Best Lumpia (Philippine-Style Egg Roll) Recipe

Lumpia is a popular food all over the Philippines and other Asian countries, particularly Indonesia and Vietnam. The original lumpia recipe was introduced by Chinese immigrants.

Lumpia has many forms and variations. Because it has different fillings and wrappings, it also gained many nicknames; such as, Lumpiang Shanghai, Lumpiang Togue, Lumpiang Sariwa, Lumpiang Hubad, Lumpiang Ubod, Lumpiang Saging, and many more.

The best-tasting lumpia for me is the Lumpiang Ubod. It is known as a specialty food in Silay, Negros Occidental.

Try this recipe and you'll discover the exotic flavor of the cooked coconut tree core. Yes, the main ingredient is the core, or ubod. This is the softest part of the coconut tree. The coconut ubod is obtained by removing the leaves and outer barks of the tree. Ubod is considered a vegetable, and is also known as the ‘rich man's cabbage'.

NOTE: You must prepare all the ingredients before you start cooking to avoid confusion.

In the wrapper's recipe, egg is the main ingredient. And as the cooked wrapper is soft and thin, just like the one used in the American egg rolls, I have always called the Lumpiang Ubod as the Philippine-style Egg Roll.

Ingredients for Wrapper:

• 2 whole eggs
• 2 cups of cornstarch
• 2 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Ingredients for Filling:

• ½ cup of vegetable oil
• 3 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• ¼ kilogram of lean ground pork (boiled in 2 ½ cups of water, to make meat stock)
• ¼ kilogram of fresh shrimp, shelled and finely chopped (boil shrimp shells and head in 1 ½ cups of water, to make shrimp stock)
• 1 cup of shrimp stock
• 1 kilogram of ubod, cut into thin and 1-inch long strips
• 1 teaspoon of iodized salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper, or to taste
• 10 stalks of fresh onion leaves, or as needed

Ingredients for Sauce:

• ½ teaspoon of sugar, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, or to taste
• 2 cups of meat stock 1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, or as needed (dissolved in small amount of water)
• 5 large cloves of garlic, finely minced

Procedure for Wrapper:

1. In a bowl, combine together all the ingredients. Mix well until batter is smooth and creamy.
2. Put a Teflon pan over low heat. Pour ¼ cup of egg mixture, must cover all surface of the pan.
3. Wrapper is cooked when the edges are lifting from the pan. Remove the thin sheet by using a pair of flat thongs. Spread each cooked sheet on lightly-oiled plates.

Procedure for Filling:

1. Heat oil on a deep pan or wok over medium-low heat. Sauté garlic until light brown, and onion, until softened. Add shrimp. Stir to blend well. Add drained ground pork. Continue sautéing for 5 minutes; or until pork starts to brown.
2. Pour shrimp stock. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the ubod strips. Return cover and simmer over medium-low heat. Stir at regular intervals to make sure that ubod strips are cooked evenly.
4. When ubod strips are soft enough to bite and chew, remove heat. Transfer the ubod filling to a strainer. Drain well because excess liquid will ruin the lumpia wrapper.

Procedure for Sauce:

1. In a small saucepan, mix together sugar, soy sauce, meat stock (strained in fine sieve), and salt.
2. Boil over low heat. Add dissolved cornstarch. Stir in garlic. Simmer until thick.

To Roll Lumpiang Ubod:

1. Put 2 onion leaves on one side of the wrapper. Arrange 2 tablespoons of filling.
2. Carefully fold the three edges of wrapper over the filling, starting on each side.
3. Use all your fingers to make sure that the filling is snugly-together, before you start rolling.
4. Put rolled lumpia on a serving plate and pour sauce on top. Serve hot or warm.