Recipe: The Secrets of Pussy or The Quest for Making the Perfect Diok Pit He (Hokkien Fried Pork Shrimp Dumpling)

Felix Go Ang, Jr. Master
Chef extraordinaire.

I know what you are thinking and it is not.  This is not and never will be a discussion on the female anatomy or the cat but I must admit, the term is used because of person's relation to the cat. 

I am referring to a very good friend and a master chef extraordinaire who is not given much credit for his culinary capabilities and more so, has not yet been given (perhaps in the near future?) an opportunity to fully fledge in the art of food.  His name, Felix Go Ang, Jr. (b. 1964) 

Felix is so named probably not because the appellation means "lucky", but rather its relation to the character, Felix the Cat.  The cat being synonymous to the word Pussy which is unfortunately also refers to the female anatomy draws therefore some form of parallelism that drew attention to this little anecdote involving the former parish priest of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in New Manila. 

Felix as he looks today
in one of his selfies.

We were in grade five in Xavier School when Pussy was living with her aunt in West Greenhills which Catholic parish that is involved in the spiritual needs of its members is Mary the Queen.  From what I recall, Pussy said that for one special Sunday, his aunt made the decision to attend mass in Our Lady of Mount Carmel whose former parish priest in the late '70s was the American , Father Paul.   

Father Paul was no ordinary white guy in white robes.  But picture him as a tall perhaps six foot robust Caucasian man with a deep articulated voice that when he gave a sermon, his voice was very much resonant in all corners of the large concrete church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.  Anyway, after celebrating the Sunday eight o'clock mass, Pussy's aunt decided to meet Father Paul as they were going to personally hand some donation to the church.  Father Paul, always wanting to meet the family of whoever approaches him, could not help but notice the boy who was chubby with a triple chin and rather shy when spoken to, accompanied by his aunt. 

So he asked, "So, what's your name?" 

The aunt blurted out the answer for the rather shy Felix, "Push-y", she said in her own rather Hokkienese accent. 

This is the Pussy we were referring
to as ascribed to Mr. Ang.
It's a CAT, okay?!

That provoked a somewhat double winked response, "Ohhhhh!  Puss-sy", Felix remembering how Father Paul pronounced it as, "Phass-Sy!" 

The embarrassed Felix countered rather shyly, "Nooooo....it's Felix." 

And Father Paul even further said, "Ooooohhhh! Phass-sy Felix!" 

I do not know whether my good friend Mr. Ang still remembers this little story as much as how he made an impression to my family's culinary memory when in senior year and having a class party in our house, with members bringing a dish as potluck, he brought these morsels of shrimp.  Those shrimp morsels are what is known in the Chinese-Filipino community as Diok Pit He. 

My mom had a version of it which for some reason was not the same as what we always had in Chinese restaurants.  She insisted that ground pork be used, and along with the usual five spice powder with some diced carrots, garlic, pepper, jicama, egg and cornstarch -- mixed and wrapped around the shrimp with a spring onion wrapper and served with sweet sour sauce is what makes Diok Pit He.  Good, but we didn’t think that was it; for the concoction is somewhat soggy and doesn't seem to stay moist or crunchy for long. 

Diok Pit He, made by ME!

Diok Pit He in the Chinese Panciteria has been traditionally crispy when hot with a rather moist inside when bitten with a sudden burst of shrimp flavor that mixes with the pork which is tender and juicy.  Because we were just plain gluttons as kids and never cared to deconstruct the dish, we couldn't understand how Pussy's version is not just better, but larger and juicier too with just the perfect crunch when bit.  The shrimps were not the large tiger prawns (about 12-15 count) rather smaller as well just as what my mother used to use (22-26 count), but what was different was technique and ingredient.  My father was just rather speechless when took a bite of this that he just had to ask me to ask Pussy what is the secret of Diok Pit He.  Is it ground pork? 

No, it was pork strips.  And of course, caul fat, referring to the omentum or "lace netting" or "fat netting" as covering.  Same spices?  Yes.  Any vegetable components to the mixture?  Not really. 

I tried to do Pussy's version of Diok Pit He at home once but never got the flavor of it for one thing, he never actually explained the whole process.  Likewise, I must admit that pork in the Philippines is quite though and one needs to do major pounding using the right tools in order to bring out the tenderness though keeping the meat relatively intact to retain its juices as it envelopes the shrimp. 

And next, because the Diok Pit He is somewhat related to Kikiyam and noticing that the prepared shrimp needed to be fried, despite it was lightly cooked, I guess the next important thing is steaming. 

Steaming, I believe is the key.  I discovered that Kikiyam did not achieve its particular structure of being "intact" prior to frying until I found out that the secret to it is steaming it before frying.  And it makes perfect sense!  Again, imagine the Panciteria set up.  One needs Kikiyam? Fry the Kikyam!  Not do not make the Kikyam from scratch and then start frying, it has to be prepared beforehand with the right amount of intactness to be easily handled ready to be deep fried in hot oil and this is achieved by steaming much like embotido.  It seems that Diok Pit He is the same and actually steaming serves even another purpose which is tenderizing the meat because steam, being at a higher temperature, penetrates the lean very well breaking down the proteins in the process. 

With that, I tried this is a procedure and I must say, the final product is a success.

Diok Pit He (as per the suggestions of Mr. Felix Go Ang, Jr., with recipe and procedure appended by me) 

Ingredients. 

• 1/2 kilo pork shoulder, sliced thinly as possible and macerated with a meat hammer 
• 12 pieces medium shrimp, peeled 
• 1 tablespoon salt 
• 1 tablespoon five spice powder 
• 1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1/2 head peeled and chopped garlic 
• 1 bunch spring onion, chopped finely 
• 1 tablespoon flour or cornstarch 
• 1/8 cup rice wine 
• Several sheets of Soybean wrap ("Tau Phei" in Mandarin or "Tau Peh" in Hokkien) 
• Several sheets of Nori seaweed (Sushi seaweed) (OPTIONAL) 

Procedure 

1. First macerate the pork pieces very well with a meat hammer.  Combine in a bowl, all the spices, cornstarch and salt.  Season the pork very well by kneading with your hands.  Add the rice wine to serve as tenderizer and it well removes the gaminess of pork. Leave this mixture to marinade for about fifteen minutes, of course, longer the better. 
2. Laying a layer of pork, get a shrimp and wrap the meat around it.  Then wrap the nori sheet around this, if desired.  Then this pork and shrimp combination should lastly be wrapped by the soybean wrap.  Tuck the folds well and it does not take a lot of the wrap to do this as its purpose is just to hold everything in place. Leave the shrimp tail exposed for handling later on. 
3. Arrange these pieces on a steamer lined with parchment paper and steam on high fire for about 8-10 minutes.  Let cool to room temperature. 
4. Rolling each piece in cornstarch (and beaten egg, if desired), deep fry until golden brown for about 3-4 minutes. 
5. Let rest standing, tail side up for about a minute or so on paper towels. 
6. Serve with green garnish such as cilantro or spring onions along with sweet sour sauce. 

Tips. 

• The original way of making this is wrapping it with pork omentum also known as "fat netting" which one can get from the butcher shop.  But it seems the perfect substitute is soybean wrap. 
• Be sure that you have your oil very hot prior to frying.  If the oil is not as hot, it might loosen the wrap and the meat and shrimp to loosen as well. 
• The wok has a tendency to get hot fast because of its thin structure, but likewise, lose heat and get cold fast as well.  Frying more pieces will drop the temperature especially if the premade pieces come from the refrigerator.  So watch out that one does not crowd the wok with too many pieces frying at a time. 
• If preparing for a party, one can make the steamed pieces ahead of time stored in Ziploc bags in the cold portion of the refrigerator.  Then fry as many as needed to serve.  These keep well and can be stored in the freezer making sure each piece is distinctly frozen separate from the other for easier handling. 
• Watch the video for a demonstration: in English as per request from my English speaking audience.