Lumpia (Philippine Egg Rolls From Scratch)
Homemade Filipino lumpia from scratch with hand-made crepe-style wrappers, a pork and shrimp filling loaded with water chestnuts and bamboo shoots, and a tangy pineapple-ginger dipping sauce. Authentic party-tray classic.
YIELD
45 egg rollsPREP
60 minCOOK
30 minREADY
90 minLumpia is the Filipino answer to the egg roll, and this from-scratch version goes all the way, hand-mixed crepe-style wrappers (doilies) instead of store-bought spring roll sheets. Homemade wrappers fry up with a shatter-thin crunch store-bought can’t quite match.
The filling leans on ground pork and chopped shrimp for savoury depth, then gets crunch and sweetness from water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and a surprising hit of raisins. That bit of sweetness is traditional, don’t skip it.
The most important step most home cooks rush is draining the filling. Wet filling steams inside the wrapper, turns it soggy, and causes blowouts when frying. Let it sit in a strainer until the liquid really stops dripping.
Seal the flap with egg white, not water, the protein glues the wrapper shut under high heat. Fry in corn oil at 375°F (190°C) until they turn deep golden, any cooler and they drink oil.
Pro Tips
- Stack wrappers only once fully cool, or they’ll stick together into an unusable brick.
- Fill and roll just before frying if possible, rolled lumpia can turn gummy after an hour in the fridge.
- Fry in small batches, crowding drops the oil temperature and gives you pale, greasy rolls.
- Freeze uncooked rolls on a sheet tray, then bag, they fry from frozen beautifully, just add 60 to 90 seconds.
Variations
- Swap the protein for ground chicken or all shrimp for a lighter version.
- Add chopped shiitake or tree ear mushrooms for extra umami.
- Serve with a sweet chili or garlic vinegar dip instead of the pineapple sauce.
Ingredients
Directions
Doilies: Combine flour, water and salt to taste and mix thoroughly with a wire whisk to remove lumps.
Batter should be about the consistency of a crepe batter.
Add a little water if it is too thick.
If the batter thickens as it sits, you may have to add more water.
Heat a 6 inch crepe pan and wipe out with lightly oiled wax paper.
Pour on batter quickly to cover the bottom. Pour off excess.
Allow to cook over low heat until the edges begin to curl and pull away from the sides of the pan.
Remove and place on clean, dry surface.
Repeat, oiling pan each time. Do not stack doilies on top of each other until each has cooled.
Before filling, put off excess batter to make a perfect circle.
Filling: Cook pork or beef in a large skillet until pinkness is gone.
Drain off grease.
Add shrimp, onions, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, celery, garlic and carrot; cook until carrot is almost tender.
Stir in remaining ingredients except the egg white and oil.
Mix well.
Cook until bean sprouts are limp.
Pour mixture into strainer and cool, allowing as much liquid as possible to drain off before filling rolls.
Use about 1 heaping teaspoon for each doily.
Place filling near one side. Roll doily over filling a couple of times; fold in sides and roll up tightly.
Seal flap with a little egg white.
Deep fry in corn oil heated to about 375℉ (190℃), until rolls are golden.
Drain thoroughly on paper towels and serve with sauce.
Note: If rolls are filled ahead of time, cover and refrigerate until it is time to serve.
Return to room temperature and fry.
Lumpia Sauce: Combine all ingredients but the corn starch and heat.
Meanwhile, mix corn starch with enough of the pineapple juice mixture to make a smooth paste.
Return cornstarch mixture to pot and simmer until mixture is thick.
Makes about 3 cups.
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