Lumpia

Growing up, I had a Filipino nanny named Luz for ten years. As I didn't have grandparents, she was very much like a grandmother to me (I brought her to Grandparent's Day every year at school too). One of my favorite memories is learning how to cook from Luz. This recipe, modified vegan, is a favorite childhood food of mine. Lumpia are a lot like egg rolls, but they are long and thin. They are so good, you could just sit there and eat one after the next, haha. I ate them with vinegar as a kid. Luz taught me many other things other than cooking. Most importantly, she taught me one of the best qualities a person could have in life: Remember to laugh. She was always smiling, laughing, and in a good mood. I keep a framed picture of myself and her on my desk so I can see her everyday. :]

Lumpia

* Prep Time: 20 minutes
* Cook Time: 15 minutes
* Ingredients: 

• 1/2 package (8 oz.) firm tofu, pressed and drained, mashed*
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup carrot, finely diced
• 1/3 cup green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup green cabbage, shredded
• 1 small green pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts, finely diced
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil + more for frying
• salt and pepper, to taste
• lumpia wrappers*
• sweet and sour sauce, to taste, to dip*

* Recipe: 

1. In a deep fryer or a large deep frying pan, add the vegetable oil and bring to medium heat.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the lumpia wrappers and sweet and sour sauce.
3. Separate the lumpia wrappers (be careful, they are very thin) and add 2 tbsp or so of the mixture into the center of the wrapper creating a line form across the wrapper.
4. Fold over the two right and left sides of the wrapper onto the filling. Roll the lumpia wrapper like a rug from bottom to top. Use water to seal the end of the wrapper to the roll.
5. Fry the lumpia until golden brown on all sides.
6. Serve with sweet and sour sauce.

* Note: Instead of tofu, one could use finely chopped ground seitan, just veggies, or even tempeh. It is traditionally filled with ground meat. Lumpia wrappers are easy to find at most Asian grocery stores. A variety of sauces could be used for dipping. I made a homemade sweet and sour sauce, but a sweet chili sauce would be good as well as a soy sauce or vinegar sauce. 


This is a good picture instruction guide for rolling lumpia.