Popiah

Ingredients

Skins

• 12popiah skins, soft thin wheat wrappers

Filling

• 1 kgjicama or turnip, finely julienned
• 300 gcarrot, julienned
• 200 gFrench beans, sliced thin
• 300 gpork belly, finely diced
• 150 gprawns, chopped
• 4 clovesgarlic
• 1 tbspfermented soybean paste, taucheo
• 2 tbspoil
• 1 tspwhite pepper
• sugar and salt

To layer

• sweet flour sauce, tim cheong
• chilli sauce
• crushed garlic paste
• lettuce leaves
• 2eggs, made into a thin omelette and shredded
• 150 gbean sprouts, blanched
• 100 groasted peanuts, ground
• crisp fried shallots
• chopped coriander

To serve

• at the table, rolled by each person

Directions

1. Cut it as fine as you can, close to matchsticks. Coarse pieces stay crunchy and watery and never cook down properly.
2. Add the garlic and the taucheo and fry until fragrant. Add the prawns, then the jicama, carrot and beans. Now stew it, covered, over a low heat for 45 minutes to an hour.
3. Drain and reduce it properly, because a wet filling soaks straight through the delicate skin and the roll falls apart in your hands. Season with sugar, salt and white pepper and let it cool a little. Keep the drained cooking liquid, which is spooned over the filling as it is rolled.
4. Lay a skin flat and smear a little sweet sauce, chilli sauce and garlic paste across the lower third. Lay a lettuce leaf over the sauce. It stops the wet filling touching the skin, which is what keeps the roll intact.
5. Spoon a line of the drained turnip filling onto the lettuce, with a spoonful of its liquid. Add shredded omelette, bean sprouts, ground peanuts, fried shallots and coriander. Do not overfill.
6. Fold the sides in, then roll it up firmly from the bottom. Roll it snugly but not tightly, because a tight roll splits the skin.
7. Cut it into three or four pieces on the diagonal and eat it immediately. It must be eaten within a minute or two of rolling, which is exactly why it is assembled at the table.

Technique

• Popiah skins are sold fresh and frozen, and fresh ones are far better.
• The filling can be made a day ahead and is often better for it.
• Vegetarian versions leave out the pork and prawns and add more egg and mushroom.

Substitutions

• Turnip or kohlrabi in place of jicama.
• Spring roll wrappers, which are thicker and not really the same.

Variations

• Vegetarian, with mushrooms and tofu.
• Fried popiah, which is a different and crisper thing.
• Penang popiah, with a slightly different sauce balance.

History

Hokkien spring roll brought by Fujianese migrants; families roll their own at gatherings, filling the skins at the table.

Frequently asked questions

What is Popiah?

Popiah is a snack from Singapore: soft wheat skin rolled around stewed turnip, egg, peanuts and sweet sauce. Hokkien spring roll brought by Fujianese migrants; families roll their own at gatherings, filling the skins at the table.

How long does Popiah take to make?

Popiah takes 1 hr of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 12 rolls. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Popiah?

Yes, within limits. Turnip or kohlrabi in place of jicama. Spring roll wrappers, which are thicker and not really the same.

What is the most important thing to get right in Popiah?

Cut it as fine as you can, close to matchsticks. Coarse pieces stay crunchy and watery and never cook down properly.