Vegetable Puff/Epok-Epok Sayur

Epok Epok Sayur is Vegetable puff with vegetables as filling, its slightly spicy and at times served with a dipping sauce...its a famous tea time kuih beside curry puff. Usually its shaped in a rectangular form to know the difference between curry puff! I During my school days , I usually buy it from my classmate's mum who had a stall beside my house with so many delicacies ..do miss eating her kuihs !!

For the pastry:

150gms plain flour/all purpose
50gms butter/margarine/shortening
1 ½ tbsp hot cooking oil
1 ¼ tsp salt (or to taste)
70-80ml lukewarm water (use only needed amount)

Rub in the butter (slightly soften in room temperature) into the flour. Make into a coarse mixture,than add in hot oil and and mix again. Add salt  and mix. Finally pour in water bit by bit until the flour becomes a dough. Knead for about 5mins and leave to rest for an hour. 

Filling
1 clove garlic-chopped
3 shallots –chopped
1 tbsp dried prawns(soaked for 15mins and pounded coarsely)(optional)
100gms beansprout
50gms julienned carrot
½ a soft tofu (cut into small cubes)
¼- ½  cucumber –julienne
1/2 tbsp chilli paste (optional)
Salt to taste

Note: You can omit the tofu and replace with turnip-julienned /sengkuang

Heat wok with some oil, add in slowly the cube tofu , and leave to cook slightly, do not mix fast ,as it would break apart , slowly turn and leave to cook until slightly brown, then add in shallots and garlic and mix together until aromatic. Then add in pounded dried prawns and chilli paste(if adding),mix. Finally add in carrot, beansprout ,cucumber . Stir only until all ingredients are well combined.Add in salt to taste.There is no need to cook the vegetables long as we will deep fry the pastry again in semi hot oil with this filling!



               

For the sauce
4 fresh red chillies
2 -3 garlic
A pinch of salt
1 -2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp vinegar
1 small shallot
1 tbsp tomato sauce


Method:
Blend everything in a mixer and leave to marinate at least 4 hrs in room temperature.

  

To prepare:

Take a dough as big as a golf ball. Flatten it.Make into a rectangular shape.Use a knife.

Fill in the filling at one side. Dab with some water at the edges of the dough and seal it.

 Press lightly all around with your finger. Then use a fork to press and design it at all edges

Deep fry until golden brown.

Serve with sauce by the side