Nyonya Lor Bak

A Five Spiced Powder Pork Roll

Nyonya Lor Bak, is a favorite dish with most people. This dish is easily translated as marinated meat.

And because it is marinated with five spice powder, it is then called Five spice Lor Bak or Ngor Hiang Lor Bak which is Hokkien for Five spice powder.

There are many variations recipes for Nyonya Lor Bak in Malaysia Penang Food.

You can even classified it under Malaysian Food too as all over Malaysia, these dish is being concocted using other types of meat to cater for the non Muslims.

It is a very popular Nyonya delight food. Nowadays you can find it sold in the hawkers center, economy food in food court, street food or restaurants. But nothing beats to original, as it is the food of the Nyonya. Nyonya Lor Bak, is a not a halal dish as the Chinese uses pork to make this dish.

Real home made Nyonya Ngoh Heang Bak

Even in hotels like Holiday Inn or Rasa Sayang in Georgetown or Beaches Hotels, one can find it on their buffet plate. For the Nyonya, it started as a dish to prepare when worshipping ancestor during Cheng Beng or any Chinese festival. But because it is so popular with adults and kids, it became a demand.

The kids loved this as it is not very spicy and the mild five spice powder dipping sauce is a hit.

Wrapping Lor Bak

Nyonya Lor Bak can be served with cucumbers and two specially prepared dipping sauce. One dipping sauce is sweet and spicy while the other is cornstarch and five spice powder mixture. Lor Bak became the in food in Penang.

Ingredients to make Lor Bak

• 1 kat Pork fillet (Bak Tow), remove gristle and cut julienne style.1.5 kats to get 1 kat
• Half kats fats (bak ewe), cut similarly but thinner than Bak Tow. Blanch in hot water till firm. Drain well.
• 1/4 kat Potato Flour
• 1 H'Tablespoon Diced Spring Onions
• 3 to 4 Water chestnuts, chopped
• 1.5 ozs garlic, pounded fine
• 4 pieces dried beancum (Tau Peoy)

(1 piece can wrapped 6 to 9 rolls of Ngoh Heang Lor Bak depending on how wide or narrow, thick or thin rolls you wrapped).

Seasonings to marinate Nyonya Lor Bak

• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1/2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 4 H'Tablespoon Potato flour
• 4 to 5 Tablespoon water. (Careful with water, mixture must not look runny)
• 1 t'sp salt
• 1 t'sp pepper (Hor Choew Hoon)
• 1 t'sp Black Soy Sauce

Marinating Method

In a bowl, mix seasoning with 4 T'sp water. Add pork and fats and mix through, blending till all are well coated. Minimum marinating 2 hours. Can season overnight in the refrigerator.

Wrapping the marinated meat

Add spring onion and waterchestnuts before wrapping with (Tau Peoy) Beancum. If mixture breaks easily when you wrap, slowly add 1 to 3 T'sp water.

Deep Fying 5Spice Lor Bak

In a wok, pour in 8 oz of oil for deep fying. The oil must be real hot. Immediately after wrapping the lor bak, deep fry to prevent the tau peoy from breaking. Fry on both side but not too long. You do not want it too dry out. Drip dry off the oil before cutting and served with dipping sauce and cucumbers.

Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce

• 4 T'sp Chilly Sauce
• 2 T'sp Tomato Sauce
• 1 T'sp Sugar
• 1T'sp Fresh Lime juice
• 1 Garlic, pound finely
• 1/2 t'sp Salt
• 1 to 2 T'sp toasted Sesame Seeds

Five Spice Powder Dipping sauce

1. 2 tbsp dark soy-sauce
2. a pinch of Chinese 5-spice powder
3. 2 tbsp castor sugar
4. salt, to taste
5. 4-5 tbsp water
6. ½ tsp cornstarch
7. 1 egg white, lightly beaten

Nothings beat you learning how to make this Nyonya Lor Bak. Most Lor Bak nowadays I must say don't use waterchestnuts. Waterchestnut in Nyonya Lor Bak shows a true blue local dish. The usual addition in place of waterchestnuts is yam or taro or sengkuang. It taste okay, just okay. So, better try to secrets, it is a hand me down recipe!

Nyonya Pearl note: you can make a bulk and deep freeze the Lor Bak. It keeps well.

Go to Top of Nyonya Lor Bak Page

Back to Nyonya Flavors Page

Back to Penang Food Page

Back to My Island Penang Home Page