One of the perks of growing up in a military household was meeting different people from all over the globe. My mother became close friends with several of the army wives, and one way they bonded was through cooking. As a young girl, I remember my mother and her friends getting together to share recipes and cooking tips. Through these many get-togethers, she learned to cook American dishes, Thai dishes, Filipino dishes, Japanese dishes, and much much more.
One of my favorite dishes from her stash of accumulated recipes is lumpia!!! YUMMMYYYYY! What can I say? I love this dish. It’s fun to make and so tasty too. I have many fond memories wrapping lumpia with my mom…ahh..memories.
Simply put, lumpia is a Filipino version of egg-rolls. I like it over other Asian type egg-rolls because the filling is much more flavorful and rich. It is also very crispy and HEAVENLY when dipped in sweet and sour sauce. YUM! Shall we get started already? 
What You Need:
- Lumpia Wrappers–we found these at the local filipino market. If you cannot find them, you can use regular egg roll wrappers
- Ground Pork–you can also use ground beef/chicken.
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup shredded Napa Cabbage
- 2 springs of Green Onion
- 3-4 cloves Garlic
- 2-3 small pieces of Ginger
- 1/3 cup Carrot –optional
- 1-1 1/2 tablespoons Soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of Oyster sauce
- 1 egg beated
- black pepper
- salt
- oil for frying
What to Do:
First, mince the garlic, ginger, carrot, and green onion
Add them to a large bowl with the pork. Add in the sauces as well as a dash of salt and pepper.
Mix the ingredients together. Once well mixed, add in the cabbage and mix.
We are done with the lumpia filling. On to the wrapping part. One of the unique things about Filipino egg rolls is that they are commonly rolled very thinly (kind of like taquito) . This adds to the crispy/crunch part that I love so much! To make the most of our wrappers, we sliced them in half and stuffed them.
Here’s how you wrap these wonderful goodies.
1. Thinly line the the wrapper with the stuffing like so:
2. Tightly pull the bottom flat over the filling.
3. Fold in the sides inwards–kind of like an envelope flap
4. Next, continue to tightly roll and when you reach the tip of the top flap, coat it generously with the beaten egg. The egg will act like the glue to hold the lumpia closed.
Honestly, it may take a few tries before getting the hang of the folding. Finish wrapping the rest of the stuffing.
You are done! Now all you have to do is fry or bake these babies. At this time you may choose to save the rest of them (Fold in foil/plastic, stick in freezer) for future eats, or you can go on to cook them. We decided to fry ours.
We used a shallow pan with oil and fried them on both sides until evenly golden brown.
Remove excess oil with a paper towel and enjoy!!!!
p.s. For a fun twist, try wrapping these wrappers with string cheese–sensational, I tell ya!!!
