Teochew prawn roll

This dish traces its roots to the Southern Chinese Teochew diaspora, carried across South East Asia and now into Australia. A specialty of Alice Pung's mum, it uses bean curd skins as the wrapper, a great gluten-free alternative to traditional spring rolls.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4-6

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Series. Cooking. Rated PG.

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The Cook Up with Adam Liaw

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Ingredients

• 250 g bean curd skins
• 2 tbsp cornflour combined with 2 tbsp water, for sealing
• 3 litres vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 1 cup cornflour, for dusting
• Plum sauce, to serve

For the filling

• 300 g fatty pork mince
• 400 g prawn meat, roughly chopped
• 6 water chestnuts, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander
• 1 tbsp finely chopped spring onion
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cornflour combined with a little water
• ½ tsp Chinese five spice
• ½ tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce

Instructions

1. To make the filling, in a medium bowl, combine the pork mince, prawns, water chestnuts, coriander, spring onion, egg and cornflour slurry. Mix well to combine, then add the remaining ingredients for the filling and mix well to combine. Set aside.
2. Use a sharp knife to cut the bean curd skins into rectangular pieces. Use a damp paper towel to gently wipe the bean curd skins to moisten (this will make it easier to roll). Place around 3 tbsp of the prepared filling into the centre of a bean curd skin, fold in the ends and roll tightly to enclose. Use some of the second cornflour slurry to dampen the long edge of the bean curd skin like glue, pressing to seal the edge. Repeat with remaining filling and bean curd skins.
3. Prepare a bamboo steamer set over a large wok or saucepan of simmering water. Steam the bean curd rolls over high heat for 8-10 minutes, then remove from the steamer. Allow to cool completely, then cut into 3-4 cm pieces.
4. Once the rolls are completely cool, heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan or wok to 180˚C. Place 1 cup cornflour into a shallow bowl, then add the steamed bean curd pieces and toss lightly to coat. Deep-fry in batches, until golden, then remove with tongs to a paper-towel lined oven tray to drain of any excess oil. Serve with plum sauce.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.