Walnut Meat Rolls
A Shanghai-style walnut meat roll, golden in color with a crisp wrapper, tender pork filling, and fragrant toasted walnuts.
Ingredients
pork loin (cut into pieces about 5 cm long and 3 cm wide)
to taste
walnut meat (soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes, peeled, then blanched in peanut oil at 40% hot)
to taste
egg (cracked into a bowl)
1
flour
to taste
Shaoxing wine
to taste
refined salt
to taste
Sichuan peppercorn (for making Sichuan pepper salt)
to taste
salt
to taste
peanut oil (for frying)
to taste
water (for mixing the egg-flour batter)
25 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Place the walnut meat in a bowl, add refined salt, pour boiling water to cover, and soak for 5 minutes. Remove, use a small bamboo skewer to pick off the outer skin, drain, then drop into a wok of peanut oil heated to about 40% hot and blanch until cooked through.
2
Step 2
Crack the egg into a bowl, add the flour, refined salt, Shaoxing wine, and 25 g of water, and whisk together into a smooth egg-flour batter.
3
Step 3
Cut the pork into slices about 5 cm long and 3 cm wide and lay them flat on a cutting board. Brush a thin layer of the egg-flour batter over each slice, place a piece of the fried walnut meat at one end of each slice, and roll up into a silkworm-cocoon shape. Spoon the Sichuan pepper salt into a small serving dish and set aside.
4
Step 4
Heat a wok over high heat and add the peanut oil. When the oil reaches about 30% hot, dip each meat roll in the egg-flour batter to coat and lower them one by one into the oil. Fry until the batter just sets, then remove and drain.
5
Step 5
When the oil temperature returns to about 70% hot, return all the rolls to the wok together and fry a second time until golden brown. Remove, arrange on a serving plate, and serve hot with the dish of Sichuan pepper salt alongside.
