Lumpia

One of the food that Filipinos love is lumpia. You can almost always find it during parties. It is one of the dishes that non-Filipinos like, aside from pancit and adobo. Lumpia is a stuffed pastry that originated from China and introduced all over the world. The word lumpia is derived from Hokkien word lunpia.  It is eaten as an appetizer, main course or snack. Different countries have their own version of lumpia.  In the Philippines, there are several varieties that are all delicious.

The most famous is lumpiang Shanghai or eggroll. This is most commonly served in parties.  Kids love it.  It is usually dipped with ketchup or sweet chili sauce. Contrary to its name, it didn't originate from Shanghai, China.  They don't have this kind of lumpia.  This lumpia is made of ground pork or beef, minced carrots, onion, bell pepper, raisins, pickles, egg and flour or breadcrumbs for binding.  Whenever I have time, I would make my own lumpiang Shanghai. Two reasons, one is because it is expensive if you buy it in the store. Two, store-bought ones are made of pork, which I'm trying to stay away from... instead of pork or beef, I use ground turkey or chicken. Fish can also be used as an alternative. I remember my mother uses galunggong or bangus.  Fish is boiled and shredded before it is used in lumpia. Lumpiang Shanghai is best eaten after it was deep fried, while it's still crunchy and hot.

Another favorite is lumpiang gulay (vegetable lumpia). It is also called spring roll. It has togue (bean sprout), julienned carrots and beans. Shrimp or ground pork is also added. The vegetable is usually sautéed before it is wrapped. It is also deep fried and best eaten when dipped in spicy vinegar.

Lumpiang shanghai and gulay is wrapped the same way. The filling is placed diagonally, the sides are folded and then rolled. it is sealed by either beaten eggs or flour and water as paste.

Next is Lumpiang sariwa or fresh spring roll. It is also made of vegetables. It is eaten fresh. Usually singkamas (jicama), beans, carrots and ubod are used. This is also sautéed before it is wrapped in lettuce and then a special wrapper made of egg crepe. Gravy is poured on top of the spring roll and sprinkled with toasted peanuts. The best lumpiang sariwa I have tried was the one from Goldilocks. Probably because of the gravy they use.

Another variety is lumpiang hubad. It is similar to fresh lumpia except it is not wrapped in the crepe.

A not so common lumpia that kids love is cheese eggroll. It is cheese (usually cheddar, but you can use other kinds of cheese) wrapped in lumpia wrapper. It is deep fried and best served in children's parties.

The wrapper is also used in turon. It is a snack made of banana. Saba is commonly used. It is covered with brown sugar and ripe langka or jackfruit is added before it is wrapped. It is also deep fried. Nowadays, Filipinos have different varieties of turon. Sweet potato or kamote, squash or pumpkin are also used as an alternative to banana.

Making your own lumpia is tedious and time consuming. You need at least an hour or two to be able to make it. But if you want alternative to the common lumpia sold in the market, then it is best you make your own. Local stores sells the wrapper now, in their Asian frozen isle. Common brand is Menlo or Spring Home that is only less than $2.

Guess what's for lunch today? I made home made lumpiang gulay. Lets eat!!