Lumpiang Shanghai
(loom-pyang shahng-hai)
Merienda & The After-School Hustle
If there is a scent that defines a Filipino-American childhood, it is the smell of garlic, pork, and hot oil wafting through the house on a Saturday afternoon. Lumpiang Shanghai is the undisputed king of the party table and the ultimate after-school snack. Forget the thick, doughy egg roll wrappers or generic cabbage fillings; this is the canonical version, relying on secrets passed down from generations of Filipino grandmothers. The trick lies in using fish sauce for depth, a hit of celery for that unmistakable aromatic punch, and the golden rule of air-drying the rolls to guarantee a shatteringly crisp crust that stays crunchy long after leaving the oil.
Before you start
Pulse the aromatics in a food processor.
Place the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, parsley, and scallions into a food processor. Pulse until finely minced, stopping before it turns into a watery paste.
Mix the filling gently.
In a large bowl, combine the cold ground pork, minced vegetable mixture, water chestnuts, beaten egg, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, black pepper, and bouillon powder. Use your hands to mix just until combined, taking care not to overmix or heat the meat.
Ingredients
- ground pork1 lb
- yellow onion1 med
- cloves garlic4 med
- carrot1 med
- celery stalk1/2 med
- fresh flat-leaf parsley2 tbsp
- water chestnuts8 oz
- scallions2 med
- egg1 large
- soy sauce1 tbsp
- oyster sauce1 tbsp
- fish sauce1 tbsp
- ground black pepper1/2 tsp
- chicken bouillon powder1 tsp
- frozen spring roll wrappers30 med
- canola oil1 qt
- water2 tbsp
Method
- 01
Portion the meat onto the wrapper.
Lay one spring roll wrapper flat on the counter like a diamond, with one point facing you. Scoop exactly one heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture onto the lower half, shaping it with your fingers into a thin, horizontal log about three-quarters of an inch thick.
- 02
Roll and seal tightly.
Fold the bottom point over the meat, tucking it tight. Fold the left and right corners in like an envelope, then roll tightly away from you. Dab a little water on the top point and roll to seal it shut, repeating until the filling is gone.
- 03
Air-dry the rolls.
Place the finished rolls on a wire rack and let them sit in the open air for 15 to 20 minutes. This secret dehydration step is the absolute key to a shatteringly crisp crust that will not get soggy after frying.
- 04
Fry to a deep golden brown.
Heat about two inches of canola oil in a heavy-bottomed pot to 350°F. Carefully lower the lumpia into the oil in batches of five or six so you don't crowd the pan, and fry for 3 to 5 minutes, turning occasionally, until the wrappers are deeply browned and the pork is cooked through.
- 05
Drain in the open air.
Remove the lumpia with tongs and place them vertically in a paper-towel-lined colander, or flat on a wire rack. Never cover them while hot, or the trapped steam will instantly ruin the crust.
Notes
The wrapper is everything.
Do not buy the thick, doughy egg roll wrappers from the produce section. Look in the freezer aisle for paper-thin wheat wrappers, typically labeled Spring Roll Pastry.
The weeknight freezer hustle.
To freeze, place the uncooked rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet until rock solid, then transfer to a ziplock bag. You can fry them straight from frozen on a busy weeknight by just adding an extra minute or two to the frying time.
The celery substitution.
The canonical recipe uses Kinchay, a pungent Chinese celery. To hack this from a standard American grocery store, we combine standard celery for crunch with flat-leaf parsley for that essential herbaceous punch.
From Cook Filipino in America.