Lumpia

Name: Lumpia
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 15 to 20 rolls
Ingredients: 1 medium yellow onion, finely minced; 1 large egg; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for frying (about 6 cups); 2 medium carrots, scrubbed or peeled, finely minced; 3 garlic cloves, finely minced; 1 pound ground pork; 1/2 cup drained and finely chopped water chestnuts (from an 8-ounce can), or 1/2 cup peeled and finely diced jicama (optional); 2 teaspoons soy sauce; Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal); Black pepper; 15 to 20 frozen lumpia or spring roll wrappers (also labeled as spring roll pastry, not round rice paper rolls), thawed according to package directions; Sweet chili sauce, for serving

By Naz Deravian

Published Dec. 14, 2023

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Rating: 4(208)
Notes: Read community notes

Shatteringly crisp and stuffed with juicy pork filling, Shanghai lumpia are a popular Filipino dish similar to fried spring rolls. Pork is the traditional filling, but they can also be made with a combination of pork and shrimp, ground beef or chicken. If you have one, use a food processor to finely mince the vegetables, and for a pleasant crunch, drop in a big handful of water chestnuts or jicama. Rolling the lumpia into a cigar-like shape takes a little bit of practice, but don’t overstuff them, wrap them tightly so the oil doesn't seep in and keep at it. You can prepare a large batch and freeze (see Tip) until ready to fry. Serve lumpia with store-bought sweet chili sauce for dipping.

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Ingredients

Yield:15 to 20 rolls

1medium yellow onion, finely minced
1large egg
1tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for frying (about 6 cups)
2medium carrots, scrubbed or peeled, finely minced
3garlic cloves, finely minced
1pound ground pork
½cup drained and finely chopped water chestnuts (from an 8-ounce can), or ½ cup peeled and finely diced jicama (optional)
2teaspoons soy sauce
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
Black pepper
15 to 20frozen lumpia or spring roll wrappers (also labeled as spring roll pastry, not round rice paper rolls), thawed according to package directions
Sweet chili sauce, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Place the onion in a fine-mesh strainer and press on it with the back of a spoon or a spatula to squeeze out most of the liquid. In a small bowl, beat the egg with 2 teaspoons of water to make an egg wash.
Step 2
In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium. Add the onion and carrots. Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the meat, and cook, stirring constantly and breaking up the meat, until just cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in the water chestnuts (if using) and soy sauce. Season with salt (about 1½ teaspoons) and pepper (about 1 teaspoon). Remove from the heat, taste and adjust seasonings. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Step 3
Roll the lumpia: Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Place a wire rack on a second sheet pan. Have a small bowl of water and damp paper towels nearby to clean your hands as you roll. Peel off 1 wrapper and arrange it on a clean surface so it looks like a diamond. Keep the rest of the wrappers covered with a clean, damp kitchen towel or a couple of paper towels.
Step 4
Place 2 tablespoons of filling on the wrapper, 3 inches up from the nearest corner. Shape the filling into a log: Lift the nearest corner over the filling and cover it, making sure it’s airtight. Fold in the left and right corners tightly like an envelope, tucking in the corners. Tightly roll the log away from you, stopping about 2 inches from the top, brush the exposed portion with the egg wash and roll to tightly seal in the shape of a cigar.
Step 5
Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan, drape with a second clean, damp kitchen towel or additional paper towels, and continue until you use up all of the filling. Halfway through the rolling process, in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot, add enough oil to come 1½ inches up the sides and heat over medium until the temperature reaches 370 degrees.
Step 6
Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, fry the lumpia 4 to 5 at a time, turning them a few times with tongs, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Adjust the heat as needed to maintain the temperature. Transfer the fried lumpia to the wire rack, and continue with the remainder. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving with sweet chili sauce.

Tip

Place uncooked lumpia rolls on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan and transfer to the freezer, uncovered, overnight. The next day, transfer to a resealable plastic bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. Fry the lumpia from frozen, as directed in the recipe, until golden brown, adding an extra minute.

Ratings

4 out of 5

208 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Jean7 months ago

I’m Filipino, born and raised. This is almost exactly how my mother made lumpiang Shanghai. The bottled sweet chili sauce dip is definitely a Filipino-American twist. My mother would make a sauce by simmering one part vinegar to one part water, a dash of ketchup for color, more sugar than you’d think, grated fresh ginger, all of it thickened to desired consistency with a cornstarch slurry.

Carissa7 months ago

Just like my grandma made! Except with chicken and no onions. That was just my kid prejudice that she indulged, there’s nothing wrong with them. Don’t skip the jicama/water chestnuts and try to get the thin Filipino wrappers! That makes the difference. If my family didn’t have the real wrappers, we just turned them into meatballs rather than use the thick egg roll wrappers.

Daphne7 months ago

Lethal sticks of deliciousness (naimas)! De rigueur appetizer for every Filipino holiday! We always hit these with white vinegar and minced raw garlic for extra eructation!

Kelly Migliaccio7 months ago

Oh the meatballs are a great idea! I have celiac disease so I can’t eat the wrapper but I could make them into meatballs! Thank you!

Elizabeth7 months ago

Not Filipino, by married a Pinoy and have mestiza girls! Ironically, I'm the one who makes the homemade version--my in-laws by them at the sari sari store! If you have to eat GF, try using rice paper wrappers. We do those for my daughter and they fry well.

Toni5 months ago

The filling was good. Wrapper is too thick, tasted a bit doughy. I’ll definitely try to hunt down the Filipino wrappers. That could make all the difference!

HintsFromHomie5 months ago

Thanks for the inspiration, I did this for two for Super Bowl yesterday along with 3/4 sections of snow crab. I added a small amount of turnip along with the H20 chestnuts: same crunch different tang and used a butter spray in my big air fryer 6 turn 6 min because my peanut oil half gallon did some cod Friday night…. A delightful new treat! The other half made up are now frozen.

pekio meow5 months ago

Agree about the meatballs! Would love to enjoy the filling without the fried wrapper at least part of the time..and I’m not just saying that because my wrapping skills embarrassingly in lack.

Jake6 months ago

Probably in the New York City area you can get the right kind of egg roll wrappers in a supermarket, in the Boston area, though (and probably anywhere less cosmopolitan than New York), you’ll probably need to go to a Chinese or Asian market. The wrappers in regular supermarkets are usually much too thick to make these.

BC Foodie6 months ago

These are good, not too hard, and guests loved them.

pjs6 months ago

Made these for friends at Thanksgiving last year, but dipped them in homemade banana ketchup. It went over bigger than I intended. In Michigan, the sweeter/less fiery sauce was a welcome addition.

JG6 months ago

I lived in Manilaas a child and can’t wait to try this recipe!

Jens6 months ago

Here in Hawaii, lumpia often appear at large gatherings, retirement parties, staff parties, Super Bowl parties, you name it. This article made my mouth water. Sometimes, the Filipino family on our street will make them for block parties.

yasminea7 months ago

My mom also added green beans and bamboo shoots. We didn’t use pork - chicken and shrimp for meat and left out the meat for vegetarians. I veganized it by using frozen beef crumbles. Then added bamboo shoots. Used aquafaba instead of egg whites. Totally held together and all the Pinoy family approved!

Elizabeth7 months ago

Rachel7 months ago

Sure there are as many ways to make Lumpia Shanghai as there are “gumbo” in my home state of Louisiana. Learned from my college roommate from Manila- ground pork- raw shrimp chopped finely w chef’s knife… raw onion & carrots shredded w food processor- black pepper, grated fresh garlic- 3:1 ratio Asian soy sauce:fish sauce until moist but not wet. Cut wrappers into 1/4ths/squares & roll long side to long side, sealed w egg wash. ends are “open” fry and dip in Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce…Yum!

Nana Ruth7 months ago

Can these be air fried?

gggirl7 months ago

The meatball is a great suggestion. I'm going to leave it ground up and make lettuce wraps instead as another GF option.

stripe7 months ago

Are these wraps made of rice or wheat?

SusanW7 months ago

I did a search on the Internet for lumpia wrapper recipes. All of the recipes I looked at used wheat flour. I assume the same will be true for store-bought wrappers.

Donna7 months ago

A coworker a million years ago made these for a pot luck and I've never forgotten how delicious they were! Definitely will give it a try!

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