My philipino friend showed me how to make these! They are called "Lumpia" and they are basically a simple spring roll with no rules!
Beef or pork, chicken or turkey, it doesn't matter as long as it is ground meat. I love these so much that I have to make them a few times a year!
This recipe is easy but it takes about 1 - 2hr to yield about 25 pieces neatly. I double layer each wrap for strength and each pack usually comes in 50's. Therefore, when I make lumpia I try to make about 50 at a time for it to be more worth my effort. So that is 2 packs of refrigerated wraps for 100 sheets total and hopefully yield 50 rolls that can stored in fridge for a couple days prior to cooking. Can refrigerate again after cooking. They are about $3.50/pack of 50.
Can store raw in freezer for several weeks and cook later after a quick defrost.
- You can oil fry for about 15-18min
- You can airfry 400°F (with an egg wash) for about 22-25 min
- You can oven bake (with an egg wash) for about 35-40 min @ 400°F
Prep time: 1hr (this includes ingredient mixing and rolling pieces.)
Don't rush, enjoy the process, have fun! It's worth it!
Chef's notes
Details
⏲️ Prep time: 60
🍳 Cook time: 30
🍽️ Servings: 4
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground pork
1¹/² cups finely chopped onions
1½ cups finely chopped chayote squash or sweet potato
1½ cups finely chopped jicama (or other root veg)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
50 lumpia or spring roll wrap (about 7"x7")
Hot chilli in oil is optional
Plum sauce is favourite dip
1 large egg
Generous pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
¹/² cup bread crumbs
Directions
In a large bowl or pot, blend all ingredients together mixing in with the ground meat throughly. Add bread crumbs as needed to thicken into a good paste.
Have a small dish on the side for dipping finger tips in water. Set up a work station with large cutting board or smooth surface. Set up the wraps by having them thawed from frozen and transferring them from packaging to a plate with a damp paper towel over pile of sheets. This will keep them fresh and prevent hardening too early.
Pour some warm water onto a plate and add a dash of flour or cornstarch to mix in, creating a kind of glue for your lumpia wraps!
Now the fun part! - Splash some water ("glue" mix) onto your clean, flat surface.
Carefully separate 2 sheets of wraps and place flat on the watered surface (in a diamond shape ideally)
Using a fork or spoon, scoop up about 1.5 table spoons of your meat/veg/spice mix into the center of the wrap. Try to create a 3" x 1" shape that is long left to right and form it solid and uniform as possible
Lift the bottom corner (nearest to you) of the wraps and fold over the meat, tucking under meat as tightly as possible.
Roll wrap and meat together about half way, fold in the sides. (you might need to splash more water on the corners or in folds if you find it is not sticking, be careful though bc it can over saturate and then your are F'd.
Complete the rolling and follow through while trying to keep sides near and secure. Some times I toss some flour in and around the final corner to add more stickiness.
Lay the completed rolled piece in a tupperware container and continue until you have amount desired.
*IT GETS EASIER AS YOU DEVELOP YOUR OWN TECHNIQUES, be patient and take your time.
Preheat your over/oil/airfryer Whip up an egg in a bowl and add a dash of milk or cream. Add pinch of salt and stir.
Spread some parchment paper on a strong baking sheet, spray with cooking spray.
brush all sides and around both end folds of each roll with generous coating of egg wash
Place on greased pan if oven baking (this is easiest and yields about 18-20 pieces quickly)
Bake uncovered, in oven, and on middle rack @400°F for about 15 min. Then turn all pieces over and bake for about another 15min.
Once all pieces are golden brown and crispy, remove from oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Dipping sauce is whatever you like, but plum sauce is most appealing along with a hot chilli paste. Also can simply serve chopped on sticky rice.
If freezing pieces raw then do so quickly after rolling them. For best freezer storing results, lay them out separately when you put in freezer to grab a few at a time in order to keep them from blocking together.
