How to make lumpia

I've been asked on more than one occasion on how to make lumpia.

Here's the basic recipe, as given to me by my mom.

LumpiaIngredients:
1-2 lbs. Ground beef and pork
1-2 onions, finely chopped
1 head garlic, crushed, finely chopped
1-2 stalks celery, finely chopped
Salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder to taste
1-3 eggs depending on consistency
Soy sauce to taste
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Optional: grated carrots, grated cabbage, raisins, peas


Preparation:
Combine all ingredients.
Separate wrappers.
Roll in wrappers, wet edge with scrambled egg and/or water to seal.
Freeze in portions.
Pan or deep fry till golden brown.

Place meat-pork and/or beef, in bowl

Veggies...I use onions,carrots and celery.  Finely chop. Mix in with meat.

Spices and seasoning I use- mix in with meat and veggies.

Add eggs(just like you would for meatloaf)

Everything is mixed well-now you're ready to roll!

Helpful hints-The bowl has water in it and is used for sealing each piece once you're done.  I found that using a cookie scoop keeps the amount of meat in each piece of lumpia consistent.  Also, using rubber gloves(make sure they're food grade and have no powders on them) keeps the meat from sticking to my hands.

This is my preferred my brand of lumpia wrapps-same ones my mom used my entire life.

If you're going to make the volume I do(my minimum is about 120 pieces, usually 300-600+), get comfy with Netflix or Amazon Prime(last night's batch brought to you by the newest episdoe of Alpha House, and a new series I discovered-Mr. Selfridge with Jeremy Piven.

One of scoop of the meat mixture.

Place on wrapper and shape the meat like you see below.

Fold the wrapper over the meat.

Pull the wrapper back and roll the meat to the bottom of the wrapper so it's elongated even more, and the wrapper is snug around the filling.

Fold sides in(like you would for a burrito)

Roll it forward(again, like a burrito)

Once you get to the edge, moisten the wrapper with water, to seal.

Finished piece of lumpia.

 

Place finished pieces on wax paper, repeat 300-600 times.

Freeze in bags, I put a dozen in a quart size freezer bag.  I do 2 layers in the bag, and place a piece of wax paper between them so they don't stick together(if you put too many in a bag, they'll freeze in a giant clump and it's hard to break them apart).  Freeze.

You can pan fry them if you don't have a deep fryer.  Place 1/4"-1/2" oil in skillet, fry on one side, flip and fry on other, golden brown.

Helpful hint-don't lay the lumpia down on a plate.  Take a bowl and place a paper towel in the bottom and when you take them out of fryer/skillet, place them standing up.  This allows the oil and fat to drain out of the bottom, rather than it soaking into the lumpia as it lays on it's side(that's how you get soggy lumpia).