A Scientist in the Kitchen

(I looked back at my stats and just noted, this is actually my 100th post almost six months since I started this blog :))

Lumpia or spring rolls is one popular Filipino food. That is, we Filipinos have our own spring roll version. Spring roll wrapper, paper thin and dried, can be bought in the market. If meat is used as filling, it is called Lumpiang Shanghai. Vegetable lumpia is usually composed of stir fried mungbean sprouts, julliened carrots and cabbage, green beans tofu, and sweet potatoes. This is then wrapped in the lumpia wrapper and fried. The dipping consists of vinegar, salt, garlic, and chilis (if you like). We also have Lumpiang Hubad (literally naked lumpia) as the stir fried vegetables are not wrapped in lumpia wrapper. It has the same ingredients as the vegetable lumpia plus you can add meat and shrimps. If available, coconut shoots are also included. The dish is also colored deep yellow due to the addition of annato or atsuete for coloring. Before serving, it is topped with kitsay, a herb which has the flavor of celery but looks like cilantro. The sauce is peanut-based with freshly chopped garlic. Another version is Lumpiang Sariwa (Fresh Lumpia) which uses the same sauce as the Lumpiang Hubad. It mainly uses coconut shoots in the filling and the wrapper is freshly made and crepe-like in texture.

I like vegetable lumpia and the filling I use can be any vegetable I have available. I this instance, I modified my lumpia to a Thai-inspired springroll with a Vietnamese touch thrown in. This is my contribution to this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Kel of Green Olive Tree.

Southeast Asian Vegetable Lumpia

1 medium size kamote/sweet potato
1 medium size gabi/taro
1 cup mungbean sprouts
2 tbsp roasted black sesame seeds
Several leaves of Thai basil

Peel sweet potato and taro and slice julliened-style.

Gabi or taro

Mix sweet potato, taro, and sprouts in a pan. Add 1/4 cup water, salt and pepper. Cover and let water simmer till vegetables are half done. Add the black sesame seeds and chopped Thai basil. Mix everything the remove from fire. Cool down. When cooled dow, wrap in lumpia wrapper then deep fry till brown. Drain in paper towels to remove excess oil. Serve with dipping sauce.

To prepare dipping sauce: Mix 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup fish sauce, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 3 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts, 2 tbsp chopped cucumber and 1 tsp chili flakes. Add fresh chilis if you like.

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I was watching golf as I munched on these spring rolls… yummy! Wish I could play golf, perhaps get myself a set of Callaway irons. But then again, I’d much rather eat!

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