Shzr Ee Tan’s Ngor Hiang

Fried ngor hiang

There may be wanton wontons and associated cheesy puns, but when it comes to the awkward-to-spell and even more awkward-to-pronounce ngor hiang, the possibilities are more complex. The Brits would call this dish a spring roll (don’t they call everything a spring roll?), while Northern Chinese friends swear they are a subset of dumplings from the ‘Motherland’. My Italian flatmate declares it an Asian cannelloni. Spanish foodies liken it to a cross between a wet sausage and a chorizo. I’m sticking with the sui generis label ngor hiang and its distinctly Southeast Asian / Singaporean origins.  

Indeed – if there was one treat desperately missed from home (Singapore) that could never be located in any of London’s gourmet cornucopias, it was this meat roll that smelled of fish. Eeew – you say, but nothing invokes the sultry and sweaty aromas of a hawker centre one degree North of the equator better than shrimp-infused pork. Not to worry: there are other strands to the dish’s taste profile. Named after the Hokkien words for its key ingredient of five (ngor) spice (hiang – ‘fragrance’) powder, this roll was the crafty invention of Southern Chinese migrants who had moved to the ‘South Seas’ in the 19^th century in search of work, opportunity… and – perhaps new palates? With a befuddling list of ingredients from dried prawns AND fresh prawns to – what I see as its USP: a specific kind of beancurd skin – plus a tedium-inducing five-step ‘desalinate-steam-freeze-defrost-deep fry’ process, it never occurred to me that homemade versions of ngor hiang were viable outside Singapore. Never mind wontons, this was a no-go-hiang.

COVID and travel restrictions, however, changed everything. Enter my fellow Singaporean-in-limbo friend Raiman Abdullah late last year, who not only surprised me at home one autumnal day with a takeaway tub of these very rolls, but had also presented them in a DIY halal update, substituting beef for pork. With zero access to Singapore’s hawker centres or Mum’s kitchen, desperate circumstances called for desperate measures. Raiman had decided to make ngor hiang himself.

They were orgasmic. And I decided I should learn to make them too.

I looked up wiki, google and YouTube for klutz-friendly recipes. Turns out, most references that surfaced had nothing to do Singapore at all. In the Philippines there was ngohiong also called kikiam, which substituted rice paper or egg crepe for crispy beancurd skin (but why??!). In Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand there were sister versions called lorbak and heh gerng. I Whatsapped my Mum for her family recipe. And I grilled Raiman for his beef substituted Version 2.0. 

Behold results below [substitutions in square brackets]. Enjoy!

Ngor hiang wrapped in lettuce

Ingredients

Filling:

500g Minced pork – preferably mix of pork belly and regular pork [alternate: beef]
300g fresh shrimp
10g dried shrimp or dried scallops [optional]
6 shallots, finely diced
2 carrots [optional]
6 sprigs of spring onion, finely chopped
300g of drained water chestnut, finely diced [alternate: fresh apple]

Sauce seasoning:

1 tsp five spice powder
½ tsp white pepper
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp oyster sauce
½ tsp sesame oil [optional]
pinch of salt
1 egg
2 tbsp corn starch

Wrapping and Frying

1 large beancurd sheet, cut up into 4 A4 sized sheets
10g corn starch
oil for deep frying

Serving suggestion

fresh lettuce leaves
kicap manis / hoisin sauce / plum sauce/ chill sauce

Method

1. Mix all ingredients for the seasoning and set aside.
2. Mix seasoned sauce with all other ingredients for the filling in a large bowl, leave to marinate for 2 hours.
3. Lay out beancurd skin on a clean surface. With a damp cloth, wipe away the salt on both sides of the skin. Cut skin into A4-sized sheets
4. Spoon 4 heaped tbsps of the seasoned filling in a neat row near the bottom end of the beancurd skin. Tuck in sides and roll up, sealing the pack by applying water to edges of the beancurd skin. Repeat until all filling is used up.
5. Place rolls in a steamer for 12 – 15 mins, set aside to rest for 10 mins when cooked. Freeze at this stage for future reference if need be – simply defrost for 10 mins before next step.
6. Cut rolls up into cubes of 3 cm widths, coat individually with corn starch.
7. Deep fry individual cubes, then set aside on oil-absorbing kitchen towels.
8. Serve with fresh lettuce and choice of sauces.

Ngor hiang steamed

Shzr Ee Tan is a Senior Lecturer and ethnomusicologist (with a specialism in Sinophone and Southeast Asian worlds) at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is interested in impact-based issues of music and decolonisation, aspirational cosmopolitanism, and race discourses in music scenes around the world (including HE), with a view towards understanding marginality through the lenses of intersectionality.

油炸鬼 – Oil-Fried Ghosts

Also known as 油條(Youtiao) / Chinese Cruller

During the Song dynasty, a corrupt government official and his wife plotted to kill national folk hero 岳飛 (Yue Fei) by inventing false claims about him and having him executed. In protest, local cooks prepared a pair of breadsticks representing the official and his wife, then pressed them together and deep fried them. They named this food Oil-Fried Ghosts / Oil-Fried Devils.

Oil-Fried Ghosts are normally eaten at breakfast, as an accompaniment to soy milk or congee.

This recipe will not quite taste the same as the street vendors, but for my rented tenement flat, far away from those streets, it will still just about do.

Ingredients:

200g Plain Flour
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 Tsp Baking Powder
½ Tsp Sugar
½ Tsp Salt
125ml room temp. water
+ oil to deep fry

Method:

1. sift the dry ingredients together, then mix in the oil and water.

2. knead the dough for 5mins, it will be very sticky at first but persevere!

3. cover the dough and leave in a warm area for 1hour, then uncover and punch down a few times.

4. tie the dough in a food-bag and leave in the fridge overnight.

The next day

5. take the dough out of the fridge and allow to rest on the counter-top for 2hours.

6. flour a work surface and then roll out into a rectangular shape.

7. cut equally sized strips, then take a chopstick and indent the centre of the first strip.

8. layer the next strip over the first strip and then indent with a chopstick in the middle again.

9. repeat for all strips, indenting one then placing the next on top and indenting the stack again.

10. heat a wok of oil to 180C

11. deep-fry the ghosts until they are at the desired crispiness.

12. place ghosts on kitchen towel to absorb excess oil, then enjoy.

• 

• 

• 

• 

  
  

Sean Wai Keung is a Glasgow-based poet and performance maker. He has written about food for Bella Caledonia, the Vittles newsletter and SEINGlasgow. His first full length poetry collection, ‘sikfan glaschu’, explores migration and identity through food and place, and will be published by Verve Poetry Press in April 2021. You can pre-order, and even get a Signed Pre-order Bundle Deal too!

Full credits can be found at seanwaikeung.carrd.co, and he can be followed on Twitter/Instagram @SeanWaiKeung

Hel’s Heavenly Kitchen: Nasi Goreng

My ultimate comfort food is rice. Hailing from a Chinese émigré family in Singapore, most childhood meals would have this steady staple. And even though I have now lived in the UK for over 30 years, and my cooking repertoire and flavour palette is truly global, rice remains a firm favourite. Like I always jest, you can take the girl out of Singapore, but you can’t take Singapore out of the girl.

For me, the humble grain represents so many things. Beyond the nostalgia of childhood, there is the reminiscence of home and the strength of my South East Asian Chinese diaspora identity. It also features in so many dishes from different cultures: risotto, paella, pilaf, pulao, biryani, jambalaya, tah dig, arancini, sushi, kedgeree, congee, baked rice, rice salad, rice pudding… you get the picture. So it also appeals to the global citizen in me. Rice is more than just a side dish, more than an after thought.

Here I share one of my favourite rice recipes… Nasigoreng (Indonesian Fried Rice). Popular throughout South East Asia in various forms, nasigoreng is distinguished from other Asian fried rice recipes by its aromatic, earthy and smoky flavour. The generous amount of caramelised sweet soy sauce and shrimp paste means the taste is stronger and spicier compared to Chinese fried rice. Nasi goreng has the same beginnings as other versions of fried rice; as a way to avoid food waste. It is traditionally made out of the previous day’s leftover rice and whatever leftover meat, with fresh vegetables and eggs.

Nasi goreng is ubiquitous in Indonesia, and also popular in neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore, as well as the Netherlands through its colonial ties with Indonesia. There is no single recipe for nasi goreng, as every fried rice dish with certain mixtures, additions, ingredients, and toppings can lead to another recipe of nasi goreng. I love the creativity and versatility of this delicious dish which truly epitomises my South East Asian heritage.

Nasi Goreng

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 Echalion/banana shallot, sliced

• Oil for frying

• 1 clove Garlic, finely chopped

• 60 g King prawns, peeled and cut into 1cm pieces

• 150 g Cooked rice, cool completely, preferably overnight in the fridge

• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp Chilli paste

• 1 tsp Sweet dark soy sauce (kecap manis）

• 1 tsp Light soy sauce

• 1 stalk Spring onion, finely chopped

• 60 g Green beans , cut into 0.5cm pieces

• 1/4 tsp Shrimp paste

• 2 Fried eggs, crisp the white, keep the yolk runny

Preparation Steps

1. Heat about 3cm of oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the shallot in the hot oil – they should bubble mildly. Fry for about 8 minutes until they turn golden. Keep stirring to ensure they brown evenly. Turn the heat off when the shallots are golden brown. Remove the fried shallots with a slotted spoon leaving the oil in the wok – the shallots will crisp up as they cool. Place the wok back on the heat.

2. Add the garlic and spring onions and stir fry for a few seconds until fragrant.

3. Turn the heat up to high. Add the green beans and stir fry for 4-5 minutes. Add prawns and stir-fry for 1–2 minutes until the edges turn pink.

4. Add the cold cooked rice. Spread the rice out so that everything is heated through, and press down gently with the edge of your spatula to break up any lumps.

5. Add the chilli paste, kecap manis, shrimp paste and soy sauce. Mix well to ensure everything is combined – nothing worse than being surprised by a lump of prawn paste while eating!

6. Before serving, top with a fried egg and crispy fried shallots.

Recipe Source: Hel’s Heavenly Kitchen

Hel’s Heavenly Kitchen was founded by Helena Mahoney in 2017 offering cookery demonstrations, dining and pop-up kitchen experiences. Born and raised in Singapore, she moved to the UK in 1990. Having lived overseas for nearly 30 years, she has honed her cooking skills over the years away in an attempt to reproduce the tastes of home. Helena describes herself as a complete foodie, passionate not only about eating but also about sharing the colourful and diverse food from both her homeland and the region. Hel’s Heavenly Kitchen was borne out of this passion and the desire to share the rich gastronomic heritage of Asia. Her culinary events have ranged from innumerable cookery demonstrations both at home and away. More notably she has devised and delivered a three-course ‘Tastes of Singapore’ meal for 10 at the residence of the Singaporean Ambassador to the Benelux nations and offering a Charity Curry Evening for 50.