Lumpia Recipe (Filipino Spring Rolls)

Growing up, I loved lumpia so much that whenever I visited my Lola (grandma), she always seemed to have a frozen batch ready to pull out and fry on the spot. Each Filipino household has its own family recipe, and this one is hers.

Lumpia might be the single easiest way to fall in love with Filipino food. It's a crispy, savory, addicting snack for "merienda" or for parties, and a great gateway recipe into Filipino food.

This dish is called Lumpia Shanghai, not because it's from Shanghai but because it's influenced by Chinese spring rolls. If you love this one, chicken adobo, pancit palabok, garlic friend rice, or beef salpicao are other places to start.

And if you love Filipino desserts, you can try my ube cake and miso turon.

Notes on Lumpia Ingredients

• Meat filling: We're using a combination of ground pork and ground shrimp, but you can use a combination of ground beef, pork, and/or chicken.
• Water chestnuts: You can get this canned in the supermarket. They add a nice texture to the lumpia. Add them to the food processor to be finely chopped.
• Spring roll wrappers: You'll most likely find these in the frozen section of a regular supermarket, not just an Asian market. Make sure you get those labeled as spring rolls and not egg roll wrappers because you want the lumpia wrapper to be thin.
• Onion, garlic, spring onion: you can do a rough chop of these ingredients because they will be finely chopped in the food processor. If you don't have a food processor, you can chop by hand with a knife.
• Fish sauce: this is an essential ingredient to add umami to the dish. You'll find it in the international aisle of most regular grocery stores.
• Soy sauce: also a key ingredient.
• Cornstarch slurry: I use a simple cornstarch and water slurry to seal the wrapper.
• Frying oil: I use avocado oil here for a high smoke point instead.
• No carrots: Some recipes have carrots but I'm not using any here because this is how my Lola used to make hers, and I'm sticking to her recipe. If you'd rather go the traditional route, ½ cup finely minced carrot works fine added in with the other vegetables. You do you!

*see full ingredient list and quantities in recipe card.

How to Make Lumpia

Preparing and Assembling the Filling

1. In a food processor, add the roughly chopped onions, scallions, garlic, and water chestnuts, and pulse until finely chopped. Place in a large bowl.

2. Add the shrimp to the empty food processor and pulse until finely chopped, almost like a paste, then add it to the bowl with the vegetables. (We chop the shrimp separately so we can control how finely it's chopped and the vegetables don't become the same texture.)

3. Add the pork, salt, pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce, and egg to the bowl and mix with your hands or a spatula. To check the flavor, do a taste test by pan frying about half a tablespoon of the filling. Adjust as needed with more salt, soy sauce, or fish sauce. Fill a piping bag with the filling if you have one. A ziplock bag with the corner cut off works too. You can also use a spoon to scoop and place the filling directly on the wrapper.

4. Remove the wrappers from the packaging and separate each one. Lay a wrapper flat on your board as a square, with one edge closest to you. Cover the remaining wrappers with a damp paper towel so they don't dry out. Pipe or spoon about 2-3 tablespoons of filling in a straight line across the bottom edge of the wrapper, leaving a little space on each side. Fold the bottom edge up and over the filling, then roll tightly away from you into a log and dab the cornstarch slurry along the top edge to seal. Repeat until you've finished the filling. If not frying right away, place uncooked lumpia in a ziplock bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.

5. Heat a large skillet on high heat and add the avocado oil. Once hot, at about 350°F (177°C), gently add the lumpia, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry for about 2 minutes, flip, and fry another 2 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

6. Once cool enough to handle, cut each lumpia into thirds on a cutting board, about 3 inches each, then transfer to a serving plate with your dipping sauce of choice.

Dipping Sauce Options

Lumpia is traditionally served with a dipping sauce, and there are a few good options:

Sweet chili sauce: The most common pairing and my personal go to. You can find store bought versions at most grocery stores.

Banana ketchup: This is the classic Filipino condiment. Yes, it's ketchup made from bananas! It has a sweeter taste than ketchup.

Spiced vinegar: A more traditional Filipino dip, just white cane vinegar with garlic, a chili or two, and a pinch of salt. It's tangy, sharp, and cuts through the richness of the fried wrapper.

Make This Ahead You Won't Regret It

This is honestly one of my favorite things about lumpia. You can roll them ahead and have batches of them in the freezer for whenever you crave them.

To freeze: Place rolled (unfried) lumpia in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid, about 1-2 hours. Transfer to a ziplock bag with as much air removed as possible. They keep well for up to 2 months.

To fry from frozen: No need to thaw! Place the frozen lumpia directly into hot oil.

To store cooked lumpia: If you have leftovers (unlikely in my opinion!), keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To make the filling ahead: You can make the filling a day in advance and keep it covered in the fridge. Assemble and roll the day you're serving them.