Fresh Vegetable Lumpia Recipe

If you have been hankering to try a new appetizer, a fun snack, or an interesting side dish, recipe creator Miriam Hahn has the perfect option. These fresh vegetable lumpia are "the Filipino version of fried spring rolls," she explained to Mashed. "But lumpia wrappers are thinner and don't contain egg." 

The filling for this fresh bite comes together with a refreshing mix of carrots, jicama, cabbage, and bean sprouts. Not familiar with jicama? It's a member of the legume family, but looks like a potato, and has a licorice-like taste. 

The sauce is simple, and requires ingredients you might already have on hand, though to make these fresh vegetable lumpia, a trip to an Asian grocery store might be required.

So, what are you waiting for? 

To make these fresh vegetable lumpia you'll need an onion, garlic, salt, pepper, shredded carrots — or, you can julienne your own carrots — as well as green beans, jicama, and shredded cabbage. You'll also need bean sprouts, which "are fresh and found in the produce section," Hahn advises, adding that they are "usually by the mushrooms. Sometimes they are sold loose and sometimes they are sold in a sealed package."

You'll also need oil for frying, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and a package of spring roll lumpia wrappers. "These are sold in the frozen section at Asian grocery stores," Hahn notes. Once you have everything you need for the dish, you're ready to get started. just note these rolls are best served right after you make them. A make-ahead-and-reheat recipe this is not!

The first step to creating this tantalizingly tasty snack or side is to let the lumpia wrappers thaw. You will remove them from the freezer and place them in the fridge. "These thaw pretty quick," Hahn notes. Meanwhile, prep your vegetables. So, chop the onion, mince the garlic cloves, julienne your jicama and carrots (if you didn't buy them shredded), and chop the green beans. Shred your cabbage if needed.

Now, add a tablespoon of oil to a large frying pan, to which you will add the onion, garlic, salt, and pepper first. Go ahead and cook the mixture for a few minutes, stirring it occasionally, before adding in the carrots and green beans. Now, cook the veggies for about three more minutes. Next, add in the jicama and the cabbage, and stir. We're betting your kitchen is starting to smell pretty amazing!

Once your veggies are cooked through — just remember, these babies get fried up later, so don't overcook the vegetables at this stage — you will add in the oyster sauce. Not sure what oyster sauce tastes like? Consider the ingredients, which are basically the yummy, caramelized juices from oysters cooked in water, with sugar, salt, and soy sauce. 

After the oyster sauce is added to the vegetables, Hahn instructs home cooks to stir fry the mixture for 5 more minutes over medium heat. Finally, you will add the sesame oil and the bean sprouts. If you find you are out of sesame oil, consider substituting the sesame oil with peanut oil or avocado oil. Then, cook the mixture for a couple more minutes, and remove the pan from the heat.

We are ready to rock and roll ... er, roll up the delish filling you just created in those thawed lumpia wrappers.

You will now take one lumpia wrapper and place it on a flat surface with one corner facing you. Add one to two tablespoons of the vegetable mixture to the wrapper. "The main tip for making sure the wrappers don't come apart while frying is just not over filling them. You really only need a small amount," Hahn advises.

Next, begin to roll your wrapper, folding in the sides. To seal the salty, savory treat, brush the wrapper's end with a bit of water. 

Repeat this process with all of the lumpia until you've used up all the veggie mixture. Now, on to the frying step.

Now, heat a half cup of oil in a large frying pan. Wait until it's hot, and then add in three or four lumpia to the oil at a time. For each batch, you can do "however many will fit in your pan without overlapping," says Hahn. Fry the lupia for about one minute on each side, laying them on paper towels when they are done so some of the oil is absorbed. Continue frying the lumpia until all of them are cooked.

Now, your crunchy creation is ready to eat, with Hahn noting you can serve the lumpia with your choice of dipping sauce. Her pick? Hoisin sauce, which, like soy sauce is made with fermented soy beans, but also features garlic, sesame oil, chiles, vinegar, and sugar. Might we suggest grabbing some sriracha for the table, too?