Ingredients
| FOR THE EGG SKINS | |
| 5 large eggs | |
| 200g flour | |
| ¼ teaspoon salt | |
| spray oil | |
| FOR THE SWEET SAUCE | |
| 1 x 425g can pineapple pieces | |
| 4 tablespoons kecap manis | |
| FOR THE PINEAPPLE SALSA | |
| pineapple, reserved from making the sauce | |
| 1 teaspoon caster sugar | |
| 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar | |
| 1 shallot, finely chopped | |
| 3 large mild red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped | |
| ½ cup chopped coriander | |
| TO SERVE | |
| 1 tablespoon peanut or plain oil | |
| 1 onion, finely chopped | |
| 2 cloves garlic | |
| 3 teaspoons belacan shrimp paste | |
| 250g pork mince | |
| 300g firm tofu | |
| A selection of crisp lettuce leaves, cucumber batons, blanched bean sprouts, fried garlic, pickled chilli (finely chop and mix with a little vinegar) |
Popiah are one of my favourite things to eat in Singapore – I’ll never forget my first one from a stall at Newton Circus. Mine are not traditional of course, with the addition of pineapple salsa, but it works so well with the pork. This is great for a group dinner where people wrap their own, as the pancakes will happily sit covered for a long time. You can make the skins a day or two ahead, cover well and store in the fridge.
Instructions
| 1. | FOR THE EGG SKINS |
| 2. | Gently whisk the eggs together in a bowl. |
| 3. | Sieve the flour and salt together and add gradually to the eggs, whisking gently to combine. |
| 4. | Slowly stir in 350ml water. |
| 5. | The mix will be lumpy at first but should become smooth (you don’t want to aerate so avoid vigorous whisking). |
| 6. | Set aside. |
| 7. | Heat a medium or large frying pan over a medium to high heat. |
| 8. | Spray with oil. |
| 9. | Add a small ladleful of batter and working carefully swirl the pan to get a thin crêpe – the idea is to get them as thin as you can. |
| 10. | Cook for about a minute until the edges start coming away from the pan then transfer to a plate. |
| 11. | Repeat, stacking the cooked skins on top of each other. |
| 12. | Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. |
| 13. | FOR THE SWEET SAUCE |
| 14. | Drain the pineapple juice into a saucepan (reserve the pieces for the salsa). |
| 15. | Bring to the boil and boil for about 10 minutes until you have around 2 tablespoons left. |
| 16. | Stir in the kecap manis and leave to cool. |
| 17. | If the mix is too sticky when cool, dilute with water. |
| 18. | FOR THE PINEAPPLE SALSA |
| 19. | Finely chop the drained pineapple and combine in a bowl with the sugar, vinegar, shallot, chilli and coriander. |
| 20. | TO SERVE |
| 21. | Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion for 5 minutes then add the garlic and belacan and cook for 2-3 minutes. |
| 22. | Add the pork mince and cook, breaking up as you stir, for about 10 minutes until starting to brown. |
| 23. | Stir in the tofu and cook a further 5 minutes. |
| 24. | This is best served warm so reheat if you have made in advance. |
| 25. | To serve, take one egg skin, smear with sweet sauce, top with a piece of lettuce then add mince, salsa and other condiments as liked. Roll up and eat. |
Recipes & Food Styling Fiona Smith / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Fiona Lascelles
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