John McCabe

John McCabe

(he·him·his)

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Holiday Recipe: Thai Spring Rolls (Poh Pia)

I have been making these spring rolls for as long as I’ve been married. Great for special occasions like Christmas!

Ingredients

Wrappers

  • 20 spring roll wrappers
  • 1 ½ tsp cornflour
  • Mixed with 2 tbsp warm water
  • 1 ½ (400 ml) vegetable oil

 

Filling 

  • 500 g lean ground pork
  • 150 g cooked shrimp, peeled and chopped
  • 1 tbsp sliced onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 ½ tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 2 large carrots grated
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped shallots or green onions
  • 3 dashes fish sauce (optional)

 

 To Serve

  • Sliced cucumber
  • Fresh coriander sprigs
  • Sweet chili dipping sauce

 

Directions

  1. In a saucepan simmer the pork with just enough to cover the meat for about 20 minutes, until the pork is cooked, but still tender. This reduces the pork’s fat and moisture content. Drain, place in a food processor and blend to a fine mixture.
  2. In a wok, stir-fry the onions, chopped shrimp, ground pork and garlic. Add the pepper, salt and sugar. Mix and taste, add more salt and pepper as needed. Add fish sauce to taste (optional).
  3. Add carrot and stir briefly, remove from heat and let cool.
  4. Use a clean, damp cloth or towel to keep the spring roll wrappers damp (they tend to dry out quickly). Take one wrapper, lay corner towards you, wet the edges with the cornflour and water mix. Place a tbsp full of the filling on the wrapper, roll the corners and seal the edges with more paste. Repeat.
  5. Deep-fry the spring rolls, several at a time. Turn them over to golden brown, drain on paper towel.
  6. Serve with cucumber, coriander and chili sauce.