Nyonya Popiah

Ingredients

• 16 fresh popiah skins
• 1 kg jicama (bangkuang), peeled and coarsely grated
• 1 carrot, grated
• 200 g French beans, finely sliced
• 100 g dried shrimp
• 200 g pork belly, diced small
• 2 tbsp taucu (fermented soybean paste)
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 300 ml water or stock
• 200 g small raw prawns
• 3 eggs
• 200 g firm tofu, fried and cut into strips
• 150 g beansprouts
• 16 lettuce leaves
• 100 g roasted peanuts, ground
• 1 cucumber, cut into fine matchsticks
• 6 tbsp tim cheong (sweet flour sauce) or hoisin
• 3 tbsp chilli sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, pounded to a paste
• fried shallots, to finish

Before you cook

• Peel the jicama and grate it coarsely, squeezing out a little liquid but keeping the shreds moist.
• Grate the carrot and slice the French beans finely.
• Soak the dried shrimp in warm water for fifteen minutes, then drain and chop them.
• Mash the taucu and mince the six garlic cloves.
• Pound three garlic cloves with a pinch of salt to a smooth paste for the wrappers.
• Wash and dry the lettuce leaves and cut the cucumber into fine matchsticks.

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a wide, deep pan over medium heat.
2. Fry the diced pork belly for five minutes, until the fat runs and the edges brown.
3. Add the minced garlic and chopped dried shrimp and fry for two minutes, until fragrant.
4. Stir in the mashed taucu and cook it for one minute.
5. Add the grated jicama, carrot and French beans and turn everything together.
6. Pour in the water, season with the sugar and white pepper, and bring the pan to a simmer.
7. Cover the pan and braise the filling over low heat for forty-five minutes, stirring every ten minutes.
8. Uncover the pan and cook for a final ten minutes, until the jicama is soft and translucent and the liquid has reduced to a thick, glossy pool.
9. Taste the filling and adjust the salt and sugar, then tip it into a colander set over a bowl so the excess liquid drains away.
10. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and cook them as two thin omelettes in a lightly oiled pan, one minute each.
11. Roll the omelettes and slice them into fine ribbons.
12. Boil the prawns for ninety seconds, then drain, cool and peel them.
13. Blanch the beansprouts for fifteen seconds and drain them well.
14. Arrange every filling and garnish in separate bowls on the table.
15. Lay a popiah skin flat and smear a teaspoon of tim cheong, a little chilli sauce and a dab of pounded garlic across the middle.
16. Lay a lettuce leaf on top, then spoon on two tablespoons of the drained jicama filling.
17. Add prawns, omelette ribbons, tofu strips, beansprouts, cucumber, ground peanuts and fried shallots in a neat line.
18. Fold the two sides of the skin inwards, then roll it up tightly from the edge nearest you.
19. Cut the roll into four pieces and eat it straight away, before the skin softens.