My sister-in-law, Sheila's, mom is another amazing Cantonese cook.  I'm truly blessed by having all these great cooks as relatives! Aunty Kam and her husband also owned a Chinese restaurant in the Carolinas.  She has taught me so many Chinese cooking hacks.  I may actually need to visit her and document her recipes. These braised bean curd rolls (fu pei guen) are adapted from one of her recipes.

At the dim sum restaurants, braised bean curd rolls are usually steamed after a sauce has been poured over them.  I've omitted that extra step of steaming, because these braised bean curd rolls taste just like the ones at dim sum without the steaming! These are also more flavorful, because the sauce has not been diluted during the steaming process.

Bean curd sheets are also known as tofu skin or yuba.  It is made from soybeans and is the by-product of the tofu making process.  It is a healthier option to the fried spring rolls because, just like tofu, it's high in calcium and protein.

Tips for making braised bean curd rolls.

Bean curd sheets.

Use "fresh" bean curd sheets that are usually frozen rather than the dried bean curd sheets.  This is a game changer!  Dried bean curd sheets are very brittle and hard to work with.  Make sure you buy the frozen "fresh" bean curd sheets that are thin. Many of the packages have pictures that don't allow you to see the actual product. The bean curd sheets should be paper thin, somewhat translucent and bumpy rather than those that are thick as lasagna pasta.

Filling.

I use the Wong Family's dumpling filling as the base.  I then add fresh cilantro, canned bamboo strips and rehydrated shredded black fungus or woodear mushrooms. Use bamboo strips which are julienne cut bamboo shoots, and shredded dried black fungus to eliminate the need for extra cutting! However, the black fungus does need to rehydrate in a soy water solution to make it useable and for added flavor.

Adding the bamboo shoots and black fungus (woodear mushrooms) onto the filling while making the rolls, instead of adding them directly into the filling ensures that each bite will have some crunch.

Wrapping the bean curd rolls.

The frozen fresh bean curd rolls come in large circles about 24 " (61 cm) in diameter. The easiest way to cut these sheets is to cut the circle into 12 wedges.  To make it easier to roll, dip each wedge briefly into a soy, water solution to make it softer and more pliable.

Braising the bean curd rolls.

Many recipes require frying the bean curd rolls first, creating a sauce that gets poured onto the bean curd rolls and then steaming the rolls.  I find that a lot of oil is needed to fry the bean curd rolls to avoid them sticking to the pan.  If you create a sauce first and place the rolls directly into the sauce to briefly cook, less oil is required, the bean curd rolls are more flavorful and you don't need to hassle with steaming the bean curd rolls.  You save a step. it takes less time and it's more flavorful!

If you end up making these braised bean curd rolls, let me know what you think in the comment section!