My Favorite LUMPIA

By: Aeron Lancero

 

Magandang araw sa inyong lahat, and hope you are staying warm and are excited for warmer weather. It is the month of March and we are getting closer to warmer weather. Soon, it will be that time when families and friends start having cooking parties.

With that said, let me share with you one of my favorite dishes to bring people together. Not just to eat but also to prep and then cook. That dish is LUMPIA. Obviously there are quite a few versions, and growing up, I used to help my titas do some prepping when we would have gatherings. So here is a little history and some recipes…

Lumpia… This Chinese-taught and –inspired delicacy is great any time of the day. It gives you an easy foodstuff to pick on the table or outdoors. The early Filipinos have learned this cuisine from Chinese traders way back in the 7th century. It is universally called spring roll. It typically contains fillings made from meat or vegetables and are rolled in an egg-based wrapper. It may be served fresh or deep-fried as a side dish or as an appetizer during special occasions. It is also a snack and street food among Filipinos.

You would likely take this Shanghai type…Dish History: It originated in Fujian, China and brought to Southeast Asia by Chinese traders as early as 7-13th century in the days of the Srivijayan Empire (based in Sumatra) and later the Madjapahit Empire (based in Java) in 13-16th century. Over time, it crawled into the Filipino mentality of food preparation with modifications.

Philippine Spring Roll Varieties – Here are some the Filipino versions of spring roll…

1. Shanghai Variety – This is mostly meat-based and is much skinnier than the traditional one. It is one-half inch to an inch in diameter and
approximately 4-6 inches in length.
2. Hubad Variety – This is basically an unwrapped.
3. Fresh Variety – This variety is not fried. It consists of shredded fresh vegetables minced ubod (palm tree trunk), flaked chicken, crushed peanuts,
and turnips.
4. Fried Variety – This is fried spring roll. It consists of bean sprouts and various other vegetables, such as string beans and carrots that are briskly
fried. Small pieces of meat or seafood may also be added. It is the least expensive variant.
5. Ubod Variety – This consists of ubod (the heart of a coconut palm). It is a specialty of Silay, Negros Occidental, where it is usually served without
sauce.
6. Bangus-Based Variety – It is basically a variant where red meat is merely substituted with bangus (milk fish) meat.
7. Banana-Based Variety – This is a dessert called turon in Filipino. It is a popular street food and snack made by thinly slicing pieces of saba
bananas (ripe plantains) lengthwise.

Recipes and Procedures; Ingredients Procedure

Shanghai Lumpia
1 lb beef, ground
2 cloves garlic
1 lg onion
1 cn (8 oz.) water chestnuts
1 slivered
2 oz chop suey vegetables
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 T patis
2 T flour
1/4 c water
40 pieces wrappers
1 deep fat for frying
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c vinegar
1/8 t salt
1. Brown beef well.
2. Stir in garlic and onion; saute lightly.
3. Add water chestnuts, vegetables and seasonings; cook for about 2 minutes.
4. Drain and cool thoroughly.
5. Combine flour and water to form thin paste.
6. To make rolls, place 2 tbsp filling on a lumpia wrapper.
7. Fold neatly like and envelope.
8. Seal with paste.
9. Head deep fat to 375 degrees F.
10. Combine remaining ingredients for sauce.
11. Fry the rolls in hot fat until golden brown.

Fried Lumpia (with pork)

1/2 lb pork, ground
1/2 lb raw shrimp, finelychopped
1/2 c mushrooms, minced
1/2 c peeled jicama, diced
2 green onions,finely chopped
3 egg yolks
2 T soy sauce
1 pack wrappers
1 oil,for deep-frying
Sweet sour sauce
1/4 c cider vinegar
1 t soy sauce
1/2 c sugar
1 c water (or pineapple juice)
1/2 t gingerroot, finely grated
1/2 garlic clove, crushed
2 t cornstarch, blended with:
2 t cold water
1 salt
1. To make sauce, combine vinegar, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, sugar, water, ginger and garlic in small saucepan. Bring to boil.
2. Stir in cornstarch paste and simmer 5 minutes, or until thickened.
3. Season to taste with salt.
4. For the fillings, mix pork, shrimp, mushrooms, jicama, green onions, egg yolks and 2 tablespoons
soy sauce in bowl.
5. Mix well.
6. Shape about 1.5 tablespoons meat mixture into strip and place along one side of wrapper.
7. Roll tightly, folding in wrapper ends while rolling.
8. Moisten edges lightly with water to seal.
9. Repeat with remaining filling.
10. Fry in deep hot oil until golden brown.

Turon (Banana-based)

16 spring roll wrappers
4 whole bananas, cut into quarters lengthwise
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional) canola oil , for deep-frying
For 8 servings
1. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and coat bananas with the mixture.
2. Take 1 spring roll wrapper and place 1 banana strip on bottom “a“ of wrapper. Fold in left and right side and roll up from bottom.
3. Deep-fry on each side until golden brown. ##