Filipino Lumpia

I'm finally putting up a recipe for Lumpia!  (Lumpia is a delicious Filipino food, similar to fried egg rolls.)  I've made it three times in the past two years, and have wanted to post a recipe for it, but have never been able to take pics of the process until now.  I didn't even get as many good pics of it as I wanted, but this will have to do for now.  :) 

On Halloween, two friends came over and we had a lumpia-making party.  It was so fun, and then we ate lumpia for lunch along with Japanese fried rice, eggplant and ground pork, this ice cream, and brownies.  I was stuffed!  Everything was so good. 

I grew up eating lumpia at friend's houses and school and church parties.  My mom learned how to make it while we were all living in the Philippines and I've made it with her at least once.  The version I'm sharing here is a raw-meat version, meaning you don't cook the meat mixture before filling the wrappers and frying.  You must fry these well enough to fully cook the meat inside.  Other versions call for cooking the meat first, and those are good too- this version is just easier for me. 

For this version, first, we chopped up our veggies using my food processor.  Then we added half of the meat (cuz my processor wasn't big enough for all of it) and ran the machine until it was a smooth mixture.  Then we added the rest of the meat by hand (or by spoon) in a large bowl.  Then came rolling the mixture in the lumpia wrappers and frying.  A trick I learned from my friend (who taught us this recipe) is to place the meat mixture in the empty lumpia-wrapper bag, snip a corner off, and pipe the meat cleanly onto the wrapper that way. 

When wrapping these, you can use either a square or circle lumpia wrapper.  If using a square, pipe a line of meat (lol) close to the corner of the wrapper facing you.  Start rolling, and after a few rolls, fold the sides in.  This is really hard to explain unless you see someone doing it.  I took some pictures of my friend rolling one, but she is using a round wrapper.  Just roll a square one the same way as this.  The lumpia wrapper package usually has a diagram on the back on how to roll.  Have a small bowl of water nearby.  Use a bit to wet the lumpia wrapper and seal it. 

Those are my friend's hands below- she's the lumpia expert and a much better "roller" than I was.  Ha ha!

Lumpia

from my friend H.S.

makes around 60, more or less

2 to 2 1/2 boxes* lumpia wrappers (around 30 in each pkg)

1 1-lb pkg of EACH ground pork and ground beef
1-2 stalks celery
2-3 cloves of garlic
1-2 carrots
1-2 tbs soy sauce
1 egg
1-2 tbs flour
salt and pepper
oil for frying

1.  In a food processor, combine the celery, garlic, and carrots.  Process until chopped very, very fine.  Don't be afraid of pureeing them; you want them almost to that stage.  When chopped enough, add one pound of meat and process that until the mixture is smooth and combined.  If your food processor is big enough, you can add both pounds of meat and process.  If not, remove the mixture to a bowl and add in the other pound of meat with your hands or a wooden spoon.  Now, mix in the soy sauce, 1 egg, the flour, and pepper.  We did not use any salt, but you can if you want.  (We also used reduced-sodium soy sauce and the saltiness level was just fine.)

2.  If lumpia wrappers are stuck together, separate them and cover with a damp paper towel as you work.  Have ready a large cutting board and a large 9x13 pan or something to hold the wrapped lumpia.  Using the empty lumpia bag or a disposable piping bag, fill it with the meat mixture and snip off a corner.

3.  Now, roll all the lumpia.  Pipe a line of filling close to the corner of the wrapper, or kind of close to the edge if wrappers are round.  Take the corner (or side) nearest to the filling and fold it over the filling. Keep rolling and when you reach around the middle, tuck in both sides. (See photos above.) Continue to wrap, but be sure to roll very tight to keep everything in. When you reach the end, use a little water to seal the edge. 

4.  At this point, you can freeze them in a single layer in freezer bags or fry them right away to eat.

5.  To fry them:  In a skillet, use about 1/2 inch to 1 inch of oil.  Heat over medium heat until oil is hot.  Fry the lumpia, a few at a time, not crowding the skillet, until browned and the meat is cooked inside.  To check this, use a meat thermometer or break one open to see if the pink is gone.  Drain on paper towels.

Note: To fry frozen lumpia, thaw completely first, and then fry as stated above. 

*If you have leftover lumpia wrappers, fill them with sliced bananas and mini chocolate chips and fry.  These are SO good!!  You can also fill with leftover fried rice, Asian noodles, etc, and fry. 

*If you have leftover meat, but no wrappers, use the meat as a base of delicious fried rice!  I did this last night; used a tiny bit of oil; cooked the meat with diced bell peppers & onions, then added cooked rice and scrambled an egg in it. Then, add oyster sauce to taste- so good, esp. with the oyster sauce!

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