Popiah, Teochew for “thin pancake”, is a thin paper-like crepe or white pancake wrapper stuffed with a filling made of cooked vegetables and sometimes meat. When deep fried, the crispy roll is known as spring roll, but if left raw is known as Popiah. Popiah is very popular in Malaysia and also many Asian countries. It is eaten as a snack or as an accompaniment to the main meal. It is of southeastern Chinese origins, from the Fujian province. It is derived from the spring roll eaten during spring when there was an abundance of vegetables.
900gturnips, or yambean or jicama or sengkuang in Malay; Julienned
50gfrench beans, sliced thinly
1carrot, 50g, julienned
2firm beancurd, fried and sliced into thin strips / dice into small pieces
200gbean sprouts, boiled briefly and drained dry
2pincheggs, beat with a pinch of salt, fry into thin omelettes and cut into long, thin strips)
50gshallots, sliced finely and fried till crispy
100gpeanuts, fried and then crushed
Seasonings:
½teaspoonwhite pepper powder
1teaspoonsalt, or to taste
1teaspoonsugar, or to taste
1cupwater, or water from soaked dried prawns
Sauces:
½cupsweet sauce, or hoisin sauce
¼cupchilli sauce
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Instructions
Heat up oil with oil ( 1/4 cup ), shallow fry beancurds until light brown. Dish out, drain on kitchen paper and cut into thin strips or diced into small pieces.
In a very hot wok, heat 2 tablespoons oil till just smoking. Add dried prawns and fry till lightly golden. Add the minced garlic and fry till golden brown.
Add turnips, french beans and carrots. Stir fry till heated through. Add the salt and sugar. Mix thoroughly.
Add the water. Reduce heat and simmer until the turnip turns soft, about 30 minutes.
Turnip should now be cooked but still crunchy. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Sprinkle ground white pepper, mix well and turn off heat.
Push everything to one side of wok to drain off sauce. When cool, transfer filling to a bowl minus the sauce.
To wrap the Popiah, lay a piece of Popiah wrapper on a flat board. Spread a little sweet and chili sauce on it. Place a lettuce leaf over the sauces. Spoon 2 tablespoons filling onto the lettuce. Top with fried beancurd, omelette strips, cooked bean sprouts, fried shallots and crushed peanuts.
Roll one side of wrapper to cover the filling, then fold up the two sides and roll up. Serve immediately.