Lumpiang Shanghai, oh my.

I don't know much about the history of Lumpiang Shanghai but based on the name, it was inspired by the Chinese immigrants when they lived here in the Philippines. But regardless of where it came from, as long as it's mixed and made well you can’t go wrong. Pop open a bottle of sweet chili sauce, pour some onto a big bowl and you have a party!

I've had versions that only had pure pork in it, maybe a little seasoning. Some add just carrots, or add kintsay (young celery, I was told) and carrots like my mom does. Hers tasted the best to me so that is what I am sharing with y'all.

If someone makes this a day ahead, you'd probably notice that they have this sort of sour taste to it. Remember that it is still filled with raw meat and other easily-perishable ingredients so not freezing it will make it a bit funky. You might have to throw it away once it tastes like such as you'd risk getting food poisoning. I've had my fair share of sour lumpia and thank goodness my stomach isn't as sensitive as the others. So, if you are making a big batch, freeze the extra you're not going to fry up immediately, and just thaw enough lumpia that you wanna fry the next day. Forget about rushing to Jollibee, really. 

Makes about 6 servings (but we all know it's just for 2 when you can't stop popping)

Ingredients:

400g ground pork (P64.00)

120g carrots, shredded/grated (it made about 1/2 cup) (P12.00)

1 bunch kintsay (1/4 cup when chopped) (P10.00)

1 50g onion, chopped finely (P5.00)

3 cloves garlic, minced (P5.00)

1 egg (P6.50)

1 tsp fine salt (might need more if using kosher salt or flaky salt)

1 tsp pepper

2 tbsp flour (P2.50)

About 25 pcs medium lumpia wrapper (P26.00)

Oil for frying (P28.00)

Total is about P160 to make.

Mix all the prepared ingredients in a bowl until no dried flour can be noticeable/ mixture is well-combined.

Place about 1.5-2 tbsp of the mixture on a piece of lumpia wrapper and spread on one edge. Roll like a cigar and seal off the end with water. Repeat until all filling has been wrapped.

Now, you can keep half in the freezer covered in cling wrap or in a container or fry all of it if you're having a party. You can slice it up into 3 pieces per roll before or after frying to make it seems you made a ton. I prefer cutting it before frying because the crispy wrapper gets ruined when you sliced it after cooking. Fry in medium high heat until they're golden brown and drain the excess oil.

Serve with ketchup (rarely done) or with sweet chili sauce (heck yeah). Some even eat it with Mang Tomas.

You can view the recipe video here  and follow our page, Cheap Chibog.