Lumpia or Lumpiang Shanghai is a popular Filipino dish loved by many. It's the perfect appetizer for any gathering and will make everyone go for more.
Lumpia is a thin and crispy Filipino spring roll with a filling with ground meat, shrimp, and vegetables and is a common finger food that's made for a lot of gatherings. Each Filipino household has its own family recipe. This recipe here is influenced by the one my grandma used to make.
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Filipino food is so diverse and is influenced by a lot of cultures. This dish is called Lumpia Shanghai, not because it’s from Shanghai but because it's influenced by Chinese spring rolls. If you're interested in other Filipino recipes, check out my Tuna Kinilaw and my Beef Salpicao recipe.
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Notes on 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 in the supermarket. Make sure you get those labeled as spring rolls and not egg rolls wrappers because you want the lumpia wrapper to be thin. If you want to make them gluten-free, you can substitute using rice paper wrappers.
- 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.
- Soy sauce: also a key ingredient. If you want to make it gluten free, use tamari instead.
- Frying oil: I use avocado oil here for a high smoke point frying oil instead of vegetable or canola oil for a healthier option.
*see full ingredient list and quantities in recipe card.
How to Make This Recipe
Preparing and Assembling the Filling
1. In a food processor, add the roughly chopped onions, scallions, garlic, water chestnuts and pulse until finely chopped. Place in a large bowl.
2. Add the shrimp in the empty food processor and pulse until it's finely chopped but still has texture. (The reason we chop the shrimp separately is so that we can control how finely the shrimp is chopped).
3. Add in the shrimp, pork, salt, pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce, egg in the mixing bowl with the chopped vegetables and mix with hands or a spatula. To check if you're satisfied with the flavor of the filling, do a taste test by adding some oil in a pan and pan frying about half a tablespoon of filling. Then adjust filling as needed by adding more salt, soy sauce, or fish sauce.
4. Once filling is ready, fill a piping bag with the filling if you have one. An alternative would be to use a ziplock bag and cut one of the bottom corners to create your own piping bag. You can also use a spoon to scoop the filling and place it directly on the wrapper (about 1 - 1 ½ tablespoons).
5. Remove the wrappers from the packaging and separate each one. With a knife, cut the wrapper diagonally so that you have 2 triangles. Cover wrappers with aluminum foil or a damp paper towel to avoid them from drying up.
6. To assemble, take one triangle wrapper and pipe filling on the longer end, leaving about 1.5 inches on each side. Then fold in the 2 corners in and roll tightly. Seal the tip with egg wash. Continue until the filling runs out.
Cooking the Lumpia
7. Heat a large skillet on high heat and add avocado oil. Once the oil is hot, gently add the lumpia making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry for about 2 minutes and flip and fry for another 2 minutes making sure it's golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
8. When ready to serve, cut each lumpia in half on a cutting board then transfer them on a serving plate accompanied with your desired dipping sauce.
9. Place any uncooked lumpia in a ziplock bag and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Substitutions and Variations of This Recipe
- Filling ingredients: We're using pork and shrimp but if you prefer you can use a mixture of ground beef/ ground pork/ ground chicken. Some recipes have carrots but not using any here because this is how my grandma used to make hers, and I'm sticking to her recipe and I honestly don't look for carrots in my lumpia!
- Wrappers: make sure to find spring roll wrappers in the frozen section of the supermarket for paper-thin lumpia wrappers. I personally don't like the egg roll wrappers because they're thicker. I haven't tried using rice paper wrappers but it would be a good substitute for a gluten free option.
Storage And Reheating Tips
Can you Freeze Lumpia?
You will be making a large batch of lumpia, about 40-50 rolls, and unless you're making them for a big party, you'll have leftovers! To store them, place them in a large ziplock bag making sure to remove as much air out as possible. When ready to cook, place the frozen lumpia directly in hot oil, no need to defrost. Defrosting will dampen the lumpia and it will lose its shape.
Can you make Lumpia ahead?
Yes, you can make the filling a day ahead and assemble the day of! Just make sure to cook it right before serving.
What to Serve With This Dish
- This is great to serve on its own with a dipping sauce such as sweet chili sauce, ketchup (or banana ketchup)
- To make this a meal, having it with rice isn't a bad idea with a vegetable side like sauteed green beans.
If you tried making these Lumpia, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know what you think in the 📝 comments below. I'd love to hear from you!
Lumpia (Filipino Spring Rolls)
Equipment
- 1 Food processor (if you don't have one you can use your knife to finely chop)
- 1 piping bag (or ziplock)
- 1 frying pan or cast iron
- 1 tongs
Ingredients
- 1 small onion (or half of a large onion) roughly chopped
- 3 stalks scallions roughly chopped
- 1 can water chestnuts (8 oz)
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ lb shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 eggs
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1.4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pack spring roll wrapper (~25 pieces 8 inches)
- ¼ cup avocado oil
Instructions
Prepare the Filling:
- In a food processor, add the roughly chopped onions, scallions, garlic, water chestnuts and pulse until finely chopped. Place in a large bowl.
- Add the shrimp in the empty food processor and pulse until it's finely chopped but still has texture. (The reason we chop the shrimp separately is so that we can control how finely the shrimp is chopped).
- Add in the shrimp, pork, salt, pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce, egg in the mixing bowl with the chopped vegetables and mix with hands or a spatula. To check if you're satisfied with the flavor of the filling, do a taste test by adding some oil in a pan and pan frying about half a tablespoon of filling. Then adjust filling as needed by adding more salt, soy sauce, or fish sauce.
- Once filling is ready, fill a piping bag with the filling if you have one. An alternative would be to use a ziplock bag and cut one of the bottom corners to create your own piping bag. You can also use a spoon to scoop the filling and place it directly on the wrapper (about 1 - 1 ½ tablespoons).
Assembling the lumpia:
- Remove the wrappers from the packaging and separate each one. With a knife, cut the wrapper diagonally so that you have 2 triangles. Cover wrappers with aluminum foil or a damp paper towel to avoid them from drying up.
- To assemble, take one triangle wrapper and pipe filling on the longer end, leaving about 1.5 inches on each side. Then fold in the 2 corners in and roll tightly. Seal the tip with egg wash. Continue until the filling runs out.
Cooking steps:
- Heat a large skillet on high heat and add avocado oil. Once the oil is hot, gently add the lumpia making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry for about 2 minutes and flip and fry for another 2 minutes making sure it's golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- When ready to serve, cut each lumpia in half on a cutting board then transfer them on a serving plate accompanied with your desired dipping sauce.
- Place any uncooked lumpia in a ziplock bag and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
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