Double-Fried Pork and Shrimp Lumpia with Sweet-and-Sour Sauce

Method

1. Chop the shrimp coarsely with a knife (a paste loses the bite). Dice the jicama and carrot to 3 mm and squeeze them dry in a cloth. Mince the shallots, garlic and spring onions. In a bowl, beat the pork with the egg, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, white pepper and cornflour in one direction for 3 min, until sticky, then mix in the shrimp and vegetables. Cook a teaspoon of filling in a pan with a few drops of oil, taste and adjust the seasoning.

   Add in this stepMinced pork (about 20% fat) 200 gRaw shrimp, peeled and deveined 80 gJicama (singkamas) or water chestnuts 50 gCarrot 40 gShallots 2Garlic cloves 2Spring onions 1Egg, beaten 1Fish sauce 1 tspOyster sauce 1 tspSugar ½ tspWhite pepper ¼ tspCornflour 2 tsp

2. Lay a wrapper as a diamond and shape about 1.5 tbsp of filling into a 1.5 cm log, 3 cm above the bottom corner. Roll once tightly, fold in the sides, roll to the end without trapping air and seal with water. Arrange seam side down on a tray, not touching, and chill uncovered for 20 min: the filling firms up and the seams dry, so they won't burst in the oil.

   Add in this stepSpring roll wrappers (lumpia wrappers), about 20 cm square, thawed 12Water, for sealing 1 tbsp

3. Make the sauce. Put the vinegar, sauce sugar, ketchup, most of the sauce water and chilli flakes in a 14 cm small pan and boil over medium heat for 1 minute without stirring, to drive off the sharp vinegar edge. Stir the cornflour into the remaining water, add it and stir for 3 min, until glossy and thickened. Take off the heat and let cool.

   Add in this stepCane vinegar (or rice vinegar) 3 tbspSugar, for the sauce 2½ tbspTomato ketchup 1½ tbspWater, for the sauce 5 tbspCornflour, for the sauce 1 tspChilli flakes ½ tsp

   medium heat

4. Pour oil 4 cm deep into a deep 22 cm pot (no more than a third of its height) and heat over medium-high heat for 6 min, to 160°C. Use a thermometer for this. Turn the handle inwards, keep a lid nearby and pat the rolls dry.

   Add in this stepOil for frying 550 ml

   medium-high heat

5. First fry: slide the rolls in gently, away from you, 6 at a time, in 2 batches, and fry each batch for 4 min over medium heat, turning, until pale gold. Keep the oil at 155 to 165°C. Stand them on a rack for at least 5 minutes: the trapped heat finishes cooking the filling and moisture escapes from the skin.

   medium heat

6. Second fry: turn the heat up to medium-high heat and bring the oil to 185°C. Fry the rested rolls in 1 batches for 1 min 30 sec each, until deep golden and blistered with tiny bubbles, then drain upright. The double fry keeps them crisp even after dipping.

   medium-high heat

7. Cut one roll open to check the filling is cooked through with no pink (at least 71°C inside). Cut the rolls diagonally into thirds, stand them on a plate and serve at once with the sweet-and-sour sauce.