In Part I, we covered how to make basic mianjin or wheat gluten. With that same dough, you can make oil mianjin 油面筋 simply by deep-frying it. Alternatively, you can make a variant of basic mianjin by adding yeast and allowing the dough to ferment. This produces kaofu 烤麸, which has a spongy texture perfect for soaking up braises and sauces. At the end of this newsletter, we will put everything together in the making of a dish of braised mianjin with peanuts and mushrooms, a dish that you can find sold in cans (see the photo below taken at Sheng Siong - the braised mianjin with peanuts is the first row of cans from the left). It is something that transports me back to my childhood.
Oil Mianjin 油面筋
Yields 4 servings, about 15 oil mianjin balls
If you've ever savoured a can of braised mianjin and peanuts, you likely remember the delectably crinkled mianjin pieces that soaked up all the flavorful braising sauce. The secret to their unique texture lies in the deep-frying process that transforms doughy mianjin into these airy, chewy balls.