Home Made Penang Lobak

The Famous Penang Lobak

My wife and kids prepared the pork and ingredients for the Penang lobak in the morning. Then, left the pork and five spice stuffings in the fridge for about two hours before wrapping in the soft soybean curd sheet. The stuffings were a mixture of thinly slice pork, taro cubes, carrot cubes, water chestnuts, five spice, salt and pepper. We prepare the Penang lobak with chunks of meat rather than ground pork to make each bite meatier and crunchier.

The Signature Cuisine of Penang

After wrapping the stuffing in the two layers of soft soybean curd sheet, the lobak rolls are fried over an inch of cooking oil. When taken out from the plastic bag, the soybean curd sheet comes in a very huge round paper thin sheet of soybean curd that has to be cut into eight inch squares. It takes only a few minutes to cook. Once the lobak rolls turned golden brown, they are ready. The soybean curd wrappers will also turn crispy and remains crisp for about an hour or so.

Taro and Penang Lobak

The Penang lobak can be immediately served from the wok to the plate. Some people like them crispy and some prefer them when they have cool off. But we often make quite a few of these lobak rolls and freeze them for later consumption. The kids and I have them with rice for lunch at school. We will usually prepare a whole bunch of the lobak rolls and give to friends or take it to some of our potlucks. The Penang lobak is simple to make and the ingredients are easily sourced from our local Asian grocery stores.

Another Signature Penang Hokkien Cuisine

The Famous Penang Lobak

The Hokkien clan of Penang started immigrating to different parts of South East Asia and some landed in Penang in search of work even before the colonial days. The Hokkiens were predominantly from the Fujian Province in China. But others may have arrived from Guangzhou Province. That was what we were told by our fore fathers but no written records or clues were left behind to proof any of these claims. Most of my early ancestors were either seafarers or small business owners that came to Malaysia looking for a better life. Some has arrived in this part of South East Asia even before the founding of Penang by Sir Francis Light.

Spice Flavoured Penang Lobak

Over time, with the cultural mix and diversity, many of the unique cuisines that are found in Penang today were actually creations that were developed here on the island, these signature cuisines were never found anywhere on mainland China because Penang was surrounded with the richness of the spices. One of the most unique is the Penang Lobak. A a meat wrapped cuisine that originated from Penang. The soy bean curd sheet is used as the wrapping sheet. And the stuffing is a combination of minced or sliced pork with five spices, taro, carrots and jicama.

The Uniquely Special Cuisine of Penang

Spices were abundance and readily available in Penang. Therefore, it is no wonder that many of the best and tastiest cuisines originated from Penang. And all of which uses some of these spices. The Penang Lobak cuisine is meat base and the meat that is stuffed in the Lobak Roll was marinated over night with five spices. The meat was left over night in the fridge to absorb the flavours and fragrance of the spices. When fried the Penang Lobak acquires a unique taste and crispiness, all of which comes from the combination of the ingredients and spices.

One of The Most Famous Penang Cuisine

Penang Lobak

Although this cuisine is found nearly everywhere in Penang, mostly in the Chinese coffee shops that host among others a food cart selling a mix of fried finger food such as shrimp fritters, fried tofu, fried fish cake, crab meat, the thousand year old egg and so on. Lobak, as it is commonly known in Penang and else where in Malaysia among the Chinese, is a must have item. Lobak is actually a mixed of pork marinated with five spice, stuffed in layers of crispy soy skin. Synonymous to Penang Chinese cuisines, Lobak is a delicious meat wrapped fried in oil that originated with the Teochew clan of Penang.

The Famous Lobak

Today, Lobak cuisine is found in every corner of Malaysia through to Singapore. In Singapore it has evolved to form another name and the preparation method is slightly different from the way Lobak is prepared in Penang. But still, the ingredients and components of the Lobak, still remains the same. There are several recipes found on the internet for this authentic cuisine but like always, I like the simple preparation method used by the food cart cooks that make a living selling this cuisine. In fact, they have perfected their skills in Lobak making over the years and no where else can we find so many of such experts except in Penang.

Teochew Lobak

The soy skin for making Lobak is unique. In Penang, we call them the Teochew soy skin because the Teochew people were the ones who first discovered the process in making these unique soy skin. Now, it is mess produced. Even, that it is manufactured by the Teochew people in China and only found in provinces where the Teochew clan lives. The pork filling is a mixture of pork (cut in strips or minced), carrot cubes, taro cubes, and onions. Then, marinate and leave overnight (in the fridge) with five spices and corn flour. I know of some cooks that add cabbages in the pork fillings to increase the volume and cut costs but I rather not use cabbage.

Lobak

When wrapping the fillings into the soy sheet, make sure the stuffings are tightly wrapped inside the Lobak roll to avoiding any of the liquid and fillings from escaping into the cooking oil use for the frying. To glue the ends of the soy sheet together, I use chicken egg. Its like glueing the envelope lid but instead of water, I use chicken egg.

When frying the Lobak roll, use medium or slow heat. So that the inside fillings are well cooked. We cook the Lobak very often at home and occasionally brings them to potlucks and cook outs.