Filipino Lumpia Recipe – Springs rolls are a dish you can find in Southeast cuisines. In Filipino cuisine, lumpia is the general term for spring rolls. Lumpia generally consists of meat and vegetables wrapped in gold and crisp wrapping. This dish is usually served at parties and events and paired with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. Aside from a sweet and sour dipping sauce, lumpia can also be dipped in vinegar-based sauces, banana ketchup, or sweet chili sauce.
Traditionally, they are long and thin in shape, similar to cigars, but they can come in different sizes these days. Overall, however, there are various types of lumpia you can try with different fillings and dips. If you want a classic lumpia, this is one Filipino Lumpia Recipe to try:
Lumpia
Ingredients
- 1 package Lumpia wrappers (or 25 sheets of Chinese or Vietnamese spring roll wrappers meant for frying)
- 2 lbs. ground pork (1 kg)
- 5 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
- 1 inch ginger (peeled and minced then sliced 2cm)
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder (optional)
- 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 6 oz. cabbage (170 g, thinly sliced)
Instructions
- Cut the square lumpia wrappers in half using a serrated knife until you have two stacks of rectangular wrappers.
- While you are cutting the wrappers, make sure to place a damp paper towel over them to prevent them from drying out.
- Add the pork, cabbage, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, chicken bouillon powder (if using), eggs, and ground black pepper into a large bowl and combine them using your hands or rubber spatula. Make sure to mix well to evenly distribute the seasonings.
- Place one of the rectangular wrappers vertically on your work surface with the short edge facing you. Add a large teaspoon of the filling on the wrapper about half an inch from the edge closest to you. Grasp the bottom edge of the wrapper and roll it up and over the filling. Continue to roll until 2 inches of wrapper remain.
- Dip two fingers into a bowl of water, then moisten the last 2 inches of wrapper with your fingers. Finish rolling the lumpia, then rest it on its seam. Continue rolling with the rest of the filling and lumpia wrappers.
- Once the lumpia is rolled, you can store them in the freezer if you want to cook them at another time.
- If you want to cook the lumpia, you first need to fill a large frying pan with about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil and heat it over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is heated, carefully add the lumpia and fry them until they are golden brown on all sides. This should take around 3-5 minutes. It may take a minute or so longer if you chose to freeze the lumpia.
- Drain the excess oil from the lumpia by placing them on a plate of paper towels. Once the excess oil is removed, transfer the lumpia to a clean plate and serve it with sweet and sour sauce or chili sauce.
Notes
- An alternative for lumpia rolls is Chinese or Vietnamese spring roll wrappers meant for deep-frying
- To add more flavor to the filling, you can add finely minced raw shrimp to the pork mixture.
- Aside from pork, you can use ground beef or ground turkey.
Other Things to Know About a Filipino Lumpia Recipe
It was during the pre-colonial period that the dish got introduced in the Philippines by early Hokkien immigrants and traders from Fujian between 900 and 1565 AD. Compared to other spring rolls, lumpia uses a paper-thin wrapper made from just flour, water, and salt. With fresh lumpia, however, the wrappers are more crêpe-like and thicker due to the addition of eggs. Aside from savory lumpia, there is a sweet variation of Filipino spring rolls known as turon. Turon is basically sweet spring rolls with a caramel-like drizzle and saba banana or jackfruit filling.
If you are interested in the dessert version of this dish, check out our “Ube Turon Recipe.” You can also check out other savory recipes such as our “Filipino Eggplant Recipe.”
