Recipes

Lumpia (Deep-Fried Spring Rolls)

Crispy, fried Filipino appetizers with a delicate pork filling.

  • Serves

    makes about 2 dozen

  • Cook

    45 minutes

PHOTOGRAPHY: LINDA PUGLIESE; FOOD STYLIST: MARIANA VELASQUEZ; PROP STYLIST: ELVIS MAYNARD

By Dale Talde


Updated on December 31, 2021

Hot, fried lumpia is one of our favorite global interpretations of a spring roll—the wrapper is crispy, the pork filling delicate and yielding. Instead of the standard sweet-sour dipping sauce, Filipino-American chef Dale Talde opts for the condiment he used growing up—sawsawan is a mixture of vinegar and soy sauce spiked with raw garlic and fiery chiles, which he likens to the salt and pepper of Filipino food. Look for dark, salty Filipino-style “toyo” (soy sauce) brands, like Silver Swan or Datu Puti, in your local Asian markets.

Ingredients

For the rolls:

  • 1 lb. ground pork
  • ½ cups finely chopped carrot
  • ½ cups finely chopped yellow onion
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp. fine salt, plus more for serving
  • ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • One 14-oz. package 6-in. square spring roll wrappers
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • Vegetable oil, for frying

For the dipping sauce:

  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • ¼ cups soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp. sugar
  • ¾ tsp. black peppercorns
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 red bird’s eye chiles, stemmed and thinly sliced

Instructions

Step 1

Make the rolls: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, use your hands to combine the pork, carrot, onion, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Position 1 spring roll wrapper in front of you like a diamond (so that a point is facing you), and place 1 tablespoon of the pork mixture on the diamond’s bottom half. Lift the point nearest you and wrap it over the filling. Fold in the east and west corners toward the center, brush the north tip with beaten egg, and continue rolling into a tight cylinder. Transfer to the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. (Save any leftover wrappers or filling for another use.)

Step 2

Make the dipping sauce: In a small jar, combine the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, peppercorns, garlic, and chiles. Shake to mix.

Step 3

Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Into a large Dutch oven set over medium-high heat, pour the oil to a depth of 2 inches and attach a deep-fry thermometer. When the temperature reads 350°F, fry the lumpia in batches until golden brown and the filling is cooked, flipping once, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lumpia to the baking sheet. Season with salt while hot and serve with the dipping sauce.

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