Lumpia

Ingredients

Wrappers

• 40lumpia wrappers, thawed
• 1egg, beaten, for sealing

Shanghai filling

• 700 gminced pork
• 1carrot, very finely diced
• 1onion, very finely chopped
• 4 clovesgarlic, minced
• 2spring onions
• 1egg
• 2 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 1 tspsesame oil

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

To serve

• sweet chilli sauce
• spiced vinegar with garlic
• banana ketchup

Directions

1. Dice every vegetable as finely as you can, close to a mince. Lumpia Shanghai is rolled thin, and a chunk of carrot punches through the wrapper as you roll it. Mix the pork with all the filling ingredients and work it well with your hands.
2. Fry a teaspoon of the mixture in a pan and taste it before you roll forty of them. Tasting a test spoonful is the only way to season raw mince, and it takes a minute.
3. Lay a wrapper as a diamond with a point toward you. Put a thin line of filling across the lower third, about the thickness of a finger, and no more.
4. Keep the filling line thin. A thick roll is raw in the middle when the outside has browned, and thin ones are what lumpia Shanghai is known for.
5. Fold the near point over the filling, fold both sides in, and roll it up tightly. Seal the far point with beaten egg. Roll them tight with no air pockets. Set them seam side down on a tray and keep them covered. Heat the oil to 170°C (340°F).
6. Fry in batches for 4 to 5 minutes, turning, until deep golden and crisp. The pork must cook through, and hot oil browns the wrapper long before that happens. Drain on a rack rather than paper.
7. Serve hot with sweet chilli sauce, spiced vinegar or banana ketchup. They freeze extremely well raw on a tray, and go straight into the oil from frozen with two minutes added.

Technique

• It is party and fiesta food, made in enormous batches with several people rolling.
• The wrappers are thinner than Chinese spring roll pastry, which is why lumpia are so much crisper.
• Banana ketchup as a dip is standard in the Philippines and surprises everyone else.

Substitutions

• Spring roll pastry, which is thicker and gives a chewier roll.
• Chicken or a pork and prawn mix.

Variations

• Lumpiang sariwa, the fresh unfried version with peanut sauce.
• Lumpiang togue, with bean sprouts.
• Turon, the sweet version rolled around plantain.

History

Spring rolls of Hokkien origin, fresh as lumpiang sariwa with a peanut sauce, or thin and deep-fried as lumpiang shanghai.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lumpia?

Lumpia is a snack from Philippines: fried or fresh spring rolls; Shanghai style stuffed with pork. Spring rolls of Hokkien origin, fresh as lumpiang sariwa with a peanut sauce, or thin and deep-fried as lumpiang shanghai.

How long does Lumpia take to make?

Lumpia takes 1 hr of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 40 rolls. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Lumpia?

Yes, within limits. Spring roll pastry, which is thicker and gives a chewier roll. Chicken or a pork and prawn mix.

What is the most important thing to get right in Lumpia?

Fry a teaspoon of the mixture in a pan and taste it before you roll forty of them. Tasting a test spoonful is the only way to season raw mince, and it takes a minute.