Lumpia are deep-fried spring rolls tightly rolled in a thin crispy wrapper, filled with a mixture of ground meat and vegetables and served with sweet and sour sauce.
Wrapping and frying lumpia can turn into an all-day affair, so my mom didn't make them too much when I was younger. When she did decide to make some for a special occasion or party, my brother and I kept a close watch on the first batch, so we could steal a piece (or two, maybe three), still hot from the frying pan.
If you're not making these for a party or get-together, I'd recommend making a big batch ahead of time and freezing them. You can then fry them up as you go straight from the freezer.
Step One: Finely chop your garlic, carrot, and green onion.
Step Two: Mix your chopped vegetables with the ground meat, egg, and oyster sauce. You can add a pinch of salt and pepper if you like. I use my hands to mix it, it's more fun that way.
Step Three: Time to get rolling, this part may take a little practice. I've tried my best to describe each step in detail.
Gently peel one wrapper from the pack and place it so that the corners run vertically and horizontally, you should be looking at a diamond.
Place a heaping tablespoon of the mixture in the center of the wrapper and spread it horizontally towards the left and right corners. Think long and thin, slightly larger than a pencil. If you feel like it's not enough filling, it's probably the right amount. You don't want too much or it won't cook thoroughly while frying. Leave about an inch at each edge so you can seal everything in.
Rub any excess that has stuck to your fingers onto the wrapper and grab the corner closest to you at the bottom. Fold it up as if you're trying to meet the corner at the top (it won't make it that far).
Push down on the filling with the wrapper to squeeze out any air bubbles, then roll it up one time, making sure it's kept tight.
Now seal up the left and right sides like a burrito, still holding your roll tightly, fold the left and right corners in towards the center and continue rolling up until you reach the end.
Lay the lumpia on the end flap to keep it from rolling open. You can also use a dab of cold water on the wrapper edge to seal up if you'd like. My mom skips that step.
Repeat and roll until you're out of wrappers or out of filling.
TIP: If you run out of wrappers, roll the remaining filling into meatballs and fry in the same oil below until brown. Mmm…meatballs.
Here's a clip of my mom in action if you're feeling lost.
Step Four: Heat an inch or two of oil in a large flat pan on medium-high heat. You can also use a deep-fryer if you have one. Ideally, the lumpia should be fully submerged, but you can also fry them one side at a time, flipping halfway.
Once the oil is hot, carefully lay the lumpia in the oil (end flap down to keep them from rolling open as they fry). Fry in batches until golden brown. Try not to overcrowd the pan.
Step Five: Once browned, place them on a paper towel or cooling rack to absorb or drip off any excess oil.
Step Six: While you're frying, make the sweet and sour sauce. Whisk together the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, cornstarch, and ketchup in a small saucepan. The cornstarch is to thicken; the ketchup is for color. Cook on medium heat until the sauce has thickened, stirring constantly.
Serve warm. Double dip if you dare.
On a separate note, I've decided to start including ingredient prep in my steps.
Too many times have I ventured into a recipe to later realize I hadn't chopped something, and ended up frantically doing it in hopes that whatever else was cooking didn't burn or overcook.
I also hate having to go back and forth between the ingredients and the steps. Is this coming from restaurant chefs that need all their ingredients prepped ahead of time? Is this something people have adopted from watching cooking shows? I realize watching people chop stuff may not be good tv (is it good blog content?) and whichever celebrity chef is cooking isn't there to chop onions, but prep's a big part of the process. Sometimes prep takes more time than cooking. What do you guys think? What format do you like best for recipes?
Plums are severely underrated in the US.
Maybe it's the association with prunes or the lack of plant-based foods in much of the American diet. Personally, I think both prunes and plums, of any variety, are delicious.
You'll usually find black plums in the big supermarkets. I've spotted Red plums and Italian plums here in New York, but even they seem less favorable to the classic apple or banana.
Growing up, we often had plums in the house, mainly because one of my dad's favorite German cakes is plum cake, also know as Zwetchgenkuchen (Schwetz-gun-coo-ken) or Pflaumenkuchen (Flau-men-coo-ken). Kuchen (Coo-ken) means cake in German. Insert whatever fruit or topping you like in front and you've got Apfelkuchen (Apple Cake), Kasekuchen (Cheesecake), or even Rumkuchen (Rum Cake). Easy enough.
Back to my Dad; my Dad doesn't cook. He has no interest in cooking, never has, never will. He could survive on store-bought tuna salad sandwiches alone, seriously. Besides soft-boiled eggs, he can also make plum cake. It's one of the few things he's deemed worthy of spending some time in the kitchen, which means this cake is damn good.
Before you proceed, know that kuchen is not your average cake. What it lacks in frosting and decorations, it makes up for in simple, homemade, deliciousness (real descriptive I know). There's nothing complicated about this recipe, no fancy ingredients, no gadgets, just super traditional German cake topped with ripe fruit.
TIP Adjust the sugar for the topping to your liking. If your plums are sweet, use less sugar, if they're tart, use more.
Step One: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut the plums in half, remove the seeds and stems, and slice into wedges.
Step Two: Toss the plums in sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
Step Three: To make the dough, start by mixing your dry ingredients, that's the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Resist the urge to eat the sugar-coated plums.
Step Four: Add your butter and eggs to the dry ingredients. Using your hands, mix until incorporated. If your dough feels dry, add a tablespoon of milk until everything comes together. Knead until the dough is no longer sticky. Then roll it into a ball.
Wait, knead the dough? What kind of cake is this?
Don't worry, we're not making bread here. Just knead till evenly mixed, don't over work it.
Step Five: Grease a baking sheet. On a clean, floured surface, using a rolling pin or a clean wine bottle, roll the dough out to the size of the baking sheet, about 1/4 of an inch thick. If you don't have a rolling pin or wine bottle, never fear, you can simply press the dough directly into the pan with your fingers (this is my dad's technique).
If you've rolled your dough out, transfer it to the pan by rolling it up (see below). If it's the right consistency it shouldn't stick to itself and you should be able to unroll it in the pan. Remove any excess and use it to fill in the gaps and corners, pressing the dough down into the pan till it's full. If you have more excess, use it to make a crust around the edges. We're not going for perfection here.
Step Six: Arrange the plums on top of the dough, gently pressing them in. You can arrange them however you like, crowded, sparse, in rows, in circles, in a mosaic. Do what makes you feel good. My family has always arranged them neatly in rows, so I honored tradition.
Step Seven: Dust those babies with some more cinnamon (and sugar if you dare). Top with the sliced almonds (mine were already toasted so I added them at the end).
Step Eight: Bake for about 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway during cooking to ensure an even bake. When the dough is firm, the plums have softened, and the edges are brown, it's done.
Step Nine: Top with almonds (if they were already toasted), let cool, slice into squares and serve with coffee.