It sure has been a while. Since I’ve last posted, a lot has been going on in my family (more information on my personal blog), and it’s been an important reminder of the importance of family.
Family is an interesting concept. I could say my family is my mom, my dad, and my little brother Jude, but there’s so much more to the word “family” that transcends just a list of the people in my household. To me, family is just as much about heritage, traditions, collective experiences, and shared meals as it is about the people I live with. And one meal we’ve shared a lot is lumpia, a type of fried spring roll originally of Chinese origin but is now very common in the Philippines and Indonesia. (The word “gulay” just refers to the fact it’s made of vegetables, which is perfect for your Meatless Mondays!)
Partially because I’m only half Filipino and partially because I live in the United States, I’ve always felt disconnected from my Filipino heritage even though it shapes a large part of who I am. That’s why I find it so important for me to continue trying new Filipino food, learning how to make certain recipes, and keeping these recipes documented somewhere. At the end of the day, even small recipes like these are a part of what makes up my family—a part of the heritage and traditions passed down through my mother’s side.
My mom first introduced lumpiang gulay to me while I was in middle school, and when we decided to not eat meat for a period of time, it made for a great meal that fit our dietary preferences at the time. Even though I still do eat meat (although I may go vegetarian again once I leave for college next year), lumpiang gulay is still something we continue to eat in my home.
Now that my grandma from the Philippines has been in town, I’ve also realized that she and my mom have very different ways of eating lumpiang gulay, a huge shock to me since I always assumed the way my mom ate it was the normal way. My mom likes to cut into the lumpia lengthwise and pour in the garlic sauce that way, whereas my grandma eats it the “normal” way—dipping it into the sauce and eating it like any other spring roll. I personally think the way my grandma eats it makes way more sense, but for some reason my mom continues to eat it the way she does.
Lumpiang Gulay
Ingredients
- 1 cup canola oil for cooking vegetables
- 1 cup cubed tofu
- ½ cup sliced green beans
- ½ cup matchstick carrots
- ½ cup shredded cabbage
- ½ cup bean sprouts
- 1 tablespoon diced onions
- 3 clove garlic, crushed and finely diced (or more to taste)
- ½ tsp of salt (+ pinch for seasoning)
- Pinch of pepper
- Optional: ⅛ cup vegetarian broth (can be substituted with chicken broth)
- Optional: 1 tbsp vegetarian stir-fry sauce
- Spring roll wrappers (as many as you want to make!)
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 4 teaspoons water
- ¼ tsp of sugar
- 4 tbsp white vinegar
Directions
- Pour 1/4 cup oil in pan or wok and set to medium heat. When hot, fry the cubed tofu until brown. Set aside when finished.
- In the same pan, use the remaining oil to sautée the 1 clove garlic and onion. Sautée the onion first because the garlic may burn. Then include the garlic. Following that, put the green beans, then jicama, then carrots.
- Optional: you may also add broth and stir-fry sauce as the vegetables are cooking
- When the vegetables are cooked, sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper.
- When finished, put the cooked vegetables in a strainer to drain the extra sauce and let cool.
- In a small pan, make the paste to be used for rolling the egg roll. Mix the cornstarch and water in the pan. Simmer on low heat until it’s a pasty consistency. Set aside in a small bowl. (This is optional. Simmering the paste helps to seal the egg roll better when it’s being fried.)
- Place ¾ cup of oil in a pan and set to low to medium heat while rolling the egg rolls.
- Place 2 tbsp of vegetable onto wrapping paper. Wrap. (Please refer to the images below the directions to understand the way to wrap the lumpia—just remember to place paste as if it’s glue in order to “seal” the parts of the lumpia that you’re wrapping!)
- Fry the egg rolls on medium heat until browned.
- To make the sauce to dip the lumpia in, mix 2 cloves finely minced garlic, ½ tsp of salt, pinch of pepper, and ¼ tsp of sugar with white vinegar
