Many people like to make ngoh hiang or prawn rolls during the CNY. And somewhere along the line, something that resembles the both is probably this Youtiao Sotong. Instead of beancurd skin all the time, this variation that uses Youtiao probably could help to provide you with another idea for your CNY dish. Filled with sumptuous minced seafood filling, this Youtiao Sotong is deep fried till golden brown, hence resembles the auspicious Chinese yuan bao (元宝), which marks the CNY festival perfectly.
Another thing I so liked about this dish is that it contains all seafood filling without any poultry. It can be served with simple condiments like thai chilli sauce and mayonnaise. And the time taken to deep fried is much shorter than that of the ngoh hiang. The golden hue of the Youtiao Sotong after frying is so brilliant that the guests will surely be enticed to try them out. Generally we only enjoy this dish at zhi char stalls, but it’s not difficult to make them yourselves at home too.
That’s this serial drama that’s currently showing in HK now, which talks about food and cooking. It said something like cooking is actually based on the own gut feeling and usually agar-ration or own estimate might turn out even better. So today, I decide to apply this rule to all my cooking and indeed, it really turns out to be much more satisfactory which kinda exceeds my expectations !! Hahaha !
And best of it all, I love the fact that I do not feel any thirst at all after the foods. I think I am kinda “allergic” to MSG nowadays. I always had this extreme thirst after eating certain stall bought food. So I am quite thankful that PurelyFresh has been able to provide me with fresh groceries that allow me to prepare my home cooked meals that are msg-free and hence much healthier.
Even when I am desiring for this Youtiao Sotong which we generally get to eat only when dining out, the availability of fish paste and fresh prawns that I have gotten from PurelyFresh allows me to prepare this dish from home anytime now.
Do give this dish a try if you are planning for your CNY reunion feast !
Enjoy !!
- 3 pairs of youtiao
- some cooking oil (for deep frying)
- 250g cuttlefish/sotong paste
- 100g fish paste
- 100g minced prawn
- 1 small carrot, diced
- 10 water chestnuts, diced
- 3 springs of chinese parsley, shredded
- 1 tbsp light soya sauce
- 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ sesame oil
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¾ tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp corn flour
Mix all the fillings ingredients and marinade together in a large bowl.
Beat the fillings by throwing them into the bowl for a few times by hand till it becomes very sticky. Leave them in the fridge for at least an hour to marinade well.
Cut the youtiao into 4cm length then cut a slit in between halfway (but not right to the bottom). Wrap the youtiao with the fillings from Step 2.
Heat up some cooking oil for deep frying. Test whether the cooking oil is hot enough by placing a chopstick into the oil. If bubbles sizzles around it, the oil is ready. Deep fried the youtiao sotong till golden brown.
Drain well on paper towel before serve. The youtiao will turn crispy after leaving it to cool for awhile.
