Okra & Belly Pork Rolls

This started out as yakitori, after a comment today from Camemberu about my post on Nanbentai, Singapore. However, the butcher spoilt it by slicing the belly pork too thick and it was too late to freeze and slice the pork again. Since things were not going according to plan, I didn't bother to fire up the grill and so pan-fried these rolls instead.

But what a surprise. The rolls were very tasty and Wey ate like a wolf tonight. Our appetites have been rather poor recently so I bought 40 meat and chives suijiao dumplings from Mrs Lee in Old Foh San (I forget the name of the coffee shop but it's in the middle) and together with the rolls, a cold spicy mushroom dish and a light watercress soup, Wey announced that dinner was "One of the best yet, mom." That boy. I live to please his stomach.

I added this and that as I cooked, putting in whatever I thought the rolls would need. If the pork belly were cut thinner, it would've been easier to wrap the rolls neatly. Ah well. You get the idea. You'd think that the rolls would taste like gyuniku negimaki but they don't. If looks are important, trim the ends off the okras and cut each into half after they are done. Very good with plain rice and a glass of wine.




Okra & Belly Pork Rolls (serves 4 to 6 as an appetiser)
12 medium okras (use thick asparagus if you can afford them)
6 long thin slices (not paper thin but more like regular bacon rashers) of fresh belly pork, no skin
1 T mirin
1 T light soy sauce
2 t caster sugar
1. Mix the mirin, soy sauce and sugar until sugar is dissolved and marinade the pork with it for 1 hour.
2. Blanch the okra until just cooked. Let cool.
3. Cut each slice of belly pork into 2 and wrap a slice of pork around each okra. I forgot that meat will shrink when cooked but you've been informed so do wrap the okra from tip to tail generously.
4. Heat a frying pan and add 1 T veggie oil. Fry the rolls in high heat, turning once. If there's any marinade liquid left in the bowl, pour that onto the rolls too.
5. Mix 1 t dark soy sauce, 1 T mirin, 1/2t dashi granules and 2 T hot water and pour over the rolls, moving the rolls so that they are covered with the sauce. Heat is at high. Sauce will thicken and darken the rolls. Plate up and serve immediately. If like, trim the ends of the okras and slice each okra into half.