lumpiang shanghai

i. love. food.

i love eating it. i love cooking it. and most of all, i love feeding it to people.

a crowd favorite is my lumpiang shanghai, the ever popular filipino meat-filled eggroll. growing up, my father was the cook of the household, but when it came to making lumpiang shangai, both mom and dad tag-teamed. dad artistically prepared the meat filling and mom skillfully rolled them up (usually calling on my assistance). and that’s where my training began.

i was inspired by the flavors in my dad’s lumpia, but i never asked him for his recipe. instead, i came up with a recipe of my own that perfectly blends much of the asian ingredients you can find in your own pantry (or in the asian section of your local super market).

lumpiang shanghai (bulk recipe. yields about 40 rolls uncut.)

1 1/4 lbs. of ground meat (beef, pork, chicken, or combo)

1 lb. shrimp (chopped to a chunky paste or food processed)

5 cloves of garlic (minced)

6 green onion (chopped)

2 medium  carrots (grated)

1/2  8 oz. can water chestnut (finely chopped)

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp. rice vinegar

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. sesame oil

2 tbsp. sesame seeds

2 teaspoons white pepper

2 packages of 8×8″ spring roll sheets (or any size is fine. get a few more packages if you go with smaller). i use Pamana brand lumpia wrappers or Menlo brand wrappers usually found in the frozen section of your local asian market.

make sure you defrost the wrappers for at least an hour before you start.

use a food processor to chop your garlic, green onions, carrots, and water chestnuts. or, if you’re gansta like me, hand chop that ish.

combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together. this recipe takes a lot of hand work, so don’t be afraid to get your mitts in there and work all the ingredients together really well.

when you open the package of wrappers, they will be stuck together. carefully separate each sheet before you get to work. if it’s your first rodeo, you’re guaranteed to tear a few, so it’s a good thing you got two packages.

have a small saucer of warm water or a beaten egg to seal the egg roll.

take 1-2 tablespoons of your meat mixture for each egg roll and start rolling:

when you’re ready to fry, cut each roll into thirds with a pair of kitchen scissors.

deep fry in vegetable oil on medium heat until golden brown. place cooked rolls on a paper towel lined plate to soak up excess oil.

you will end up with way more lumpia than you can eat in one sitting (unless you’re champion competitive eater, takeru kobayashi). so freeze the rest of the uncooked rolls for a later date.

serve with a sweet chili sauce. i use Mae Ploy brand.

eat the heck outa that lumpia, son! enjoy.

serving suggestion

printable version of the recipe here: lumpiang shanghai recipe