Lumpiang Shanghai (Meat Spring Rolls)

Every time I will munch on “lumpiang shanghai”, flashes of happy memory will appear on my mind. The scene was a traditional family occasion where everybody is busy cooking and preparing foods. I am still a first grader and happily playing around when I ran through the kitchen area. It is there where I chanced upon this funny looking “lumpia” just slightly bigger than my fingers but unusually longer. Instinct drove me to secretly take one, run and hide. In the hidden corner of the house the inevitable happened: a love at first bite.

Since that day “lumpiang shanghai” has been dearly loved by me. I eat it as viand accompanying steamed rice for meal, “merienda” (snack) that goes well with “pancit” (a top Filipino noodle dish), spaghetti and other pasta dishes, “pulutan” (appetizer) over alcoholic beverages and even on its own over a glass of sparkling soda drink.

“Lumpiang shanghai” is a type of “lumpia” or Filipino pastries similar to spring rolls. The recipe was brought by the Chinese immigrants and became popular where they settled in the Philippines. It has such enduring popularity that one can see at least one variant in almost any set of Filipino festivities. Its distinct taste and ease of preparation has caused it to be one of the favorite foods of the Filipinos.

For this recipe, the fillings will compose of 1 kl ground pork, 1 medium onion, minced, 1 large carrot, minced, 2 stalks celery, finely chopped, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil (optional), 1 large egg or 2 small eggs, lightly beaten, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground pepper, 50 pcs spring roll wrappers and about 1 cup vegetable oil.

The process is pretty simple. You just have to thoroughly combine all the ingredients (except wrappers and vegetable oil) in a large mixing bowl. Continue blending until the mixture is held together by the beaten eggs. Taste the mixture and add some more salt or pepper if necessary.

Take about 2 tbsp of the filling and wrap to about half an inch spring roll. Continue rolling and wrapping until you have a lot of these. You’ll be able to make about 40 to 50 rolls.

Heat oil in a wide frying pan and start cooking your “lumpiang shanghai” in batches. Cook each batch in moderate heat until golden brown. Maintaining the correct temperature of the oil is essential to attain good results. Too hot and it will burn the wrapper, not enough heat and oil will enter the roll. Properly drain excess oil from the cooked “lumpia” using table napkin. Serve hot and crispy along side with your favorite sweet and sour sauce.

You can use other ingredients for the fillings. You can substitute ground beef or minced chicken or a combination thereof. You can also add minced shrimp or use fish meat instead. For the vegetables you can also add mushroom, scallion, leeks or use some jicama (“singkamas”) and water chestnut. Feel free to experiment, until you find the combination that works best for you. Enjoy.