Lumpia
March 16: National Lumpia Day
Lumpia is a livelihood! When Islander was a child, she would help her Daddy separate sheets of spring roll wrappers so he could quickly make the favorite Filipino snack and sell them on the side. Sometimes people would order from Daddy frozen or fried lumpia for parties around West Oahu. Auntie Maria B. also caters lumpia, Filipino foods and wedding cakes from her home in Waianae. And Auntie Laarni C. is successful at the swap meet in Aiea when she hawks hot lumpia at her stall on the weekends. Islander learned how to make lumpia from them but, unfortunately, not so much about how to commercialize her cooking.
Lumpia is most requested by mainlanders when Islander is invited to potlucks. They take so long to prepare yet they are the fastest to be eaten. Love lumpia? Make them for National Lumpia Day! Or please pay Islander for her lumpia labor so she could supplement our income like her Daddy and aunties do!
Recipe
(Inspired by Daddy and Aunties)
Ingredients
- spring roll wrappers
- 1 egg
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 carrot, grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- oil for frying
Directions
Defrost the spring roll wrappers, separate the sheets, place in a container and cover with a damp cloth until ready to use. Beat the egg with a tablespoon of water and set aside. Combine the ground pork, oyster sauce and grated carrot. Salt and pepper to taste.
With the wrapper in a diamond-shaped direction, place a one-inch size of meat filling in the center. Stretch the meat filling horizontally. Fold the sides of the wrapper inward. Then fold the bottom of the wrapper upward and roll tightly toward the top corner.
Moisten the top corner of the wrapper with the egg wash. Roll and seal. Place each lumpia in a container lined with wax paper. Continue rolling all the lumpia, separating each layer with a sheet of wax paper.
Cover the container with foil and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen lumpia to zipper-top freezer bags until ready to cook. Heat the oil in a deep fryer. Do not defrost the lumpia. Carefully plunge them frozen into the hot oil and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with dipping sauce of your choice.
Notes
- The above recipe is in the style of lumpiang shanghai. Learn about the different varieties of lumpia from Wikipedia.
- Facebook fans have designated March 16 as National Lumpia Day (observed in the United States but not yet in the Philippines).
- For a fruit-filled version of lumpia, try our turon (banana lumpia) recipe for National Banana Lovers Day on August 27.
HI COOKERY 
September 10, 2012 at 12:12 am
My family had these over 15 years ago served by the Doctor’s wife when we wrapped up our bible study. I’ve been looking for the recipe since, at my children’s request. Thank you. It will be fun to see if I can get them to match my memory.
September 11, 2012 at 7:53 pm
Thanks for your comment and for visiting our blog. Hope you can make the lumpia. They are a bit time-consuming to roll them all. But after saving them in the freezer, they are easy to fry up fast. Good luck and God bless!
February 10, 2013 at 6:57 pm
Hi there! Can you fry the lumpia right after rolling them or is it necessary to let them freeze first? Thanks!
February 11, 2013 at 3:21 pm
Yes, you can fry the lumpia after rolling but make sure they are sealed well with egg wash. We freeze our lumpia first to make sure they are sealed well to hold their shape in the fryer. Enjoy your lumpia!
September 4, 2014 at 12:23 pm
[…] Contribute If you enjoy reading the content here, click the below image to support our site. This is a really simple lumpia recipe but supposedly everyone has a different way of making these little Filipino egg rolls. These look really good. Lumpia | hi COOKERY […]
April 6, 2016 at 5:55 pm
Is a spring roll wrapper the same as egg-roll wrappers? All the spring roll wrappers I googled are round?
April 7, 2016 at 1:43 pm
Hi, Jean. Spring rolls and egg rolls are sometimes used interchangeably (the latter was named because the rolls were sealed with egg). Also, spring rolls are fried whereas summer rolls are not.
There are square wrappers (or shells/pastry) sold in some stores and come in different sizes and brands. We get ours at a nearby Asian grocer in the freezer section, although some are also in the refrigerator section. In a pinch, you could use phyllo dough sheets, which are thinner and more fragile to work with.
Hope this helps. Thanks for stopping by our blog! Happy cooking.
October 15, 2018 at 12:49 am
What can I use instead of oyster sauce? I am allergic to shell fish
October 17, 2018 at 1:05 am
Hi, Terri. You can just omit the oyster sauce. It does add a unique and sweet flavor to the lumpia filling but is not essential. Sometimes I sprinkle a little garlic powder in the mix when I didn’t have oyster sauce. My daddy doesn’t use oyster sauce but my aunties do. Your lumpia will turn out delicious either way! Happy cooking and thanks for visiting our blog.
October 23, 2018 at 5:10 pm
How many lumpia’s will this recipe make
October 23, 2018 at 7:45 pm
Aloha, Tina. Depending on the size of lumpia wrappers, the recipe yields anywhere from 2-5 dozen. Smaller wrappers come in packages of 50 and the larger ones have 25. I usually make the smaller ones so I can get as much out of the 50 wrappers as possible. The filling can also be made into won tons. It is time consuming to roll but quick and easy to fry up later. And lumpia is always a hit at social gatherings! Good luck! Mahalo/salamat for visiting our blog.
July 7, 2019 at 4:11 pm
I would like to fry these ahead of time the same day as my party. How long ahead can they be fried and how would you suggest re-heating to maintain the crispness?
July 9, 2019 at 3:16 am
Aloha, Lynne. As you know, fresh fried hot lumpia is best! But I, too, have had to fry ahead of time and take them to a potluck. 1-2 hrs would be okay but don’t cover or they will get soggy. If you must reheat them, lay them on a baking sheet with some space between the lumpia and bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. Watch your oven carefully so they don’t burn. Good luck! P.S. I just rolled nearly 100 lumpia over the long weekend. Now I have a frozen batch to fry up whenever there’s a party coming up!
August 19, 2020 at 5:18 pm
I love Lumpia, I also make Banana Lumpia and Vegetable lumpia
September 9, 2020 at 4:06 pm
Salamat! Lumpia is one of our favorite fried Filipino foods, too!