Lumpia (Spring roll)

Spring roll is one of Chinese dish which is very popular all around the world. It taste great and can be served as an appetizer or a snack. There are so many type and variety of spring roll.  I was born and raised in Indonesia. So, I will make an Indonesian style.

In Indonesia we call it Lumpia. Dutch people call it Loempia. Indonesian lumpia is commonly filled with chopped bamboo shoots with minced chicken or prawn, served with fresh leeks and sweet tauco (fermented soy) and garlic sauce.

This week, I'm going to make some spring rolls for my family. I still have some prawn and spring roll pastry skin on my fridge. I only need to buy some vegetables, do some magic, and I can't wait to see my daughter's smile when she sees spring rolls served on the table with some sweet chili sauce (I do not have any tauco available on my kitchen at this moment). Yum!! She loves it. And so do I. :-)

First I need to make the filling.

Ingredients :

• 2 shallots, cut stripes
• 1 clove of  garlic
• 1 Egg, whisk
• 20 grams Chicken, cut stripes 
• 20 grams Prawn, roughly chopped 
• 200 grams Carrot, cut thin stripes
• 1 can (340 grams net) Bamboo shoots, cut thin stripes
• 100 grams Bean sprouts
• 3 sticks Spring onion, choped 
• 2 tbs Sweet soy sauce
• 1 tbs Soy sauce
• 1 tbs Tomato sauce
• about 1/4 cup (70 ml) Water
• 1/4 tsp Ginger powder (or grated fresh ginger)
• 1 tsp + 1 tbs Sesame oil
• 1.5 tsp Sugar
• Salt and pepper (white pepper)

Tip : If you want to make a vegetarian version, you can skip adding chicken, shrimp, or egg in the filling. It will be just fine.

Tip : For the bamboo shoot, if you're using fresh bamboo shoot, before cut it into stripes, boil the bamboo first for a few times to reduce its sour smell. In Netherlands, where I'm living now, it is hard to find fresh bamboo shoot. That's why, i use canned striped bamboo shoot.

  

I bought it in Asian grocery store. Before usage, drain and rinse them with water. 

Preparation :

1. In a big pan, preheat about 3 tbs vegetable oil
2. Pour whisked egg into the pan and scramble it. Set it aside
3. In the same pan, preheat again 3-4 tbs vegetable oil and 1 tbs sesame oil
4. Put shallot and garlic into the pan and saute them until translucent
5. (Add grated ginger IF you're using fresh ginger. If not, go to step 6)
6. Add chicken and prawn, stir until they're cooked.
7. Add stripped carrot, bamboo shoot, and bean sprout into the pan.
8. Stir fry vegetables until they become tender
9. Add water, both soy sauce, tomato sauce, ginger powder, sesame oil, and sugar
10. Keep stirring until the vegetables are cooked, tender, and seasoned well
11. Add scrambled egg, spring onion, salt, and pepper, stir well
12. Adjust the taste if needed
13. Transfer them into a big plate or bowl

Sometimes i just stop the process until this step. I will eat this stir fry vegetable just with hot steamed rice and store bought szechuan chili. It's delicious. But now, my topic is spring roll. So, let's make a spring roll.

For making spring roll, let the filling cooled for a while before wrap them up with the skin. I use store bought skins. They are called spring roll pastry. They are available at various size. I'm using approximately 21,5 x 21,5 cm skin, but you can use any size you want.

Ingredients :

• Spring roll filling
• 1 pack Spring roll pastry for skin
• 1 egg, beaten
• Vegetable oil 

Preparation :

1. Put about 1-2 tbs filling on spring roll pastry
2. Wrap them up
3. Use egg wash as a glue to seam the end of the skin
4. Deep fry the spring roll (at 175 C or 350 F preheated oil)
5. Once they become golden brown, remove them from the oil, and drain well the oil.
6. Remove the excess oil from the spring rolls using kitchen paper.
7. Serve them hot with sweet chili sauce, or tauco and garlic sauce.

Tip : If you don't have deep fry thermometer, you can always use a traditional way. Put wooden spatula or wooden chop stick into preheated oil. If there're a lot of  bubbles appears around that wooden spatula or chop stick it means that the oil is hot enough. Or you can always drop a piece of bread into the oil to check if the oil is hot enough. 

How to wrap spring roll?

This is the pictures how to wrap spring roll. It's easier to explain it using pictures than words. 

Done! Spring rolls are ready to be fried :)

Tip : If you have some leftover or unused skins, wrap them all using aluminium foil before put them back into the package or plastic bag. Don't forget to seal them tightly using sticky tape. This will prevent the skin's edge become too dry.