A Walk to Remember: Lumpia

I may not be Filipino, but this Filipino dish holds special memories for me, of my childhood. I remember every year, our church would have a bazaar. One church family always sold their specialty... Lumpia. You could buy it frozen, by the dozen, or have them cook one up fresh for you, right there on the spot. I used to look forward to the church bazaars for this reason alone.. okay, the stuffed animal table also excited me.. lol

You can imagine my surprise and excitement, when my Mom was able to obtain the recipe from Mrs. Oi. Jackpot! We could now make these yummy creations at home; and we did. Years later, as an adult, I once again got a craving for Lumpia, and went to my Mom for the recipe. Sadly, she didn't know where it was, so we improvised, trying to remember the ingredients. I do not know if the recipe I now use, is the same as the Oi's used, but to me, they taste the same. I also do not have exact measurements, for it's more of just sight and feel. But I will share it with you... you will be hooked!

I believe that a traditional Lumpia calls for ground pork.. I, however, use ground beef. First you want to brown your meat. I suggest cooking it over a low heat, for you need to break it down into very small pieces. Once it's brown, you may add soy sauce to taste. Depending on how much meat I have, will decide how much soy sauce I use. Today, I browned 2 pounds of beef, and used about 1/4 a bottle of soy sauce.

You will also need carrots, celery, water chestunuts, bok choy, and bean sprouts. For my 2 lbs of meat, I diced about 4 large carrots, 1/2 package of celery, 2 cans of sliced water chestnuts. I also used the leaves of 2 bok choy heads (sliced thin), and one can of bean sprouts (I like to use fresh sprouts, but couldn't find them).

Once your meat is brown, add your celery, carrots and water chestnuts. I just put handfuls in. Stir until well blended with the meat.

Once your mixture is well stirred, and has cooked for at least 2 minutes, add your sprouts and then your bok choy. Just pile the bok choy on top, and stir.. it will reduce.. promise!

See! told you!

Here are the Lumpia wrappers I use. It takes a patient person to seperate all the wrappers. A word of advice.. they come frozen. Thaw them overnight before you try to use them. Keep them in the fridge until you are ready to use. Once they warm up, they are more difficult to work with. You can also find the wrappers that are individually wrapped. They cost more money, but if you are really impatient, it may be worth it! lol

Okay, on to the folding. Before you begin to actually roll your Lumpia, let your mixture cool for about 20 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to scoop a small amount of the mixture onto the shell. The shells are pretty thin, and if you don't use a slotted spoon, you will saturate the shell.. which, I'm sure I don't need to say, makes a mess. You only need a little bit of mixture on each shell.. Place it towards the bottom.