Lumpia or Lumpiang Shanghai is a type of Filipino egg roll. The basic filling is composed of ground pork along with minced onions, carrots, and seasonings such as salt and ground black pepper. This recipe post is all about how to make basic lumpia. Feel free to use this as a baseline.
Lumpia ingredients
This deep fried lumpia recipe still tastes great even if I kept the ingredients at a minimum. The main protein for this version is ground pork. I also added carrot for additional sweetness and parsley to make it taste fresh.
It is important to ensure that the flavor of the lumpia filling is flavorful. I don’t want to rely on the dipping sauce most of the time. Salt, sesame oil, garlic powder, and ground black pepper are simple ingredients that provide great results in terms of flavor.
The lumpia wrapper used in this recipe is store-bought. I will talk more about it later. By the way, eggs are used when making the lumpia filling in order to bind all the ingredients together. It prevents the meat mixture from falling apart or separate from each other when frying.
Where to buy lumpia wrapper
Lumpia wrapper is almost always available in the Philippines. Local markets and supermarkets carry this product.
Here in the US, Filipino and Asian stores sell the wrapper too. There are many options that you can choose from. My favorite is the thin wrapper. It is similar to the ones sold in the Philippines. Other options include egg roll wrappers of different sizes. Use it when you want a thick wrapper for your spring roll.
Here is a good resource for making lumpia wrapper.
There are also online sellers that you can buy lumpia or spring roll wrapper from. Amazon is a good source along with some Filipino online stores in the US.
How to Cook Lumpia
The procedure in cooking lumpia is simple. First is to combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl, and them mix altogether until well blended. The next step is to wrap the lumpia mixture in egg roll wrapper. I showed how I did it in the video below. The final step is to deep-fry it until brown and crispy.
Let’s talk about the first step. You can simply add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. It can be done the manual way using your hands. An easier way is to use a stand mixer. Make sure to attach the dough hook when going this route.
This is a basic recipe. It will give you a good tasting lumpia. However, you can play around with it by adding more ingredients to bring it up to the next level. A good example is the addition of seasonings to bring-in more flavors. Another good suggestion is to add a bit of Italian sausage to the mixture. You can also try adding veggies such as celery.
Wrapping lumpia is easy. It is something that you can get used to after a few tries. The tricky part in this process is when using a wide wrapper. The video below shows my technique on how to wrap lumpia using wide egg roll wrappers. It is quick and easy. You should try it for yourself.
Deep frying the lumpia has a little trick in order to ensure that the filling gets completely cooked while not getting the wrapper burnt. It has something to do with temperature. Make sure that you do not fry the lumpia on very hot oil. This will quickly brown the wrapper while leaving the meat mixture still under cooked. Try to fry the lumpia while the oil is starting to get hot, around 250 F. Let it slowly cook the inside. The wrapper will gradually brown as it fries. You will know that it is ready when it floats. By the way, I am assuming that you will follow my lead by also deep frying the egg rolls.
When it comes to the dipping sauce, I love to dip mine in sweet and sour sauce. Banana sauce or banana ketchup works too.
Cooking Lumpia in an air fryer
Using an air fryer is also a good way to cook lumpia without using oil. In fact, it is a healthier option. I usually set the temperature to 370F and air fry my lumpia for 12 minutes. The cooking time can be extended depending on how well you want your food done.
The oil from the ground pork also gets extracted during the cooking process. You will end up with less oil crispy lumpia to munch on.
When using an air frying to cook my lumpia, I usually spray a small amount of cooking oil on the wrapper. This makes it less dry. It depends on ones preference.
How to make lumpia wrapper for Lumpiang Shanghai
Thin lumpia wrapper can be done at home. It is easy to make. The ingredients are not hard to find too. Chances are, these ingredients can be in your pantry at the moment.
It only takes flour, cornstarch, salt, and water to make your homemade lumpia wrapper. I will cover the procedure in one of our future videos.
Panlasang Pinoy Lumpia Recipes
Lumpiang Hubad – its name is literally translated to naked lumpia. It is a type of fresh lumpia that does not require frying. The veggies are cooked separately by sautéing or stir-frying with a small amount of protein such as chicken or pork. There is no wrapper involved here. See recipe here
Noche Buena Lumpiang Shanghai – This is my Family’s special Lumpiang Shanghai version. My two little girls love it. In fact, they really loved it so much to the point that they knew how to make one. Both of them knew the ingredients that goes with the filling. They are also capable of wrapping each piece manually without the help of a grown-up. I still do the frying for safety reasons. view recipe
Lumpiang Sariwa with Fresh Lumpia Wrapper – Naked lumpia with fresh soft wrapper. I love the idea of making your own homemade wrapper. I included the tutorial in my cooking video so you too can make one at home. See recipe
I love to have lumpiang sariwa with crushed peanuts on top and some crushed garlic. These complements the sweet brown sauce.
Fish Lumpia Recipe – Just like ground meats, fish flakes can also be used to make lumpia. This is the most popular version during the holy week. I use either bangus (milkfish) or galunggong (round scad) to make it.
Lumpiang Gulay – These are vegetable egg rolls. It is composed of different kinds of veggies that were sautéed together. The veggies are then wrapped and deep fried until the wrapper turns golden brown. It makes a good appetizer to any dish. take a closer look
Chicken Dynamite Lumpia Recipe – Imagine stuffing a lumpia with long green pepper and ground chicken mixture. The spiciness of the long pepper makes it somewhat a dynamite on your mouth. This is a good version for people who loves spicy food. See recipe here
Crab and Corn Pearl Soup and Chinese Spring Rolls – a good appetizer combination can be soup and spring rolls. The spring rolls in this recipe is Chinese inspired. This makes use of ground chicken along with Chinese chives, mushroom, and other interesting ingredients. See recipe here
Turon – Lumpia can also be a dessert or a sweet snack in the form of turon. Ripe saba banana are dipped in brown sugar and then wrapped. It is deep fried until golden brown. Sometime, ripe jackfruit is combined with the banana. I think that the combination is out-of-this-world. See recipe here
Try this Lumpia Recipe. Let me know what you think.
Lumpia Recipe
Ingredients
- 50 pieces lumpia wrapper
- 3 cups cooking oil
Filling ingredient
- 1 1/2 lbs ground pork
- 2 pieces onion minced
- 2 pieces carrots minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup parsley chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.
- Scoop around 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling and place over a piece of lumpia wrapper. Spread the filling and then fold both sides of the wrapper. Fold the bottom. Brush beaten egg mixture on the top end of the wrapper. Roll-up until completely wrapped. Perform the same step until all mixture are consumed.
- Heat oil in a cooking pot. Deep fry lumpia in medium heat until it floats.
- Remove from the pot. Let excess oil drip. Serve. Share and enjoy
Carol says
November 25, 2010 at 9:07 amI need help! I bought TYJ Spring Roll Pastry online. After I add filling and roll them up, I cannot get the ends to seal. Water, or egg has not worked. I have the rice flour skins, too… the kind you can see through. With those, I know you have to dip them in a plate of water and lay them out to fill. Do the TYJ skins require the same water treatment? It’s too bad I can’t get an answer from the place I bought them. I paid $40 for 6 packs of skins… 3 small and 3 large. I’m not letting them dry out. I keep them covered with a damp cloth. I deep fried one of the small packs and made a sort of potato chip. At least they didn’t go to waste. Seems like the simplest thing, but I am hard-pressed for an answer. I found this website and decided to ask here. Can’t hurt!
Thank you to anyone who can help.
Ray says
February 13, 2019 at 8:54 pmTime to eat out.