Teochew Five Spice Roll

Teochew Five Spices Meat Roll is popular in the Southeast coastal cities in China and some Southeast Asian countries. These rolls look like sausages. You can also think of them as egg rolls but gluten-free because the wrapper is made with tofu skin - super crispy. With the juicy and flavorful filling, these rolls are beyond delicious.

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 sheets of tofu skin, cut into 6*9 inches size
• 1 lb (450 grams) of pork shoulder
• 1/2 lb (226 grams) of Jicama, peeled and diced
• 4 scallions, use the white part, diced
• 1 Egg
• 2 tbsp of minced garlic
• 1 tbsp of minced ginger
• 1/2 tbsp of fish powder
• 1 tsp of 5 spice powder
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tbsp of fish sauce
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1/4 cup of sweet potato starch, can be replaced by tapioca starch
• 2 cups of frying oil

Your favorite chili sauce for dipping

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut the big tofu skin into 6*9 inches sheets and set it aside.
2. Cut the pork into bite-size pieces, then roughly blend in a food processor. Five-spice roll is traditionally made with pork belly, but I think that is too fatty, and I recommend using pork shoulder. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use store-bought ground pork; the texture will slightly differ, but the taste will still be delicious.
3. Transfer the pork into a big mixing bowl. Then add egg, minced garlic, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, salt, five-spice powder, fish powder, and sweet potato starch. Stir within one direction for a few minutes until the meat becomes sticky.
4. Combine the meat with the diced Jicama and white parts of the scallion thoroughly.
5. Put some filling on the tofu skin and shape the filling into a long log. Next, roll up the tofu skin to wrap the meat. Slightly dap some water on the rest of the sheet to seal the five-spice roll. Do this to all the five-spice rolls.
6. Let the rolls rest for 10 minutes or until the tofu skin becomes soft. Then, pinch both ends of the roll so the filling is not exposed.
7. Heat the oil to 320 F. deep fry the five-spice roll over low heat for 8-10 minutes. You can pan-fry or shallow fry them if you want to use less oil. Do not fry them on high heat because the tofu skin burns quickly.
8. Serve it as an appetizer or a side dish. You can also top it on noodle soup and congee.