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Early period
The earliest records of the popiah dates back to ancient China, where the popiah is identified as baobing in ancient Buddhist texts. One of the earliest records is found in Dalou Tanjing (Creation and Destruction of the World), a Buddhist text written in the Western Jin Dynasty. In this account, the baobing was seen as a type of ritual food involved in resurrection rituals. The baobing is also found in the Dharani Sutra, a Buddhist text written in the Tang Dynasty. Based on the Dharani Sutra, the baobing was used as a type of sacrificial food item in rituals to ward off evil spirits. This text mentions that the baobing’s filling was made of walnuts, granulated sugar, pears and pomegranates. Other instances where the baobing is mentioned can be seen in Ming Dynasty texts. In The Zhuyu Shanfang Zabu (Miscellany of the Bamboo Island Studio), the baobing was stuffed with osmanthus and other herbs to treat illnesses.

Another account of the origins of the popiah comes from a local myth told in Xiamen, China. The myth narrates how a Xiamen local named Miss Li, invented the popiah as a convenient snack for her busy husband. She stuffed vegetables and rice in thin rice pastry skins to create this convenient snack. Xiamen city’s citizens eventually adopted this snack as a local dish consumed during Chinese festivals and celebrations as the myth was passed on to different generations.

Other available records also associate the popiah with spring rolls. Some records mention that the popiah was derived from spring rolls, a dish prepared to celebrate a good spring harvest. The popiah used in these celebrations was made of the vegetables gathered from the first harvest of the new year.

Southeast Asia
Over time, the baobing became a widespread local dish consumed in the Fujian region. People who spoke the Hokkien dialect recognised the ‘baobing’ as popiah. When the Fujian locals migrated to Southeast Asia in the 15th century, they brought along the popiah and introduced it into the local cuisine. The Hokkien word was then borrowed into the local language, being recognised as the popiah to many in the region.

More concrete records of the popiah’s existence in Southeast Asia were only seen in the mid-1900s. One of the earliest Southeast Asian records of the popiah is in Ellice Handy’s My Favourite Recipes, published in 1952. Handy’s recipe includes bamboo shoots along with the yam beans to form the major portions of the popiah filling. Another earlier record found is found in Lilian Lane’s Malayan Cookery Recipes. In Lane’s book, she includes a sub-header to her popiah recipe, calling it the Malayan “Spring Roll”. Her recipe is also under the ‘Salads and Vegetables’ section, suggesting the popiah was considered a snack or side dish. The ingredients used in this record include local spices and fresh seafood accompanied by a yam bean filling. Since then, there have been many recipe variations on how to make the popiah filling. There have also been variations in the combination of ingredients used.