Name: Bai Ye Tofu Wrapped Pork Recipe {百叶包肉}
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 lb ground pork, home-ground pork preferred, see notes; 6 Bai Ye Tofu squares, 6"x6" {including baker's twines, 8'' long each}; 1 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 stalk of green onion, chopped, for garnishing; 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine; 1/2 tbsp naturally aged soy sauce or dark soy sauce; 2 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tsp Zhenjiang vinegar; 1 large egg; 1/2 tbsp arrowroot flour; 1/4 tsp cane sugar, organic unrefined preferred; 1/4 tsp ginger powder, organic preferred; 1/4 tsp coriander seeds powder, freshly ground

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Bai Ye Wrapped Pork or Bai Ye Bao Rou {百叶包肉} is a traditional food in China’s Yangtze River Delta area. It features long petite minced pork burritos wrapped with Bai Ye Tofu. So naturally yummy and satisfying. It is one of my favorite dishes growing up in Suzhou, well-known as the home to Huai Yang Cuisine, Suzhou Garden, and many other things.

What is Bai Ye {百叶} Tofu?

Bai {百} means “a hundred” in Chinese; while Ye {页 or 叶} can translate as a leaf or blinds. Bai Ye {百叶} is basically compressed tofu that looks like a sheet. Usually, people use some types of cheesecloth during the compression process, thus the Bai Ye surface shows tiny grids texture.

How to fold Bai Ye Wrapped Pork Burrito?

You can surely use your existing burrito wrapping technique to fold Bai Ye Tofu Pork Burrito. Bai Ye Tofu usually comes in large folded rectangle sheets. Therefore it makes sense to cut it into squares as a wrapper first. Either 6-inch x 6-inch or 7-inch x 7-inch is OK.

Once you have the square wrappers ready, the first thing first is to lay flat the square sheet in a diamond shape with one of the angles facing directly north and then add a few spoonfuls of the marinated pork filling across the two horizontal angles in a flat rectangle shape.

The second is to fold inward the two opposite angles toward the center line.

how to fold Bai Ye Pork Burrito Part One

Next step 3 is to fold the angle on the south end toward the north end until both sides over-lapping each other.

Following that, step 4 is to roll & flip the rectangle part consisting of the pork filling toward the north until it reaches the end. Use your hands to gently press to keep the burrito in a rectangular prism.

Last, step 5 is to tie the Bai Ye Tofu burrito with a baker’s twine.

How to make Bai Ye Wrapped Pork {Bai Ye Bao Rou} Easy and Yummy?

Tip No.1 is to use home-ground pork if possible

Home ground pork is ideal for a super tasty minced. It has an excellent balance of lean and fatty pork. It is simpler than you might have imagined, either using a manual meat grinder or Stand Mixer grinding attachment.

Home Ground Pork for juicy delicious dumpling fillings, meatballs and more

Tip No.2 is to marinate the ground pork into a yummy pork filling

Add the minced pork or ground pork to a mixing bowl, add chopped green onion, one egg, a splash of Shaoxing wine, naturally aged soy sauce (or dark soy sauce), light soy sauce, as well as a pinch of Zhenjiang vinegar, cane sugar, coriander seeds and ginger powder.

Use a pair of bamboo or wooden spatulas to fold the seasoning into the pork. Once everything is loosely mixed together, turn the spatula in one direction, either clockwise or counter-clockwise, continuously until the whole thing turns into a smooth paste. Do this a few times, the more the pork is stretched out, the tender & tastier it becomes.

marinated ground pork {minced pork} Chinese Style

Tip No.3 is to blanch the Bai Ye Tofu before wrapping

The blanching process, which hydrates the tofu, opens up all the pores, makes it easier for tofu to absorb flavors. This applies to not just Bai Ye, but all tofu products.

Last but not least is to pour a splash of light soy sauce and steam for 15 minutes

Lay the Bai Ye Pork Burritos in a shallow round glass dish, like a pie dish. Drizzle 1 tbsp light soy sauce over the Bai Ye Tofu wrapped pork and steam for 15 minutes. Don’t be surprised only 15 minutes are needed. This is because we lay the pork filling in a thin layer, which makes the cooking quicker.

Bai Ye Tofu Wrapped Pork Recipe {百叶包肉}

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Bai Ye Wrapped Pork or Bai Ye Bao Rou {百叶包肉} is a traditional food in China's Yangtze River Delta area. It features long petite minced pork burritos wrapped with Bai Ye tofu. So naturally yummy, satisfying and easy to make.

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork, home-ground pork preferred, see notes
6 Bai Ye Tofu squares, 6"x6" {including baker's twines, 8'' long each}
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 stalk of green onion, chopped, for garnishing

For Marinating the Pork:

2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1/2 tbsp naturally aged soy sauce or dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp Zhenjiang vinegar
1 large egg
1/2 tbsp arrowroot flour
1/4 tsp cane sugar, organic unrefined preferred
1/4 tsp ginger powder, organic preferred
1/4 tsp coriander seeds powder, freshly ground

Instructions

Grind/Mince the Pork In Advance if you use home-ground pork:

Cut the pork into long thin strips and feed into the grinder. Alternate feeding the fat vs. lean pork. See here for a detailed step-by-step tutorial.

Prepare Bai Ye Tofu:

Bai Ye Tofu is usually sold in folded large sheets, first cut into 6"x6". This recipe makes about 6 Bai Ye Tofu Wrapped Pork Burritos. For the leftover Bai Ye pieces, you can cut them into narrow strips and tie them into Bai Ye Knots, which is delicious when braised with pork or added to a soup.

Fill a 4-Q tri-ply stock pot with water and bring it to a boil, and then add the Bai Ye squares. Cover the stockpot with a lid and let it reach a boil again. Remove the Bai Ye from the pot using a stainless steel strainer, drain the water, and set them aside.

Marinating the Pork:

Add the minced pork or ground pork to a mixing bowl, add everything under "For Marinating the Pork" - Shaoxing wine, naturally aged soy sauce (dark soy sauce), light soy sauce, Zhenjiang vinegar, egg, arrowroot flour, cane sugar, ginger powder, and coriander seeds powder.
Use a pair of bamboo or wooden spatulas to break down the pork and continuously fold the seasoning into the pork. Once everything is loosely mixed together, turn the spatula in one direction, either clockwise or counter-clockwise and continuously turn until the whole thing turns into a smooth paste. Do it a few times.

Fold Bai Ye Tofu Pork Burritos:

Lay the square Bai Ye tofu flat on the cutting board in a diamond shape with one of the angles facing directly north, and then add a few spoonfuls of the marinated pork filling across the two horizontal angles. Leave enough space on both side angles for folding. Organize the pork so that they become a flat rectangle shape.
Fold inward the two opposite angles toward the center line.
Fold the angle on the south end toward the north end until both sides over-lapping each other.
Roll & flip the rectangle part consisting of the pork filling toward the north until it reaches the end. Use your hands to gently press to keep the burrito in a rectangular prism.
Tie the Bai Ye Tofu burrito with the 8-inch baker's twine and place it in a shallow pie dish.
Repeat until all the Bai Ye tofu pork burritos are completed.

Steam Bai Ye Wrapped Pork:

Add 6 cups of water to a cast iron wok, add a steaming rack, and cover it with a dome-shaped lid. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring it to a boil. About 10 minutes.

Sprinkle 1 tbsp light soy sauce over the Bai Ye Wrapped Pork and place the pie dish on the rack, cover the wok with the lid, and steam for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, and wait for a couple of minutes before removing the lid.
Baste the Bai Ye Wrapped Pork with the juice in the pie dish, garnish with chopped green onion and serve.