Soft Nonya Spring Rolls with Spicy Plum-Hoisin Sauce

Southeastasianfavors.com
Soft Nonya Spring Rolls with
Spicy Plum-Hoisin Sauce
Po Piah
very elastic wet dough is rubbed on the hot griddle and quickly pulled back leaving a film behind that
becomes the thin spring roll wrapper. These drier style wrappers are tougher and hence sometimes topped
with the liquid from the cooked filling.
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Robert Danhi
Author/Photographer
Southeastasianfavors.com
How and Why
1. Set the batter aside to rest for a more delicate flavor and stronger wrapper. Allowing the batter to rest
hydrates the flour and relaxes gluten, improving the texture of the crepes.
2. Make sure to put the lettuce down first, to prevent the wrapper (crepe) from breaking. Laying a leaf of lettuce
down serves two purposes: It prevents harder items like bean sprouts from puncturing the crepe, and keeps juices
from making the crepe soggy.
M A L AY S I A
SINGAPORE
3. Be careful not to roll too tight, or it will burst. The wrappers have some elasticity, and wrapping the roll tight makes
it easier to eat. But pull too hard, and it will break.
Don’t be afraid to assemble them all at once.
These are topped with some chili sauce and filling.
Robert Danhi
Some folks like to drench the wrappers.
In this case it is more of a spoon and fork affair
rather than eating them with your hands.
Author/Photographer
297
Southeastasianflavors.com
Soft Nonya Spring Rolls with
Spicy Plum-Hoisin Sauce
Poh Piah
hinese and Malay cultures marry in this variation on the spring roll to present a precious culinary experience.
Their shape resembles gold bars, and is designed to attract prosperity. The filling is a simple stir-fry, which
is rolled with some crunchy salad ingredients into thin, tender crepes.
In Malaysia and Singapore, a layer of sweetness in the rolls comes from a sauce called tim cheong, which
is available only in the region. I have devised an easy substitute for that tangy, soy-based sauce, using a
combination of readily available hoisin and plum sauces.
Although jicama is not often thought of as a vegetable for cooking (or even a vegetable for Asian cuisine),it
actually stays pleasantly crunchy after cooking. Store-bought fried shallots, sold in Asian markets, are a finishing
touch to the rolls, or you can fry your own (pg. 119). In Southeast Asia these rolls are party food: Hosts prepare
the fillings and the crepes, and then let their guests roll their own. It’s a fun start to the evening!
C
Makes 8 to 10 rolls
CREPES/WRAPPERS
11/2 cups Water
3
lg. Eggs
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1
Tbsp. Vegetable oil
3/4 cup All purpose flour
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1. Make the crepe batter: Whisk together the water, eggs,
salt and oil. Fold the flour into this mixture. Let batter rest
for at least 1 hour. (For large batches—just place all the
ingredients in a blender and hit it!)
2. Cook the crepes: Heat a non-stick 10-inch skillet (25cm.)
over medium heat; wipe with an oiled paper towel. Lift the
pan off the stove, add 1/4 cup of batter and tilt pan to coat.
Place the pan back over heat, and cook until the pancake’s
Robert Danhi
Author/Photographer
Southeastasianflavors.com
edges become dry and begin to release from the pan. A
light browning on the pancake is ok. Remove the cooked
crepe by inverting the pan over a plate (you may need
to loosen it with a shake or a push first). Repeat with
remaining batter (crepes can be made up to 8 hours in
advance). Stack the crepes right on top of one another:
they will not stick.
3. Wrap in plastic and keep covered until ready to use,
they can be store in the refrigerator for a day or two then
brought to room temperature before serving.
“TIM CHEONG” SAUCE
2
tsp. Chili-garlic sauce or minced long
red chilies
2
Tbsp. Plum sauce
2
Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
COOKED FILLING
2
Tbsp. Vegetable oil
5
cloves Garlic, minced
2
Tbsp. Ground bean sauce (pg. 53)
1/4 lb. (114 g.) Pork (leg or butt), cut into 1 × 1/4 × 1/4-inch
(2.5 × 0.6 × 0.6 cm.) strips
1
lb. (454 g.) Jicama, julienne strips, about 1/8 inch
(0.3 cm.) thick
2
tsp. Thick soy sauce (pg. 50) or 1 Tbsp. Dark
soy sauce
5
tsp. Granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 lb. (114 g.) Small shrimp, peeled, deveined, cut into
1/2-inch (1.3 cm.) pieces
1. Rinse the jicama julienne under water for a few minutes
to rid it of excess starch. In a sautœ pan or wok with a few
tablespoons of vegetable oil, fry the garlic and ground bean
sauce together over high heat until aromatic, 2 minutes.
Add pork; continue to cook for 3 minutes. Add jicama,
thick soy sauce, and sugar. Cook until the vegetables have
released their juices, and the excess moisture steams out,
about 10 minutes. The pan will be almost dry. Add shrimp,
and cook 3 minutes more, until they are cooked through.
Season to taste with salt; set aside to cool to room
temperature.
Robert Danhi
Some folks like to deep-fry the spring rolls. It’s best to use
a Chinese spring roll or Filipino style lumpia wrappers.
The fresh wrapper recipe here is not made to be fried.
UNCOOKED FILLINGS
8 to 10 leaves Green leaf lettuce, cleaned and dried,
remove hard ribs
1
cup Bean sprouts, rinsed and dried
1
cup Julienne cucumber, Kirby variety preferred,
seeded, bite size strips, about 1/8 inch
(0.3 cm.) thick (pg. 81)
2
Scallions, chopped
1/4 cup Roughly chopped cilantro (leaves and stems)
1/4 cup Fried shallots (pg. 119) or store bought
Assemble the rolls: On a clean work surface, lay out a crepe,
and spread 2 tsp. of tim cheong sauce, leaving a 1-inch
(2.5 cm.) border. Place a leaf of lettuce to cover the bottom
third of the wrapper. Top the leaf with bean sprouts,
cooked filling, cucumber, scallions, cilantro, and fried
shallots. Total filling should not exceed 1 cup. Starting from
the edge closest to yourself, fold crepe over the filling.
Then, fold in the sides, and roll it up as if it were a burrito,
using gentle pressure to keep the crepe from breaking.
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M A L AY S I A
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1. Whisk together the chili-garlic sauce, plum sauce and
Hoisin sauce. Set aside.