My hubby’s eldest sister makes the best lorbak on the island, in Malaysia and probably, the best in the world. However, I have not been able to see exactly how she marinates the meats. She used to supply them to several lorbak sellers but she is now too old to make them in bulk. So, the only time I get to eat is during Chinese New Year when she did it as gifts for all her siblings.
I had pestered her for the recipe as both her daughter-in-laws have no interest in them. But heh, all I get is the basics. Therefore, I tried making my own yesterday.
I used only chicken thighs -deboned to make them. My sister-in-law told me she used pork that is specially cut for her by the butcher. The pork is cut into long, thin strips. She said she used only pork and marinates like fish sauce, five-spice-powder, sugar, dark soya sauce and soya sauce. But I swear I see bits of vegetables inside! So, I put in some spring onions, Chinese parsley and some turnips, grated (sengkuang). My mom used to put yam and turnips in her lorbak. I also added some flour inside to bind them.
This is the rolled-up lorbak waiting to be deep fried. My kids loved them because the taste is just right. But I am not entirely satisfied because the fillings are loose. I.e. when I cut them after cooking, the fillings sort of dropped out.   Anyway, it is still way tastier than those I got from stalls.
My sister-in-law had been telling me that  she will call me to her home to see her how to roll those darn meats. She said the secret lies in making them firm and tight. Hope I get to learn from the sifu one of these days.
10 thoughts on “My almost perfect lorbak”
KTemoc
(October 31, 2006 - 6:39 pm)Can you please advise on the sauce – you know the black-white sticky stuff with eggs in it – what Penangites called “Lor” – that one dips the lor bak into (besides chillie sauce of course). Thanks
jmy
(November 1, 2006 - 12:05 am)helo there…maybe you could add abit of fish ball paste to it so that it will stick together…I’m Malaccan and my mum also makes a similar version of these but we call them spring rolls instead hehehe…my mum uses pork too, and she adds some of her homemade fish ball paste along with water chestnuts, chillies, black mushroom, carrots, spring onions (all which are diced into small cubes). she would steam the rolls first and then dipped in flour batter before frying them. sometimes she make them into balls and add a salted egg yolk in the middle. nice combination.
We eat this only during chinese new year too…
ET
(November 1, 2006 - 9:43 am)HI Lilian
your version looks mucho delicious..as for packing it tight..suggest using the sushi bamboo roller device?
your filling and seasoning sounds about right..any chance of a sample hehe 🙂
Tummythoz
(November 1, 2006 - 3:09 pm)I crack an egg into the filling and mix it up before wrapping. The meat will stick together which make the wrapping easier.
Maple
(November 2, 2006 - 8:55 am)HI,
I am a Hakka, what is the wrapping made of?
I never seen this before.
Terima kasih from Vancouver Canada.
molly
(November 2, 2006 - 3:01 pm)Hi!Maple, the wrapping is bean curd sheets made from dried film or skin that forms after boiling soy bean milk.Think u can get it from chinatown where they sells dried food. Lilian, did u use tapioca flour? It is more starchy so it binds better.(about 2 tablespoon to 300gm meat)
Hijackqueen
(November 3, 2006 - 1:46 pm)My way of doing it: Pork + prawn blend together. Your seasoning is ok but i put tapioca flour instead of flour. Got ppl use flour wan meh? No wonder fall apart la. Then you are supposed to steam the lorbak before deep frying them. The balance of steam lorbak can be kept in the freezer.
lilian
(November 3, 2006 - 2:37 pm)hijackqueen – Hehehe, it is the special lorbak flour by Hup Loong which I think is part tapioca and some beans. My sis in law never steam it wor, still very firm and pack.
molly – Let me try with tapioca next time. Tks
maR
(November 4, 2006 - 3:49 am)Kak lilian,
I tak pernah makan lorbak, so malu to admit! Now I know how it looked like, now the only thing is looking for it to buy lah, sbb I dun think I would be able to make it myself 🙂
Candy Spooner
(June 19, 2008 - 11:06 am)Hey there,
I doubt you were provided with the detail method and ingredients to make lobak. I have made it using http://www.kuali.com‘s recipe “Five-Spice Pork Rolls” and it is super… like the real deal! And yes, you have to steam it first. That way the filling will hold together and the bean curd sheet will cling to the filling. That’s the secret. Hope you’ll try it and find it good too.