Lumpiang Shanghai Recipe

Lumpiang Shanghai are the Filipino version of Chinese egg rolls. They are very common in every Filipino gathering; from birthday parties, to wedding receptions, to baptism receptions, to reunions, to baby showers, and to ordinary days, there are Lumpiang Shanghai everywhere. For some people, Lumpiang Shanghai is only an appetizer, but we, Filipinos, we eat them with rice.

The ingredients needed for Lumpiang Shanghai are easy to find in almost every store. However, the downside to this is that it takes so much time to prepare them. But, some people, like me, decides to make Lumpiang Shanghai and sell them to those who are craving for it. I prepare 100 to 300 or more pieces of Lumpiang Shanghai and just freeze them until they are ready to be fried.

In the year of 2013, I remember that we were preparing the food for my sister’s baby shower, it was also the first time that my mom taught me how to wrap them using Chinese Spring Roll Wrappers (I only knew how to wrap them using the wrappers in the Philippines). My mom and her friends were amazed on how I wrap Lumpiang Shanghai; since then, my mom suggested that I should wrap egg rolls in the upcoming occasions and events that we have. I was okay with it until she said I have to do it ALONE. Four years had passed, and my mom had another suggestion which is to make profit out of it. She made me sell egg rolls to her friends at work; in which I used the money to save up for my school trip to Europe.

Selling frozen Lumpiang Shanghai is common to Filipinos; however, Filipinos are not the only people who buy them. Most Americans and some Pacific Islanders love Filipino egg rolls, so they keep ordering some from me. It is also convenient because you can just fry egg rolls whenever you want them or crave for them. Lumpiang Shanghai can be stored in the freezer for three months after wrapping them.

For this blog post, I decided to write about Lumpiang Shanghai because of how it changed my perspective on them. Coincidentally, I received a message from a previous customer saying that he wants to order some Lumpiang Shanghai. So, I actually made them and below is the recipe and directions on how to make them.

Prep Time: 2.5 hours

Cook time: 30 mins

Yields: 150 pcs

Ingredients:

3 package of frozen square-shaped spring roll shells, thawed and separated

Vegetable oil for frying

For filling:

5 lbs of ground pork

1 large onion, finely chopped

10 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

4 large carrots, peeled and shredded

½ cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

2 eggs, slightly beaten

Instructions:

11.     In a very large bowl, combine all the filling ingredients; mix thoroughly (bare hands work best for me).

22.     Wrapping is the most difficult part. So here we go

a.      Cut the square-shaped wrapper into two equal triangles and separate each wrapper from one another.

b.     Grab a spoonful of the filling and place it towards the middle bottom of the wrapper.

c.      Fold the opposite corners towards the center; roll upwards, tightly wrapping the filling inside.

d.     Finally, wet the upper corner with water; fold down, and seal.

33.     You can either deep fry the Lumpiang Shanghai right away or store it in a Ziplock bag and freeze up to three months.