Popiah (Fresh Spring Rolls)
These shrimp- and tofu-filled spring rolls are a popular street snack in Ipoh. This recipe first appeared in our October 2011 issue along with Jayanthi Daniel's article Hungry City.
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Credit: Todd Coleman
INGREDIENTS
2 ¼ cups canola oil2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
10 oz. jicama, julienned
1 ½ tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. ground white pepper Kosher salt, to taste
2 eggs, lightly beaten
5 oz. dried spiced bean curd, julienned
½ small yellow onion, very thinly sliced ½ cup small dried shrimp, soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes and drained
6 8″-square wheat spring roll wrappers, preferably Spring Home brand
1 ½ tsp. sriracha chili sauce, plus more to taste
1 ½ tsp. hoisin sauce, plus more to taste
1 small head green leaf lettuce
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add jicama, sugar, white pepper, and salt, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup water, and bring to a boil; cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool.2. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 10″ nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggs; cook, flipping once, until a firm omelette forms, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, roll up like a cigar, and very thinly slice crosswise; set aside. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in skillet, and add bean curd; cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 8 minutes; set aside.
3. Heat remaining oil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°. Add onions, and fry until crisp and browned, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer onions to paper towels to drain, and set aside. Add shrimp to oil, and fry until crisp and browned, about 2 minutes; transfer to paper towels to drain, and set aside.
4. To assemble, arrange 1 spring roll wrapper on a work surface so a corner faces you. Brush bottom third of wrapper with ¼ tsp. each chili and hoisin sauces, and place 1 leaf of lettuce on top; put ¼ cup jicama, 1 ½ tbsp. sliced omelette, and 1 tbsp. each bean curd, fried onions, and fried shrimp on lettuce. Lift bottom corner of wrapper over filling; pull wrapper back against filling to tighten. Fold in sides, and roll forward to form a 5″-long roll, about 2 ½" thick; repeat with remaining wrappers, chili, hoisin, lettuce, jicama, omelette, bean curd, onions, and shrimp. Transfer rolls to a serving platter, and cut each crosswise into 4 pieces. Drizzle with more chili sauce and hoisin, if you like.
 Recipe - Saveur.com){kind=link}
This dish was fun to make and a huge hit. Will make again often.
*note: to those of you, like me, who buy Spring Home wheat spring roll wrappers, and figure from the pictures on the box and from the texture once they thaw, that you MUST fry them...nope, tasted great as is.
**also, those 8" square ones come in packs of about 40. I left it on the counter for about half an hour, until I could carefully remove 8 of them, then slipped the (hopefully) still frozen rest back in to the freezer for next time.
This dish was fun to make and a huge hit. Will make again often.
*note: to those of you, like me, who buy Spring Home wheat spring roll wrappers, and figure from the pictures on the box and from the texture once they thaw, that you MUST fry them...nope, tasted great as is.
**also, those 8" square ones come in packs of about 40. I left it on the counter for about half an hour, until I could carefully remove 8 of them, then slipped the (hopefully) still frozen rest back in to the freezer for next time. Rating: 5