How to make Indian Rojak Nonya Style.

Since the recent hawker food scare in Singapore, we have been receiving requests for hawkers’ food recipes. The closest recipe we can get to the infamous Indian Rojak is the ngeow chu cheen (mouse fritter) with a thick spicy plum dipping sauce.

This Nonya style Indian Rojak is a common vegetarian dish known as “cheh hu” (vegetarian fish) amongst the babas and nonyas in Penang. The fritters served with this dish are known as “ngeow chu cheen” (mouse fritter) because when the batter are dropped in the hot oil they form mouse-shaped fritters (hence its name in Hokien for mouse).



Ingredients for Gravy:

2 tbsp finely ground dried chilli
1 onion finely blend
1 ½ cup tamarind juice (If unavailable substitute 6 tbsp plum sauce or tomato sauce)
2 cup boiled mashed potato
1 cup water
4 tbsp oil
Sugar to taste

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan until hot. Fry the onion and chilli until fragrant. Add water, peanut butter and mashed potato. Bring to boil and lower heat. Simmer and stirring sauce until thicken to pouring consistency. Strain by pressing through a colander to get a smoother sauce and set aside.

For the Prawn fritters aka Ngeow Chu Cheen (Mouse fritter):
250 g small prawns
1 cup flour
1 tbsp rice flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ cup water
½ tsp salt
Pinch of pepper
2 cucumber
1 yambean (mung kwan)
500g bean sprouts
2 pcs hard bean curd (taukua)
150 jellyfish, soaked

Method:

Mince prawn finely. Add the minced prawn to rest of ingredient to make a thick batter. Drop in hot oil to form cylindrical shape fritter like a mouse (hence, the name in Hokkien dialect for mouse). Deep fry fritters until golden. Serve with dipping sauce.