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Vegetarian Loh Bak Recipe (斋卤肉)
Makes about 8 rollsIngredients:
8 oz yam (taro), cut into 1/2-in width strips
3 oz jicama (yam bean), peeled and grated with a grater
1 tablespoon five-spice powder
3 heavy dashes white pepper powder
2 teaspoons sugar or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 tablespoon water (optional, add if the mixture is too dry)
Some MSG (optional)
8 pieces tofu skin (6 x 6 in squares)
Sealing starch:
1/4 cup hot water + 1 teaspoon corn starch (stir well to firm a sticky paste)
Method:
Steam the yam strips for about 8-10 minutes or until they are cooked through.
In a mixing bowl, mix the grated yam bean (jicama) with all the seasonings. Add the water if the mixture is too dry. Add the steamed yam strips into the mixture, be careful not to break the yam too much. Try to keep the strips intact.
Lay the tofu skin on a flat surface. Soften it with some water until it’s ready to wrap. Add about 2 spoons of the filling onto the center, arrange the yam strips horizontally across. Fold in the two sides and roll up tightly. Seal the edges with the sealing starch. Set aside.
Heat up your wok or frying pan with enough cooking oil. Once the oil is fully heated, deep-fry the vegetarian loh bak over medium heat until golden brown. Dish out, let cool for 10-15 minutes, then cut it into pieces, serve with your favorite chili sauce.
Cook’s Notes:
- MSG is optional. I don’t use MSG but I grew up eating foods with MSG.
- Make sure the filling is tightly rolled up to ensure a firmer texture after frying.
- Do not cut the rolls right after deep-frying. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting into pieces as they may not cut well when they are hot.
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So. Gonna. Make. These!!! Thanks a million, Bee. They look and sound incredible. Getting the yams tomorrow! :)
Cheers
Ju
Great, let me know if it’s successful. :)
This looks delicious! I’m always on the lookout for vegetarian versions of my favorite dishes–particularly foods like these that I remember so fondly as a child. Thanks for sharing.
I love vegetarian food, too. Miss the kau ong ea’s festival.
Hi !
Thanks.
I made a recipe copy for my vegetarian mom.
She’d like Vegetarian Loh Bak.
Love
Wonderful. Thanks for sharing with your mother.
Hi Ms Nyonya Food
I happen to bump into your website by chance and I felt that I am so blessed….. I love cooking & baking and nothing can compromise that when my mood and creativities arrived. Love everything in your web, especially from the photos. I can see that you hv spent a lot of efforts in decorating the display the dishes/snacks which really catch my eyes. As I am also very particular in display. Great work. I have actually created a nyonya recipies and I will try them out and give you my feedback. Thanks again.
Welcome to Nyonya Food, hope to hear back from you. :)
Hi Bee,
I have enjoyed making your Kung Pao recipe and my family loved it. All your recipes are easy to follow because of the excellent instructions. I wan to try this Loh bak recipe but in Bangladesh we do not get Jicama or yam, so could you suggest an alternative. We do get sweet potatoes..would that be a good substitute? Would appreciate your advise.
Thanks…..Zeenath
Oh well, there is really no substitute for jicama but if you want, you can try daikon (white turnip) but it will not be quite the same.
Hi, you can use water chestnut as a substitute to jicama. It’s crunchy and taste good. Hopefully you can get it fresh or in cans.
sorry, but can u pls tell me another name for jicama bean.
It’s bangkuang.
Hi Bee
Cooked your vegetarian Loh Bak for my vegetarian frenz. They love it very much. The whole plate consist of 50 sticks & it finished in 5 minutes time. I am really happy. Do you have any other vegetarian recipe that you can share with us again.
Regards
Veronica
That’s great. Yeah, this is a great recipe. I don’t have that many vegetarian recipes but I love them.
I likes to try Rasa Malaysia food pls teach how to do it okey
thks
Hi,
I really like to eat Loh Bak, is the tofu skin the same as fucuk but square version normally displayed side by side? I really like & I want to try to make this, a recipe I’ve read before uses chicken, water chestnut, carrot + seasonings like u mentioned, u think this will work?
TQ, Selly
Wow, definitely a scrumptious recipe. I will really try this next week. :) Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Actually, we eat MSG everyday, not only in asian foods. Even the sauces at McDonald’ss contain msg. But still, if the ingredients are fresh and of high quality we don’t need to rely on it. I spoke with asian people who believe using msg is a form of “cheating”. Actually a guy from hong kong recommended a excellent substitute for msg, something called Po lo ku mushroom seasoning. It still generates a savory flavor, but it’s named from shiitake mushrooms and sea salt.
Anyway, gonna try and cook some malay food for my girlfriend. Poor poor girl, her boyfriends obsession with asian food must be driving her nuts.
obs.. MADE from shiitake mushrooms..
Hi Bee, looks as good as the non-veg loh bak. I’ll have to look for these the next time I’m at a Chinese-veg restaurant in Penang.
Regarding MSG, I got more curious about it when I moved to Asia a long time ago. Growing up in the US, we are led to believe it is some toxic substance we have to avoid at all costs. Not sure of the reason, since after looking into it, there are no studies to prove it is any more dangerous to your health than adding salt. Like anything, it is best to use it in moderation. Problem is, for Americans the idea that MSG is bad is so ingrained in us, that it is impossible to change our minds.
Mark – I grew up eating MSG because my late mother thought that MSG is magic powder. LOL. I don’t use it anymore but I really don’t mind it at all. If you eat out in Asia, you’re bound to have MSG.