Recipe: Poh Piah Goreng

the appetizer:

The cuisine of Singapore is a prime example of ethnic diversity: the food is heavily influenced by Malaysian, Chinese, Tamil-Indian, Indonesian, and even British cuisine. Cooking is central to Singapore's national identity—eating is a national pastime and food a national obsession.

Singapore

Poh Piah Goreng

by Emma Lewis

Makes approx. 15 rolls

Cooking oil
4 shallots, chopped
8 ounces prawn
8 ounces lean pork
8 ounces bamboo shoots (tinned or fresh; if fresh,
parboil to eliminate the smell)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 inch of ginger, chopped
8 ounces bean sprouts
handful of freshly chopped coriander
2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper Spring roll skins
2 tablespoons of plain flour mixed with hot water to form a paste

Heat a small amount of cooking oil in a wok and fry the shallots until fragrant (make sure they don't burn or they will taste bitter!).

Add in the prawn meat, pork, bamboo shoots, garlic and ginger and when these are nearly cooked, the bean sprouts and coriander. Finally add the soy sauce and pepper and fry until mixed in and the aroma really starts to rise. Set the mixture in a sieve and leave the juices to run out.

Make sure the skins are covered with a damp cloth so they don't dry out. Then put a skin on a work surface, put a smallish tablespoon of filling in the middle then fold up both the ends, roll it up and seal with the flour paste. If the skins break or look a bit unsafe, add another skin on top.

Heat lots of cooking oil in the wok and fry the spring rolls until golden brown. You will need to do them in a couple of batches ó don't pack the wok with too many. Place fried spring rolls upright in a bowl lined with an absorbent paper towel; this way they won't get soggy and will 'drip' evenly.

Serve with sweet chilli sauce.