(Recipe FIRST because sometimes you just don't have time for the backstory :D. More in-depth descriptions, etc below the recipe :) ).
Lumpia Recipe Makes about 50
1 Lb ground pork or pork sausage (or ground chicken or beef or whatever flavor you want)
2 Boxes of Lumpia Wrappers (can be found in asian markets and sometimes in grocery stores)
2 Bags Coleslaw Mix (without the dressing, just the veggies)
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1 TBS Ginger
Black Pepper
Brown pork in skillet until cooked through.
Put coleslaw mix, soy sauce, ginger, and pepper in a LARGE bowl. Add browned pork and stir til thoroughly combined.
Put about 1-2 TBS of mixture in lumpia wrapper and wrap like a burrito (pics below).
Bake (a) or Fry (b)
(a) Baking lumpia: Preheat oven to 350F. Spray the bottom of a cookie sheet liberally with oil. Place lumpia in pan, seam side down, then spray tops with oil. Bake for approximately 25 minutes until lumpia is golden brown and delicious. Honestly, as much as we love fried food, baking actually does better for lumpia, as long as they have a good coating of oil on them.
(b) Frying lumpia: Plug in your deep fryer (you DO have a deep fryer on your counter, right? No? Just me? If not, no worries, read on...). Or put about an inch of oil in a skillet and set to medium heat. Fry lumpia in batches until the outside is golden and drain on paper towels.
Finadene Sauce For Dipping(from More! Real Guamanian Recipes-Dorothy Horn)
10-12 small fresh Hot Peppers*
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Lemon Juice
1/2 cup chopped Onions
Mix all ingredients. The sauce is better if you let it sit and give time for the flavors to meld. Give each person their own cup of sauce to pour into the rice and/or dip the lumpia in. :)
*This sauce is traditionally made with Guamanian boonie peppers, which are a small (1-2") hot pepper with intense front heat which mellows and lingers, and can cause mild numbness and tingling. They are an immersive experience :D. They also bring out the sweetness in foods.
They are hard to find, though, and we have used any small hot pepper when we moved from Guam. I have even just used dried cayenne (though use much less if you are using dried peppers). If you are a pepper person, it would be worth it to try this sauce with a blend of your favorite hot peppers.
You can make this with a mild pepper if you are not a spicy person. I have found green cayenne to be a fruity, mild warmth.
Ok y'all, let's talk LUMPIA!
My father was in the military and we were stationed on Guam where there is a large Filipino population. Filipino cuisine is ahhhmazing, and my favorite is lumpia. It looks like an eggroll, but the wrapper is the key difference (and the finadene sauce).
These are SO easy to make, are an incredible crowd pleaser if you need to cook for a bunch of people, and they freeze wonderfully, especially if you bake, not fry, them. Or you can assemble them and freeze before baking or frying.
PLEASE give them a try. I serve them simply with rice and sauce, though you can make them a side dish if you prefer. My kids love to heat and eat these for suppers.
"But how do you wrap a lumpia?" I'm glad you asked!
First of all, see if you can find THIS brand. They are individually separated with a thin sheet of plastic. I cannot emphasize enough how key that is to making this super quick and easy. (And yes you can use eggroll wrappers, but it won't be lumpia, it will be eggroll. :D Sort of like the difference between funnel cake and krispy kream-yes, both are delicious fried dough, but they are not the same! :) ).
Place lumpia wrapper flat and put about 1-2 Tbls of mixture at one end.
Roll end closest to you once. Then fold each side of lumpia in (here you see me doing the left side, do the same with the right side.)
Continue rolling lumpia. This locks the ends in. Then bake or fry!
Don't be intimidated by this recipe! It is super easy and makes a GREAT "something fun to pull out of the freezer for movie/game night" food.