Sizzling Vietnamese Crêpe/Bánh Xèo

Bánh Xèo (ban say-oh) is a light and appetizing rice crêpe with meat and vegetables fillings. It is served with the nuoc cham, a spicy and piquant fish sauce, along with a side dish of various types of aromatic herbs and lettuce. To eat it, you would wrap a small piece of crêpe with lettuce and herbs into a bundle and dip into the sauce.

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

Satay or "Sate" was originated from Java, Indonesia. It is also popular in other Southeast Asian countries: Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. It is an authentic and a popular dish consisting of richly spiced meat (chicken, pork, beef) on bamboo skewers. The meat is grilled over a wood or charcoal fire and served with a spicy peanut sauce, onions, cucumbers and ketupat (pressed rice cubes.) When I was a kid growing up in Malaysia, my friends and I would wait anxiously for our regular satay vendor. On his shoulder he had a long wooden stick to carry two hugh rattan baskets--a hot charcoal stove on one, and the other basket his famous satay. We would squat near his hot stove and watched hungrily while he cooked our satay. Hmmm..it was the best Satay I've tasted!

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs chicken thigh meat
2 stalks lemon grass, crushed
bamboo skewers, soak overnight with a few drops of oil
oil for basting
Seasonings/Marinade:

3 tsp. cumin powder
2 tsp. cinnamon powder
5-6 shallots, diced finely

2 tsp. coriander powder

2 tsp. tumeric powder
1-2 Tbsp. curry powder
2 Tbsp. sugar

2 Tbsps. oil

1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. brown sugar

Peanut Sauce:

300 gms raw skinless peanuts, roasted
2 Tbsp. coriander powder
2 tsp. turmeric powder

2 tsp. ginger powder

2 tsp. galangal powder
2 tsp. cumin powder
1 onion, cut in chunks
3 cloves garlic
2 stalks lemon grass, grind finely

4 Tbsp. chilli paste

½ cup brown sugar
½ cup tamarind paste (or 3-4 Tbsp. tamarind, mix with water to get about ½ cup)

3 Tbsp. oil

Method:

1. Cut meat into 1-inch strips, drain and set aside. In a bowl mix the seasoning ingredients together to form a smooth paste. Taste and test the marinade--it should be spicy, salty and sweet, adjust to your taste. Add more chili if you want a spicier satay. Marinate the meat well with this mixture at least 4 hours or overnight. Pierce meat on bamboo skewers. Set aside in refrigerator while you prepare the dipping sauce.

2. To make peanut sauce: In a pan on medium heat, pan roast raw peanuts till golden brown. Cool, and grind peanuts to resembles like breadcrumbs. Set aside.

3. Mix all the spices, brown sugar and chilli to a paste. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil and fry mixture until fragrant until a thin layer of oil forms on top of mixture. Lower heat and add tamarind juice and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Add sugar and 3/4 of the peanuts. If mixture is too thick, add a little more tamarind juce and a little more sugar if you like it sweeter. The taste should be spicy hot with a balance of sweet and sour taste.

4. Prepare charcoals for grilling. Grill meat over burning coal, constantly basting with cooking oil over the meat using the crushed lemon grass as a brush. Turn chicken over and baste with oil. Grilled till cooked on both sides.

5. To serve, arrange a few sticks of satay on a plate, accompanied with peanut sauce, sliced cucumber, onions, and compressed rice (ketupat)
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Pan Fried Sticky Rice Cake/Nian Gao

After the Chinese New Year, one of the festive goodies to enjoy is Fried Nian Gao. It is a round sticky brown cake made from glutinous rice and sugar. You can find them on display weeks before the Chinese New Year. It is auspicious to eat this cake during this time of the year as the word, "nian gao" signifies "every year higher" in Chinese. In other words, eating this will bring much prosperity and wealth for the year. You can steam it to soften the cake and coat with fresh coconut, or pan fried it with batter. Whichever way you decide to cook this, it is simply delicious with tea.

Ingredients:
6-8 pieces sticky rice cake, (sliced into ¼ inch thickness)
1 small yam or sweet potato, (sliced into ¼ inch thickness)
½ cup all-purpose flour
Method:
1. Mix flour, egg and water in a bowl until smooth and free from lumps. The mixture should be thick enough to coat the mixing spoon. Adjust water if necessary.
2. Arrange one slice of sticky rice cake between 2 slices of yam or sweet potato. Heat enough oil in pan on medium high. Dip slices of cakes into the batter to coat all sides evenly and fry in oil on both sides until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve warm.
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Sesame Balls/Jin Dui

"Jin Dui" are deep-fried balls stuffed with a sweet paste and coated with sesame seeds. It is sweet with a chewy texture. You can make it with or without the filling--it is equally enjoyable. Because of its round shape and golden color, it resembles gold coins signifying a symbol of wealth and good fortune. I'll be sure to have it this Chinese New Year in hope to increase my fortune.
Ingredients:
3 cups glutinous rice flour
½ cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup white raw sesame seeds
1 cup lotus seed paste or red bean
oil for deep frying
Method:
1. In a bowl, add sugar, water and stir until dissolved. Add in the flour and mix until mixture forms a ball. Dust hands with some flour and knead into a smooth dough. Roll out the dough on a flour board into a long roll and cut into 2-inches pieces. Pour sesame seeds into wide bowl and set aside another bowl of water.
2. Flatten each piece into a round and place a spoonful of fillings (red bean or lotus seed paste) into the center and gather and pinch the edges to seal completely. Roll the filled dough into smooth ball; dip lightly in water quickly and coat with the sesame seeds. Do the same with the rest of the dough.
3. Heat enough oil in a deep pan; reduce heat to medium high and fry a few dough balls until it expands and golden in color, about 5 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve warm.
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Tapioca Cake/Kuih Bengka Ubi Kayu

Tapioca or cassava is a tuberous root vegetable that is widely grown in the tropical and subtropical countries. The root has a thick skin and it is peeled and cooked before eating. I used to just steamed them and eat with sugar. This is another simple to prepare Malaysian snack that I love to share.
Ingredients:
2 lbs tapioca, shredded
250 gm. thick coconut milk
50 gm. grated coconut
2 ¼ cups sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. sago flour (optional)
pinch of salt
baking pan
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Lightly greased baking pan.
2. Put tapioca in a muslin bag and sqeezed out most of the water. Add this into a large bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients.
3. Pour mixture in prepared pan and bake in oven for about half and hour until most of the liquid has evaporate. Reduce temperature to 300°F and bake for another hour until cooked. Test doneness by inserting a toothpick at the center of the cake. If it comes out clen, it is cooked.
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before unmolding the cake. Allow the cake to cool before cutting. (I let mine cool in the refrigerator)
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Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls

These fresh spring rolls are full of flavor and delicious as a snack or appetizer. The rice paper are made of tapioca and rice starch and it is softened with warm water and wrapped with fresh herbs, meat and serve with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. You can use other varieties of cooked meat, such as prawn, beef or pork. They can be made several hours in advance, and kept moist. I prefer to set out the ingredients on a platter and have my guests have fun picking up their choice of ingredients and rolling it on individual plates.

Ingredients:
1 pack Vietnamese rice paper (6", small)
4 oz dried vermicelli noodles (cooked, drained and cut into 2-inch lengths)
1 packet bean sprouts, washed and drained
½ lb tri-tip beef, cut thinly
¼ cup korean bulgogi sauce
lettuce, washed and drained
fresh mint leaves
fresh cilantro leaves
Dipping sauce:
2 gloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp. sugar, honey, or Agave nectar
juice of 1 lime
2½ Tbsp. fish sauce
4 Tbsp. fried peanuts, chopped finely
¼ cup vinegar
Method:
1. Season meat with bulgogi sauce and set aside. Grill to cook on both sides and cut into 1-inch strips.
2. In a bowl mix the dipping sauce ingredients, season and adjust to your taste. It should be sweet and sour taste.
3. Heat a shallow pan with water and keep it warm. Assemble all the ingredients within reach on the table and fill a wide bowl with warm water.
4. Dip 1 piece of rice paper (with the rough side facing up) into the water for about 30 seconds, turning it around until it softened. Put on the plate and arrange lettuce, bean sprouts, vermicelli, mint and cilantro at the edge of the rice paper. Add a few pieces of beef about 2-inch below the top and roll from the bottom, tucking in the corners into a roll. Serve with dipping sauce. (Click below to watch video)
 
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Savory Rice Dumplings/Nyonya Bak Chang

Rice Dumpling festival or Dragon Boat festival falls on the 5th day of the 5th month on the Chinese lunar calendar. During the Chu dynasty (楚), there was a Chinese patriotic poet by the name of Qu Yuan who served as a minister for the emperor and was well loved by the villagers. However, some court officials were jealous of his popularity and his abilities, they influenced and convinced the emperor to dismiss and exiled him. Feeling desolated and disheartened, of the injustice and corruption he committed suicide by drowning himself in the Mi River. When the villagers found out about his death, they rowed their boats out to the river to look for his body. When they failed to find his body, they started making a racket of noises by beating their drums in hope to scare the fishes and sea creatures away from eating Qu Yuan's body. Yet, some villagers made rice dumplings to throw into the water believing that the fishes and sea creatures will be distracted and feast on the rice dumplings instead of his body. Thus, the Duan Wu festival, or Dragon Boat festival is to commemorates the life and death of this historic figure, Qu Yuan.
Rice Dumplings (Bak Chang in Hokkien) is a four-triangular faces (tetrahedron) of sticky glutinous rice stuffed with savory fillings, wrapped with bamboo leaves and then cook in boiling water. There are many variations to this dumpling. The traditional one has stuffing of pork, beans, salted egg yolks, and chestnuts. I am making the Peranakan, or Nyonya version, that has a salty and sweet savory filling. The bluish color is extracted from the Butterfly Pea flower (Bunga Telang). If this is not available, substitute with blue food coloring instead.

(Cantonese version dumpling)

Ingredients:
500 gms. glutinous rice, washed and soaked overnight
2 Tbsps. cooking oil
1 Tbsp. Bunga Telang juice, or few drops of blue food coloring)
1 packet dried bamboo leaves, presoaked in boiling water until soft
hemp strings, presoaked
3 pandan leaves, cut into 2 inchs lengths
Spices:
2 Tbsp. peppercorns
3 tsp. coriander powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
10 gms. cekur (zedoary) ginger root (substitute with 2 tsp. Sar ginger powder)
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
Filling:
400 gms. chicken, cut into small cubes
100 gms. candied winter melon, chopped finely (optional)
200 gms. roasted peanuts, grinded finely
150 gms. dried shrimps, presoaked and chopped finely
5-6 dried mushrooms, presoaked and chopped finely
5 medium-sized shallots, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Rinse glutinous rice until water runs clear, picked out stones and dirt in the rice. Remove about 200 gms of rice into a bowl and add blue coloring, one tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt. Mix well to incorporate coloring into rice. To the remaining of the rice, add one tablespoon of oil, salt and mix well.
2. Ground all the spices ingredients finely.  In a deep pan or wok, heat oil and fry garlic and shallots until soft. Add in mushrooms and dried shrimps and fry until fragrant. Then add the chicken meat and seasonings and stir until cooked. Season to taste with salt and/or sugar. Add in the candied melons, if using and fry for another minute. Remove from heat and let cool. When completely cool, add in the peanuts.
3. Wipe the bamboo leaves dry and drained. Arrange all the ingredients on the table. How to make a string cradle: Cut strings of 3 feet lengths. Put them together and tie a knot with a loop at the end of the strings or tie it over a chair. The loose ends will be use for tying the wrapped dumplings.
4. How to wrap a dumpling: Overlap 2 slices of leaves with the sharp edges in the middle and fold into a cone from about ¾ of the leaf, making sure there is no hole at the bottom of the cone. Fill cone with 1 heaped spoon of blue colored rice, 1 tablespoon of white rice, followed by 2 tablespoons of filling and another tablespoon of the white rice. Press the ingredients with a spoon to compact it. Place a piece of pandan leaf on the side. Using the right fingers, fold the loose ends of the bamboo leaves over the rice to cover completely. Wrap dumpling into a pyramid shape before securing with strings, making sure the rice is consealed and compact. Repeat this method with the remaining ingredients until you have dumplings tied into a bunch on the string cradle.
4. Bring a big pot of water to a boil, making sure the water is enough to cover the dumplings. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water. Put in the tied dumplings and cook over high heat for 1-1½ hours, until the rice is completely cooked or until the rice shapes has dissappeared and form into a smooth triangle shaped dumpling. Remove, drain and serve warm.
 (Click arrow to view video)

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Crispy Top Hats with Savory Fillings/Kueh Pi Tee

This dish is a Peranakan or Nyonya snack, popular in Penang and Singapore. Kueh pi tee or top hats are crispy pastry cases in the shape of a hat. The cases can be made ahead of time and makes great hors d'oeuvres. The mold is a hand fluted truncated cone made of bronze, its tapered shape allows the top hats to slide off the mold once they are cooked. Making this is no small feat as it requires patience, time and the right batter mixture. The trick is to get the mold seasoned with the hot oil before dipping into the batter.
Ingredients:(makes about 3 dozens)
150 gm rice flour
50 gm cornflour
50 gm all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
¼ tsp. baking powder
1 cup water
pinch of salt and pepper
oil for deep frying
Pi tee mold
Filling:
1 medium sized jicama, peeled and julienned
1 carrot, julienned
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 shallots, minced
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup cooked prawns, chopped in small pieces
2 tsps. oyster sauce cilantro for garnishing
fried shallots for garnishing
lettuce, shredded in small pieces
chilli sauce for dipping
Method:
1. Combine both flours in a mixing bowl; add the egg, water and salt to form a batter. Whisk until mixture is free from lumps. The batter is done, when it coats the wooden spoon or your finger with a light creamy layer thick enough to hold. Strain batter into a clean bowl and let stand for at least an hour.
2. Heat enough oil to a deep saucepan on high. When oil is hot, immersed the pi tee mold into the oil briefly for about 2 seconds. Lower the heat to medium. Dip the heated mold into the batter, until it come up to the rim of the mold, coated with the batter. Let the excess batter to drip off, then dip the mold into the hot oil.
3.To separate the batter, jiggle and move the mold up and down to loosen the edges around the top. The batter should come loose by poking gently with a fork or long bamboo skewer on the edges. Allow the casing to cook in the oil until it is light brown. Remove and drain on paper towels. When cool, store in air-tight containers.

4. In a wok, add some oil and fry the garlic and shallots till soft and fragrant. Add the jicama and carrot and cook for about 10-15 minutes until the jicama is soft. Add cooked prawns and season to taste with oyster sauce, salt and pepper. Remove and set aside.
5. In a clean work, add some oil and fry egg into a thin omelet. Remove and cut into thin strips.
6. To assemble: Put a piece of lettuce inside the pi tee case, then add a spoonsful of jicama mixture and garnish the top with eggs, fried shallots, and cilantro. Serve immediately with chilli sauce.
(Click arrow to watch video clip)

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Sweet Potato Balls with Palm Sugar/Ondeh-Ondeh

  

Onde-Onde is a colorful and delicious Malaysian dessert. Onde-Onde in Javanese, literally means a round or small food in the shape of a sphere. It is a small sweetened dumpling of sweet potato dough filled with Gula Melaka, a rich brown sugar from the palm tree. The cooked dough is coated with freshly grated white coconut. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to get fresh grated coconut, the only alternative is to use the frozen ones imported from the Philippines. It goes by the brand name of "Masagana". The palm sugar, Gula Melaka is wrapped in dried palm leaves and you can find them in Asian supermarket.

Ingredients: (about 24-30 balls)
200 gms. sweet potato, peeled and cubed
200 gms. glutinous rice flour
1 Tbsp. tapioca flour
100 ml. water
25 ml. pandan flavoring essence
6 drops of green coloring
pinch of salt
125 gm. gula melaka, grated
3 tsp. white sugar
150 gm. grated coconut, thawed at room temperature
Method:
1. Steam sweet potatoes until soft and mash finely. Set aside. Mix a pinch of salt with the grated coconut and steam for about 5 minutes and set aside to cool.
2. Combine sugar and grated gula melaka in a bowl. Add glutionious rice flour into a large mixing bowl.
3. In a measuring cup, add in pandan essence, green coloring and water to mix. Pour this into a small saucepan and add in salt and tapioca flour and bring to a boil over low heat. Keep stirring until the mixture is slightly thickens. Remove from heat.
4. Pour this warm mixture into the bowl with the flour, mix well to combine. Add the mashed potato and mix to form a dough. Add a little more glutinous rice flour if the dough gets too soft and if it is too dry, simply wet your hands and knead the dough till it is smooth and pliable. Roll into a long rope, cut into 1" cubes and flatten the dough with the palm of your hand. Spoon about ¼ teaspoon of sugar in the middle of dough. Pinch the edges to seal and roll again into a smooth sphere. Do the same with the rest of the dough in the same manner.

5. Fill a deep saucepan with water halfway and bring to a boil. Drop the balls into the boiling water in small batches and cook until they float to the surface about 3 minutes. Remove the cooked balls with a slotted spoon and roll in grated coconut to coat. Serve with tea.

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Steamed Turnip Dumplings/Soon Kueh/Loh Pat Pan

This is a classic snack that is sold in the wet markets in Malaysia. It goes by many names like "loh pat pan" in hakka dialect or "soon kueh" in hokkien. The only difference is the latter has bamboo shoots, or "soon" in Peranakan as an added ingredient. This is one of my favorite food growing up in Malaysia, it brings back sweet childhood memories.
Ingredients: (inspired and adapted by rose kitchen)
Dough recipe: 300 gms rice flour; 100 gm tapioca starch, extra for dusting, 1 tsp. salt; 600 ml. boiling water; 2 Tbsp. oil
Stuffing recipe: 50 gm dried shrimps (rinse and soak in little water to soften); 50 gm dried mushroom (soaked to soften, cut into thin strips); 1-2 lbs of jicama (sliced and cut into thin strips); 1 Tbsp. sugar; 3-4 Tbsp. light soy sauce; 1 tsp. oyster sauce; 2-3 cloves garlic; ground white pepper to taste; 2-3 bamboo shoots (cut into strips if used) enough oil for frying
Presentation: banana or pandan leaves if available
Method:
1. Add a pinch of salt to the jicama, and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Squeezed out excess water. Pound dried shrimps finely in a mortar and pestle (or use food processor). If using banana leaves, cut into 4 x 3 inch shapes. Brush leaves lightly with some oil.

2. Heat some oil in pan and fry shallots and dried shrimps till fragrant. Add jicama and the rest of the vegetables, stir to mix well, then add the seasonings. Continue to fry until ingredients are well mixed and cooked through. Add some water if mixture gets dry. Season to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. To make the dough: In a large bowl add the 2 types of flours, salt and mix well. Drizzle with the boiled water, and stir to mix quickly, let it sit for a few minutes to cool. Next, add in oil and knead to mix thoroughly. and add boiling water. Continue to knead until there is no more lump and texture is smooth, dust with some tapioca starch if it gets too sticky. Cover the dough and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
4. To make dumplings: roll out dough, and dust with tapioca starch if sticky. Continue to roll on a floured board until smooth. Cut into log and cut into equal portions. Roll a portion into a ball, flatten and dust a bit tapioca starch on top and gently roll the middle part gently and move the edges with less pressure.
5. Fill the dumpling skin with a spoonful of mixture, press to seal and flute the edges if you like. Do the same with the rest of the dough. Heat a steamer with water. Place dumplings on banana/pandan leaves if used and space them an inch apart on the steaming tray. Brush top of dumplings with some cooking oil. Steam over fast boiling water until cooked for 10 minutes. Remove carefully on to serving dish.

6. Serve piping hot with chili sauce.
Tips: you can also pan fried the dumplings with some oil until crispy brown for a different taste and texture.
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Steamed Salty Rice Cakes with Radish/Wun Chai Go

This is another one of my favorite snacks whenever I visit Malaysia. I remembered fondly how we used to wait for this hawker to come by our house with these delicious cakes in his basket. He would turn the hot steamed cakes on a plate with a bamboo stick and serve savory sauce on top. It is so good that we often went back for seconds.
Ingredients:
1¼ cups rice flour
3 cups water
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup salted radish, rinsed well and cut in small chunks
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
½ cup lean pork, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
6-8 shallow bowls
Method:
1. Mix rice flour, water, and salt in a bowl. Stir well to mix. Pour into a saucepan and cook over low heat till mixture get thick, but not lumpy. Remove from heat.

2. In a food processor blend radish and pork in small pieces. Heat pan with 1 tablespoon of oil, fry shallots till soft and add radish/pork mixture until they become fragrant. Season to taste.
3. Brush bowls with some oil. Pour some batter into each bowls and spoon some turnip mixture on top. Place the bowls in a pre-heated steamer tray and steam over high heat for about 30-35 minutes (until the skewer comes out clean when poke in the middle).

4. Serve it in the same bowl or wait for it to cool and invert it over a plate. Top with soy sauce mixed with some oil, and leftover toppings.
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Turtle-shaped Rice Cakes/Ang Ku Kuih

Ang Ku Kuih is a Malay word for small bite-sized sweet tea cakes or snacks. They are usually made by hand using molds of intricate designs or roll and wrapped with banana leaves. Ang Ku Kuih (红龟糕) is a small red oval shaped Chinese steamed cake with soft mung bean fillings in the center. The oval shaped Ang ku kuih, (红龟糕) is designed to resemble a tortoise shell which signifies longevity to the Chinese tradition. They are usually served during religious events, birthdays, and the birth of a child. You can easily buy these molds in Malaysia, or simply roll it into an oval or round shape and create your own design. This is a tribute to my late mother who had made this and other kuih everyday for years to sell in the market as another source of income to feed her large family.
Skin ingredients: (makes about 1/ 1/2 dozens)
300 gms glutinous rice flour
200 gms potato flour/starch (or same amount of sweet potato, steamed and mashed)
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
¾ cup warm water
2 tsp. pandan essense
2 tsp. red coloring
1 tsp. sugar
1 sheet banana leaf, cut into several oval shapes
Ang Ku mold
Steamer
Fillings ingredients:
1 packet (14 oz) split mung beans (without skin)
150 gm sugar
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Method:
1. Wash and soak mung beans overnight to soften. Drain well and steam mung beans with pandan leaf for about 20-30 minutes or until soft. Mash finely and set aside.
2. In a pot, mix mashed beans, sugar and oil and cook over medium heat. Stir continuously until mixture is thick and almost dry. Set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, rub some oil in your palm and roll them into small golf sized balls. (You can also use a teaspoon to spoon the filling into the dough).

3. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients, mashed potato (if used), and sugar together. Mix the pandan essense, oil, red coloring and 1/2 of the water together in a small bowl. Add this to the flour mixture. Mix and knead the mixture to form pliable dough, by adding little water at a time if necessary. Cover with cloth and set aside.

4. Brush the mold with some oil and dust with some rice flour. Shake off excess flour. Take a small amount of dough and flatten to a round, put a ball of the filing in the center. Wrap skin over and close back to a ball making sure the filling is concealed. Press it into the mold and lightly tap it on the table to remove. Place it on a banana leaf. Do the same with the rest of the dough and fillings. Trim around the raw dough before steaming.

5. Fill a steamer with water and steam the kuih on the top rack for 10-15 minutes. Set aside and brush lightly with some oil on top.

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Fresh Spring Rolls/Popiah

Popiah is another popular snack in my hometown, Malaysia. It is a light paper-thin crepe wrapped with shredded jicama, string beans, cucumber, prawns, and fried shallots. The skin is made of wheat flour and water. Making popiah skin is labor-intensive as it involves standing in front of a hot griddle and using the palm of the hand to dip into the flour mixture and press the dough on the griddle with a "pull and dip" rythmn. We would normally buy fresh popiah skin in the local wet market by the pound. You can purchase frozen popiah skin or pastry wrappers in local Asian markets. I like to serve this dish at a party as this allows my guests to have fun in making their own spring roll.

Ingredients (A):

1 cup prawns

2 cups jicama, julliened
1 cup french beans, sliced thinly
1 cup firm beancurd, julliened
1 cup cooked beansprouts
½ cup shallot, sliced
2 Tbsp. garlic, minced
oil for stir fry
Ingredients (B):
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup cucumber, julliened
½ cup toasted peanuts  (skins removed and finely grind)
1 head lettuce
cilantro, shredded
chee hou sauce or plum sauce
chilli sauce (optional)
popiah skins, thawed at room temperature
Seasonings (C):
salt and sugar to taste
2 tsp. white pepper powder
2 Tbsps. light soy sauce
1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
Method:
1.Wash and cut all ingredients. Toast and grind peanuts finely.

2. Heat 1/2 Tbsp. of oil in pan over medium heat. Add prawns and cook until it turns red in color, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat to cool. When cool enough to handle, remove shells, cut in half and remove black thread on top of the prawn. Cut prawn into thin slices.

3. Heat some oil on a skillet and pour some egg mixture to form a thin omelet. Turn over to cook the other side. Do the same to the rest of the egg mixture. When cool, cut in thin slices.

  

4.In the same skillet add 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 of the shallots and garlic. Fry until shallots are soft and aromatic over medium heat. Add jicama and cook until it reduced in volumne. Remove and place in a larger pot. 

5. Using the same skillet, add some oil and brown beancurd on both sides. Remove beancurd and saute string beans till it is cooked but not soft. Add this to the jicama mixture.

6. Reheat the larger pot and add the seasonings (salt, pepper, soy sauce, oyster sauce) stir in to mix and simmer over low heat for another 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings, remove from heat.

7. In another saucepan, heat enough oil and fry the rest of the shallots and garlic till crisp and brown. Drain on paper towel to remove excess oil.

 

To assemble:

8. Set out the vegetables, sauces, and garnishing into separate containers on the table.

 

9. Place thawed popiah skin on a flat surface or a plate. Brush the popiah skin lightly with chee hou sauce or chilli sauce in the center. Tear a piece of lettuce away from the middle vein (this will make it easier to roll and not poke through the skin). Place lettuce about 2" away from the side of the skin.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon of jicama ingredients on top of lettuce, squeezing out excess gravy. Arrange the other ingredients (eggs, prawns, cucumber, peanuts, cilantro) Sprinkle top with some fried shallots. Roll up from front, fold the sides, tucking in firmly and roll up firmly. Serve immediately.

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