Epok-epok

Today's entry is on one of the most popular, if not the most popular snacks in Singapore & Malaysia. It's epok-epok to Singaporeans & Johoreans,  while the rest of Malaysians call it karipap. Epok-epok is the Malay version of curry puffs, almost like the Indian samosas. 

I think almost all of us would agree that a good epok-epok is one with thin & crispy crust. Of course, the filling has to be good too. Epok-epok is more commonly sold as a snack because it's actually quite simple to prepare, unlike karipap bai.

Whenever I made epok-epok at home, I would just agak-agak (estimate) the amount of ingredients... so my epok-epok, not surprisingly, is often not consistent in quality. There were a few occasions when I  tried a couple of promising recipes from the internet... the epok-epok was crispy alright, but it's either soaked in oil or, a recipe I tried very recently made a dough that was so difficult to handle!

So yesterday, I decided to measure the ingredients I used when making my epok-epok since I was planning to share the recipe here. I'm pleased with the outcome.... it's thin & reasonably crispy, considering that I did not use any vegetable shortening. (Shortening contributes to a crispy crust but it leaves a plastic aftertaste.) The dough is also easy to handle. So, do give a try & let me know what you think of it. Free feel to adjust the recipe & let me know how it turns out.

Epok-epok

PASTRY
Ingredients:
300g plain flour
30g (40ml) vegetable oil
40g butter or margarine (I used salted butter.)
3/4 tsp salt
70-90ml warm water (Do not pour all at once.)
vegetable oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Combine oil & butter/margarine & salt & heat up until the butter melts.
2. Pour the hot oil mixture into the flour & mix using a spoon.
3. Add the warm water, as much as you need, & knead until a soft dough is formed. (You need not use up all the water.)
4. Cover the dough or wrap it in plastic & leave it to rest for 20 minutes in room temperature.

FILLING

Ingredients:

2 cloves

2 pieces cardamoms

2 cm cinnamon stick (thin stick)

2 tsp ginger paste (from 1cm ginger)

1 tsp garlic paste (from 1 clove)
1 tbsp + 1 tsp meat curry powder (or kurma powder) - mix with a little water to form a paste
100g ground beef (or diced chicken or dried prawns)

150g potatoes (1-2 pieces) - diced into small cubes

1 medium onion (diced)

1/2 tsp salt

water (as needed)

1 tbsp mint leaves (or coriander leaves, aka cilantro or Chinese parsley)

2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the cloves, cardamons, cinnamon stick, ginger & garlic paste until golden & fragrant.
2. Add the curry paste & cook for 2 minutes. Then add the ground beef & stir thoroughly for another 2 minutes.
3. Add potatoes & a few spoons of water. Stir frequently until the potatoes are cooked & almost dry. Add salt & more water when the mixture becomes dry but still uncooked. (I also cover the pan to speed up cooking time.)
4. Add in onions & mint leaves & continue cooking until the onions become soft.
5. Remove from fire & transfer into a bowl. Leave to cool completely before assembling the epok-epok.

ASSEMBLY

1. Roll out the dough to 3mm thick and using a round cookie cutter, stamp out circles. (I used a 8cm cutter.) Pinch the edges of the circles to expand them a little. 
2. Fill the center of pastry with filling and bring the edges together to form a half-moon. Pinch the edges together to seal & then crimp or pleat the sealed edges neatly. Refer to the video below on how I did mine.
3. Deep-fry on medium fire until golden, about 1-2 minutes on each side. Drain & serve warm.
4. Makes about 20 pieces.

Video: How to seal & crimp the edges of epok-epok.

Notes:

1. If using dried prawns, soak them till soft & grind. Also, use fish instead of meat curry powder.
2. For a less spicy filling, use kurma powder instead of curry powder. Kurma powder is similar to curry powder  except that it has white pepper instead of red chilli & turmeric powder.
3. Cover or wrap unused dough with plastic, especially if you living in areas with low humidity, as the dough tends to dry up. 
4. If  yo've used all the filling & there's excess dough, don't throw it away. Just roll it out, cut into strips & fry them. They make delicious snack!
5. The uncooked epok-epok keeps well when frozen & fry it only before serving. You need not defrost them before frying.

I'm linking this post to Asian Food Fest #11 Sept 2014 : Singapore, hosted by Grace Phua of Life Can Be Simple.