping.