Food Jitsu

A month into culinary school and I have time to write!!?!?!

Kind of. Homework. So I wrote about one of my favorite things: Lumpia. Some situations were embellished for the sake of storytelling. Anyone mentioned is fictitious, unless they call me twenty times a day, every day (love you Mom!) 

Lumpia Story: The Rock & Roll Eggroll

Being latchkey kids with parents that worked all the time didn’t leave much in terms of “home cooking.” In spite of that, my mom was an accomplished cook. In order to pay for college classes, she ran her own catering business from home, specializing in Filipino food. It was pretty successful, I guess, since she was able to help pay for college and buy us kids little luxuries every now and then. The years Mom went to college were probably the most favorite out of my childhood. I was her Unofficial Taste Tester, and got to experience my culture First Class via taste bud. Mom would start preparing on Thursdays, cutting massive amounts of vegetables and brining fish. But Friday was my favorite, since it was the day we would wrap lumpia, which is the Philippine’s version of the eggroll. (According to the almighty Wikipedia, lumpia were brought to the Philippines by Chinese immigrants. Filipinos and Chinese-Filipinos then made them awesome.)

Fridays were the days that Mom would sample a small batch, and fry some up for the family. In my opinion lumpia (pronounced LOOM-PEE-YAH) is far superior to its Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai counterparts, which are unceremoniously lumped into the category “eggroll.” If the food world was personified by fireworks, eggrolls would be mere sparklers… Lumpia would be the fireworks that boomed loud enough to rattle your fillings. They are the loud, throaty Harley Davidsons to eggroll’s moped.

Lumpia simply outclass the competition because they unabashedly stand on their own as the main course to a meal. In other cuisines, you see eggrolls as a side, to be forgotten under a mass of General Tso sauce, or in a dribble of vinegary fish sauce. In Filipino cuisine, lumpia take center stage oftentimes as an entree because substantial, hearty, identifiable ingredients are used. Eggrolls can oftentimes mask questionable fillings under the perceived happiness that is a fried shell. Lumpia, on the other hand, declare themselves filling first, crispy-fried goodness second. A few lumpia served with a side of good, semi-sticky jasmine rice and a little bit of “duck sauce” or “banana ketchup” would be a complete, real meal to my family.

From an early age,I realized why Mom’s lumpia were in such high demand: she would make her own lumpia wrappers! Yes, there are specialty stores out there that many cooks (myself included at times) resort to for prepared, packaged generic eggroll wrappers. Mom would tirelessly prepare countless little rice crepes that would soon be lumpia wrappers. She would often prepare so many of the little white crepes that she would have a sizeable frozen stock available for any situation. According to a fun blog The Burnt Lumpia (which is a reference to the one or two burnt lumpia in any batch that resulted in there being too much fat in the roll, or if the wrapper was punctured) and Cheftalk.com, this is a recipe for lumpia wrappers:

Lumpia Wrappers: (Yields 20-25 wrappers)

3 large eggs
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup water

Separate eggs. Beat egg whites until frothy, then blend in yolks. Make a slurry out of water and corn starch, then add egg mixture. Blend together. Let stand for 20 minutes for mixture to release bubbles.

In a Teflon pan, brush with vegetable oil and set flame to a low heat. Brush mixture to desired shape. Do not let them brown.

The wrappers will easily remove themselves from the pan. Let each wrapper cool down on a baker’s rack. Wrappers are ready to use or can be layered for storage.

Like many comfort foods, lumpia is actually a general term for one of three varieties:

 Lumpiang Shanhai- Thin rolls, mostly meat and garlic; sort of like a mini meatloaf.

Lumpiang Gulay-Gulay means “vegetables” in Tagalog. Meat and hearty vegetables cooked, drained, and wrapped.

Lumpiang Sariwa- “Fresh” lumpia; similar to fresh Vietnamese spring rolls, but with cooked vegetables.

For this paper, I will use OverseasPinoy.net’s recipe for 20-25 lumpiang Gulay. Normally, lumpia is made in huge batches for special occasions. Uncooked lumpia are frozen and, depending on the fillings, can last for weeks.

Ingredients:

3 cup mung bean sprout, roots trimmed
1 cup green beans, thinly sliced diagonally
1 medium size carrot, cut into strips
2 cup cabbage, shredded
1 cup sayote cut into strips
1 cup small size shrimp, shelled, chopped
1 cup boiled pork liver, cut into strips
2 cup pork, cut into strips
2 cake tokwa, tofu, diced
1/2 head garlic, choped
1 medium size onion, chopped
1/4 c. patis (fish sauce)
salt and pepper
vegetable oil
lumpia /spring roll wrappers

Cooking procedure:

In a wok, sauté garlic and onion, add in pork meat, pork liver and shrimp, stir for 3-5 minutes or until shrimps are cooked. Add in patis and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add all vegetables and quickly stir cook for a minute. Let cool and keep aside vegetable filling. Place 1 tablespoon of filling on one side of each wrapper and wrap tightly, secure wrapper by lightly dabbing with water on wrapper edge. In a wok deep fry lumpia at medium to low heat for 2-3 minutes or until wrapper turns to golden brown and fillings are cooked. Serve with vinegar garlic mixture dip.

                When I make lumpiang gulay, I use a similar recipe to this one, but add more garlic, remove the tofu, and substitute chicken (dark meat) for the pork. I remove the pork because a few family members and friends of mine are Muslim, and I would like everyone at the party to enjoy my food. This type of food is great for substitution; a part of the cook’s personality should show in the fillings. I have seen variations with jalapeno peppers, extra garlic, and even SPAM. If it fits in the wrapper, it can be used.

                Additionally, my favorite dipping sauce is equal parts soy sauce and rice vinegar, with crushed garlic and red pepper to taste.

                I also immediately fry them as soon as they are wrapped. This makes for a lovely, golden brown color, perfect for presentation. Having a cooking partner really helps this process. It also creates a nice bonding experience when among family members. Looking back, I think I reconnected with grandparents, cousins, and my own mother through the lumpia-making process. I think that is what home cooking and comfort food is all about: making a familial connection.

                In my case, that family connection stems from making lumpia, the James Bond of eggrolls.