Filipino Lumpia
If you love egg rolls, then you will love these! They are just as good, if not better. Stuffed with ground pork, cabbage, carrots, onion, garlic, green onions, and a few seasonings, I promise you won’t eat just one. They are addicting.
Lumpia is a spring roll originating from China which is commonly found in Indonesia and the Philippines. If you’ve read my other post about Filipino Pancit, then you already know that we found out about these through one of Dustin’s co-workers. His wife is from the Philippines and she makes these all of the time.
There are wrappers made specifically for these. They are called Lumpia Wrappers, but you can’t find them anywhere around here. Dustin’s co-worker and his wife actually have to travel to another city to a certain store that has them. They brought a pack of them back for us to try one time. They are very thin wrappers (way thinner than spring roll and egg roll wrappers) and crisp up really nicely. Once we finished off that pack, I also tried making these with spring roll and egg roll wrappers. They are ALL good!
So if you can’t find Lumpia Wrappers, it’s no big deal. Just go to your local store and grab the traditional egg roll wrappers.
Just follow the instructions below on the printable recipe and you’ve got yourself one of the best snacks of your life.
Tip: When rolling the filling into the wrappers, keep a damp paper towel over the stack of wrappers and grab them as you need them. This will keep your wrappers from drying out, because they dry out really quickly if you’re not careful. I also keep a damp paper towel over the ones I have already rolled to keep them from drying out as well.
Can you freeze Lumpia? Absolutely. This recipe makes at least 30 Lumpia, which is a lot, especially if you are eating them alongside another dish like Filipino Pancit.
I usually just fry what we want, and freeze the rest. To freeze them, I just place them on parchment paper on a pan and stick them in the freezer until the outside is completely frozen. This ensures that they won’t stick together when you put them in a freezer bag together. You can also wrap each individual one in plastic wrap and then place them in the bag. When you’re ready to cook them, just take out however many you want and fry them up how you normally would.
You can dip them into soy sauce or even sweet chili sauce if that’s what you like. I still haven’t found the perfect homemade sauce for these yet, but when I do, I’ll add it on here.
Hope you enjoy these as much as we do, and if you do try them, please let me know how you like them in the comments!
Try serving them up with this Filipino Pancit dish.
Filipino Lumpia
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 1/2 cup carrot minced
- 1/2 cup green onions chopped
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced green cabbage
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp soy sauce or more to taste
- 30 lumpia wrappers spring roll or egg roll wrappers work fine also.
- 2 cups vegetable oil for frying
- small bowl of water for sealing the wrappers
Instructions
- Place a wok or skillet over high heat and add 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil.
- Cook ground pork, stirring frequently, until no longer pink.
- Remove pork from pan and set aside.
- Drain grease from pan, leaving a thin coating.
- Cook garlic and onion in the same pan for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the cooked pork, carrots, green onions, and cabbage.
- Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and soy sauce.
- Remove from heat and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Place about 3 Tbsp of the meat filling diagonally near one corner of each wrapper. Be sure to leave about 1 1/2 inches of space at both ends.
- Fold the corner closest to the filling over the filling, then fold both ends over that and roll neatly. Keep the wrapper tight as you roll it, being careful not to tear it. Moisten the other corner of the wrapper with water to seal the edge.
- Cover the rolls with plastic wrap or lay a damp paper towel over them as you assemble them to keep them from drying out.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat, add oil to about 1/2 inch depth, and heat for 5 minutes. Place about 3-4 lumpia into the oil, being sure not to overcrowd the pan.
- Fry the rolls for 1-2 minutes, until all sides are golden brown.
- Drain on paper towels and then serve.
Notes
