Piniritong Lumpia

Posted byNoriePosted inAppetizers, Recipe, Side dishes, VegetablesTags:

Fried Vegetable Lumpia

Pinirito or Prito means fried. Like Pancit and Lugaw, there are varieties and kinds of Lumpia.  Lumpia is very similar to Eggroll.  The Filipinos also have Lumpiang Sariwa (Fresh Lumpia), which is comparable to Spring roll and the Malaysian Popiah.

There is also a kind of Lumpia that is the most popular among the Westerners, the meat-filled Lumpia called Lumpiang Shanghai.

If you want strictly vegetables without ground meat, here is how to make them and you may call them Eggrolls. If meat is desired, diced shrimp and/or ground beef or pork can also be included. I usually use the leftover Ginisang Green Beans with ground beef to make lumpia for a small meal.

Ingredients:

  • Green beans, shaved thin diagonally or French Cut
  • Cabbage, shredded thin
  • 2 cups bean sprouts 
  • Carrot sticks
  • 1 medium size sweet potato, cut the same as the carrots
  • 1 medium onion, sliced thin lengthwise
  • Celery, cut like the carrot sticks or sliced thin diagonally
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
  • 2 shrimp or chicken bouillon
  • Salt, pepper

The amounts of vegetables are at your discretion.  About 2 quarts or 8 cups of cooked and drained vegetables will yield about 18 to 20 rolls.

You will also need a box of lumpia wrappers available at the Asian super market.  Eggroll wrappers can be used, which is more readily available at the grocery store but it is too thick in my opinion.  Spring Roll wrappers are next in line but the texture is not the same after it is fried and is harder to seal.  It tends to separate and open at the sealed side while being fried.  I use it in making Lumpiang Shanghai instead. 

Sauté the garlic and onions in 1 TBS. oil until soft.  Add 1/4 cup water and add the bouillons.  Simmer until dissolved then add the sweet potato and cook until semi soft, about 1 minute. Drop in the green beans, celery and carrot sticks.  Simmer for a few seconds until green beans are bright greet, stir then add the cabbage and lastly, the bean sprouts.  Stir and cook for a few seconds until cabbage is wilted before adding the bean sprouts.  The bean sprouts do not have to be cooked. Taste and season with salt, black pepper.  Remove from heat and let stand to cool.  Stir occasionally for the flavors to fuse.

The vegetables do not have to be well done because they will continue to cook when frying them.

Drain well.  Line one wrapper on a board and put 1 heaping tablespoon of the mixture then wrap.  More than one tablespoon may be used but too much may tear the wrapper while rolling.  Fold the top over, then fold the sides and roll to the other end and seal the end.  Wet the end with water to hold and seal.  Carefully transfer on a large plate with the sealed end on the bottom.  Repeat.

Actually, cooking it is no big deal.  What is challenging is separating the wrappers without tearing them.  It was my job when I was a kid growing up.  I guess the grown ups did not have the patience to do it and tore more than were useful when trying to carefully and slowly separating the wrappers.   And because I was a kid, the more they bragged how good I was for not tearing it up the more I liked to do it.  Good child psychology.

If you are a novice in wrapping eggrolls or burritos, do not despair or get discouraged if you mess up some because some will bust open before you get to the end of the wrap.  You can double the wrap or you can start over with a fresh wrapper.  But do not discard the torn wrappers because you can use them too. 

Fry them in batches in hot oil in a deep skillet with at least 1” deep cooking oil.  When the oil has reached the desired temperature. Ideally 350 deg. F to 375 deg. F. Lower the heat to med. You can test the oil by frying a piece of the wrapper.  It should not get brown too quickly or it will burn but not too slow either for it will soak in too much oil. Drop 3 or 4 at a time and fry until the bottom is browned then turn over to fry the other side.  Drain on a wire rack over a baking tray to drip the oil.  Try to stand them up to let the oil drip out. 

When all the lumpia have been fried, fold each of the extra wrappers or the torn wrappers and deep-fry them too.  It was my favorite when I was a kid because they are very crisp and crunchy.  Dip them also in the garlic, soy sauce & vinegar as you would the lumpia.  It is a lot better than the fried wonton wrappers served in Chinese restaurants.  I always waited for them when I was a kid.

Serve warm while still crisp.  Make a dip with crushed garlic, soy sauce, vinegar and black pepper.  Add a dash of salt.  Add a little water if the vinegar is too strong for you.  I like it straight.  This is good served with Pancit or plain rice. 

My husband already had 4 while waiting for all to get fried and lunch to be served. We ate every one of them; not in one sitting but they are all gone.  Wow!