Popiah Party (and Flat Stanley!)

We're leap-frogging in time again, but hey, whatever. Just hold on to your hat and enjoy the ride (read?)!


Today (Saturday, Feb. 18), my in-laws are hosting a Popiah (POH-pee-ah) Party for some of the Ngiam family.  Popiah is one kind of Chinese-style spring roll that is eaten in Singapore and Malaysia. The preparation is a bit labor intensive, since many items are used in the filling, and each requires cooking, chopping, somtimes peeling, etc.  But it is a food that Singaporeans love eating, although few have the patience/time to prepare on a regular basis.  Although it is available for purchase in some places, it's often not as good as home-made.  Thus, we have started the informal tradition that we host a Popiah gathering when we are back in town.  My mother-in-law works very hard for days leading up to the event to prepare all of the ingredients, and Kee-Min and I help, as permitted.


Today, I'd like to share with you a little bit of the work that goes into the preparation, as well as the final (delicious) product.  As a bonus, you'll have a chance to meet Flat Stanley.


The popiah filling consists most of finely matchsticked (or grated) jicama.  Here, 'jicama' is called radish.  Either way, it's a large, starchy tuber with a crunch, light, and slightly sweet taste.  A LOT of jicama is required for a popiah party.  The Boss around here prefers a slightly courser matchstick than is afforded by grating, so we slice, stack, turn, and slice again to generate long, skinny, fine matchsticks of jicama.

Flat Stanley, posing with some peeled jicama, pre-slicing.  We cut a total of 4-5 large jicama this morning.

This is how the matchsticking process looks: slice, stack, turn, slice.

And that, dear readers, is Flat Stanley.  He is a commonly used teaching tool for elementary schoolers (there is a book and story associated with how he came to be flat, and how that is good for travel), and although there are variations on the theme, all involve Flat Stanley visiting various people/places.  Sometimes students take him home for the weekend, then write about what he does.  Sometimes, he is exchanged as a pen pal between schools in different states or countries.  

My Mom's Kindergarten Classes sent us this Flat Stanley; we'll take him along on the rest of our journey, take photos with him, and write to them about his (and our) experiences.  We, and Flat Stanley, have actually become a bit famous in Kindergarten, as our trip is used to facilitate discussions on geography, language, writing activities, and cultural diversity.  I, for one, am enjoying sharing our experience with some Kindergarten pen pals.  Kee-Min, for one, enjoys posing with Flat Stanley in public.  Or at least, he does so good-naturedly, for the love of Kindergarten.  

So anyway, we were acting as sous chefs in the preparation of popiah.  Flat Stanley was acting as spectator.  

Once it's cut up, the jicama then gets cooked up in the wok with some shrimp, garlic, and brown sauce - a little bit sweet, a little bit salty.  This has to be done in batches when you're making a lot.  

Don't worry - Stanley kept a safe distance!

I believe that The Boss (my mother-in-law) did 4 batches for today's festivities.  She also prepared all the extra toppings, over the last few days.  But we won't detail each preparation here; suffice to say, there was a lot of time and love invested in this meal.  Having watched all the preparations this week, Stanley was quite anxious to get on to the tasting part.  He helped Kee-Min assemble a popiah:

Start with a popiah skin.  This is like a very, very thin crepe.
We don't actually make these ourselves, we buy them.
In true Singaporean fashion, there is always some friendly debate
over which food stalls make the best skins at the lowest prices.

Spread it out on your plate, and add a lettuce leaf.

Top it with some brown Sweet Sauce (yes, that is actually what it is called).

Then, add the jicama/shrimp mixture prepared above.

More shrimp,

Cilantro,

and a few steamed bean sprouts with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts.

Roll that sucker up, just like a burrito!

And then, finally, you can enjoy!

Take all that deliciousness, add some friends & family, and you've got yourself a Popiah Party. At least, that's how it works around here!

Chi fan, friends!
[Bon appetit!]