Description
This vegan lumpia is my take on the original, it’s filled with seasoned meatless grounds and mixed vegetables. And let me tell you, it tastes pretty authentic to the original, and gives you the same amount of crispiness all-around.
Ingredients
Scale
Main
- 1 ½ pack – meatless grounds, I used Boca
- 2 packs – lumpia wrapper, I used Orientex (accidentally vegan)
- ½ medium onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 1 teaspoon – salt
- 1 teaspoon – black pepper
- 1 tablespoon – cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon – water
- Oil for frying
- Sweet chili sauce
Equipment:
- Sharp knife and cutting board
- Food processor (optional, see notes)
- Large mixing bowl
- Small microwave-safe bowl
- Medium-size saucepan or large pot
- Tongs
- Baking sheet with cooling rack or fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl
Instructions
- Defrost the meatless grounds and lumpia wrappers. You can defrost meatless grounds in the microwave to save time. (Don’t microwave your wrappers. Lumpia wrappers are quick to defrost.)
- While you wait, peel the carrots and onions, and roughly chop them into large chunks. Then add in just the carrots in the food processor and chop them into finer pieces. Add in the onions, and pulse it until you get smaller pieces. Don’t overdo it with the onions, they tend to get mushy the finer they get. See notes
- In a large bowl, mix together the defrosted meatless grounds, carrots, onions, salt, and pepper. Set aside until you are ready for assembly.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, mix the cornstarch and water until it has dissolved. Then microwave the mixture in 5-second intervals, while mixing in between, until a paste form. Don’t let it go any further, or it’ll cause it to be hard and rubbery.
- When the lumpia wrappers are ready and defrosted, gently separate each individual wrappers before you start. This will make the assembly process go by easier. Set up your assembly station and grab a friend to help you or turn on your favorite show. The assembly will take awhile.
Assembly (I will also provide a video tutorial below):
- On a large plate, or a clean work surface set one wrapper in front of you. Cover the rest of the wrappers with a damp cloth, so they don’t dry out. If your wrapper is square like mine, position it into a diamond and make sure that a corner is facing you.
- Take a tablespoon of the filling and spread it into a line about 1 ½ inch from the corner/edge of the wrapper. Do not overfill! See notes
- Take the bottom corner/edge that is in front of you and fold it over the filling slightly above the center of the wrapper. Slightly tuck the filling into the wrapper so that it is tight and sticks together.
- From the bottom, roll it up and stop at the center. Fold in the slides and continue to roll up until you reach about an 1/2 inch of the top corner/edge of the wrapper. Dab a little bit of the cornstarch paste at the corner/edge and continue tightly rolling it up to seal it. Continue this for the rest!
- This makes a lot of lumpia, enough for a party, so if you know you’re not going to use all of it, freeze the rest. They will last for weeks in the freezer! See notes
Cooking:
- In a medium-sized saucepan or large pot, fill it up with enough oil so that you can submerge the lumpia in. (Yes we are deep frying this.) Place it over medium heat, the temperature must be around 350°-375°F. See the notes section on how to tell if your oil is ready.
- When the oil is ready, cook a few pieces of lumpia at a time. Do not overcrowd. Cook for about 3-5 minutes or until golden brown all-around. You might need to rotate the lumpia as sometimes one side might tend to stay at the top. Transfer the cooked lumpia over to a baking sheet with a cooling rack or fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl to drain the excess oil. Allow to cool, serve with rice and some sweet chili sauce and enjoy!
Notes
- Using a food processor makes it easy to cut the carrots and onions into finer pieces. If you do not have one, carefully cut it as finely as you can!
- The filling amount will also depend on the size of your wrapper. Just make your best judgment.
- Do not overfill wrappers, they tend to burst during frying.
- You can cook these the same day you make them! You don’t need to freeze them before frying.
- How to tell if your oil is ready is to take the wooden skewer or the end of a wooden spoon and stick it into the oil. If you see bubbles forming around the wood and they start to float up, then it is ready. If it’s bubbling vigorously, the oil is way too hot. Reduce the heat and allow the oil to cool and check the temperature again.
Keywords: vegan, filipino, entree, appetizer, sides, recipe, lumpia
[…] Vegan Lumpia (Filipino Spring Roll) […]
[…] Lumpia […]