Make your own fresh Singaporean popiah at home with this recipe!

When thinking of healthy, fresh, and filling recipes, spring rolls would definitely make the list.

Fresh spring rolls, or lumpia, as it is fondly called in the Philippines, are made up of a variety of meat and vegetable fillings all stuffed together in a tasty crepe-like wrapper that can be made of either wheat flour or eggs. 

The spring rolls of my childhood was made up of pork, shrimp, and eggs tucked into fresh greens. The sauce was both sweet and savoury, mostly thanks to the soy sauce and brown sugar.

For this recipe, I’ll show you a different take on this beloved dish. Here’s how to make spring rolls at home, the Singaporean way, which you can be free to customize or even deconstruct.

Remember that most of your time will be spent preparing the ingredients, but once they’re ready, assembling the rolls is pretty easy.

You can even throw a lumpia party the next time you’re entertaining, where guests can have fun customizing and building their own spring rolls from a variety of prepared ingredients.

Just have fun with it and begin your own traditions.

Learning how to make spring rolls at home can be a fun experience with your family and friends! | image: shutterstock

Makes 1 to 2 servings per whole spring roll

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

• Spring roll wrapper
• Pork belly, boiled and cut into strips
• 3 to 4 pieces of shrimp, poached
• Romaine lettuce
• 1 turnip, peeled and shredded
• 1 carrot, shredded
• ½ boiled egg, mashed
• 2 tbsp of cooking oil
• 1 garlic, chopped finely
• 2 onions, chopped
• ¼ cup bean sprouts, blanched
• Sweet soy sauce
• Grated peanuts

1.  Saute garlic, onions in cooking oil. Once aromatic, add turnips and carrots. Drizzle sweet soy sauce and water while continuing to stir fry.
2. Lay out the flour (or egg) wrapper flat on a clean surface.  (You can either use fresh or frozen wrappers, depending on your preference.)
3. Spread sweet soy sauce around the center. Sprinkle garlic and spread out gently using a teaspoon.
4. Assemble your spring roll. Lay a lettuce leaf in the center, followed by two tablespoons of cooked fillings (turnips and carrots). Top it off with eggs, peanuts, and blanched bean sprouts. And finally, your pork belly strips and shrimps.
5. Take the shorter sides of your wrapper and fold it inwardly. Then roll it away from you, making sure that the filling is stuffed inside. Cut into serving sizes (about 1 ½ inch pieces), plate, and, serve!  

• The great thing about popiah is that you can get creative with what fillings you choose! You can add strips of firm beancurd, cucumber bamboo shoots, beetroot, and sausages.
• To make the dish even more presentable you can garnish it with coriander or cilantro!