A special lumpiang shanghai recipe made with ground pork, shrimp, vegetables, and special seasonings. Golden-crisp on the outside and with moist and delicious filling inside. Here you will learn how to make it from scratch with video instructions and step-by-step photos!

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Why you'll love this recipe
Lumpiang Shanghai is the Filipino version of crispy fried spring rolls or egg rolls. It's meatier, thinner, and smaller compared to other Asian spring rolls.
Almost always present in any gatherings and holidays, this dish is an ultimate crowd-pleaser; the perfect finger food to kick off a party. Once you pop you definitely can't stop!
While other fillings are pre-cooked before being wrapped, the meat and vegetable mixture is wrapped raw. That is why it should always be made thinner to ensure that it cooks together with the wrapper.
Ingredients
Lumpiang Shanghai can have several variations. The flavor greatly depends on the type of meat, spices, and vegetables you are going to use.
These ingredients are what make it special. They make look a lot but all these make the best lumpia. EVER. You're going to love it, I promise!
- Pork and shrimp - the combination of these two meat makes the best lumpia flavor.
- Vegetables - carrots, onion leaves, and water chestnuts/ singkamas are the three popular vegetables for Filipino lumpia.
- Garlic and Onion - should always be present while Chinese celery and bell peppers can be used interchangeably.
- Special seasonings - salt, soy sauce, and pepper are the staples. To make it extra flavorful, I added oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, and sugar. I'm telling you, these three simple ingredients brought the lumpia to a whole level of deliciousness!
- Large Egg - its protein and fat keep the lumpia moist.
- Lumpia Wrapper - also known as egg roll or spring roll wrapper. You can find this in the frozen section of most Asian stores or supermarkets. I used the TYJ brand, 5x5 size.
How to make Lumpiang Shanghai
Making Filipino egg rolls is easy but because they're made thin and small compared to other Asian spring rolls, the wrapping process can be quite draggy and tedious.
So, here are a few shortcuts to making your
- Make the mixture ahead - slice and mince all the ingredients ahead of time, like a day ahead. Let it marinate in the fridge then wrap the day after. You can also use a food processor to mince the vegetables. Grind the spices together and the carrots separately so the juice can be squeezed out.
- Separate the wrappers individually before starting to wrap. Cover with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying.
- Taste the mixture by frying a small amount then adjust the seasonings accordingly.
- Deep fry the lumpia to ensure that the filling and the wrapper cooks evenly. Fry in batches and don't overcrowd the frying pan.
- Squeeze out the juice of carrots to prevent burnt holes on the wrapper while frying.
- Make it a family bonding activity! The more helping hands, the quicker you can finish wrapping a hundred rolls 🙂
How to Wrap Lumpia
There's no better way to show this than using photos. Just remember to gently wrap each piece tight and good to prevent the oil from seeping in while frying. This will make the fried lumpia less oily.
Tip: To close the rolls, smear the top edges of the wrapper with a beaten egg.
Dipping Sauce
Popular dipping sauce for lumpia in the Philippines is banana ketchup and tomato ketchup. I prefer it and sweet and sour chili sauce (get the recipe here).
What to Serve with Lumpiang Shanghai
Serve lumpia as an appetizer and enjoy it with your favorite dipping sauce.
To serve as a main dish, it is great with plain rice, fried rice, pancit bihon, and pancit canton (Filipino stir-fried noodles). So good!
Frequently asked questions
To keep lumpia crispy, let it cool on a wire rack. Make sure they're arranged a few inches apart and not stacked together. The heat can steam the wrapper.
To re-heat lumpiang shanghai, place in an oven or mini-oven toaster. Set heat to med-high and heat for 5 to 10 minutes.
To make ahead, place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 1 to 2 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks!
**If making ahead, don't use water chestnuts or singkamas (jicama) as they have a shorter shelf life even when placed in the freezer. It can make the uncooked lumpia turn bad and rancid in just a few days.
Lumpia Shanghai Recipe Video
Try these recipes next...
- Easy Skinless Longganisa
- Lechon Pork Belly with Crispy Crackling
- Easy Pork Belly Sisig
- Pork and Shrimp Shumai (Siomai)
- Oven-Fried Crispy Lechon Kawali
- Easy Pork Adobo
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Complete Recipe
Lumpia Shanghai Recipe (Filipino Fried Spring Rolls)
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground pork
- 250 grams shrimp (peeled then finely minced)
- ¼ cup Leaf celery/Chinese celery (minced, see note 1)
- 1 small carrots (grated and juice squeezed out, see note 2)
- ½ cup onion leaves (minced)
- 2 cloves garlic (grated)
- 1 egg
- 50 pcs spring roll wrappers (defrosted, see note 3)
- oil for deep frying
Special Lumpia Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon oyster sauce
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Combine all seasoning ingredients in a bowl. Stir until sugar and salt is dissolved.
- In a large bowl, combine shrimp, pork, egg, garlic, onion, garlic, egg, Chinese celery, and carrots. Pour seasoning and mix all together by hand until well combined. Fry 1 tablespoon of the mixture in hot oil. Taste and adjust salt/pepper accordingly.
- Spoon about 1 heaping tablespoon of the lumpia mixture and place it on the spring roll wrapper. Gently but tightly wrap then seal with an egg wash or water (see video). Repeat 50 times!
- Heat oil in a deep skillet or fryer. Fry 1 piece of lumpia to test out temperature. If it browns too quickly, lower heat to medium. If it doesn't sizzle then it's not hot enough. Fry the spring rolls in batches (DO NOT OVERCROWD) turning once or twice until golden brown and crispy.
- Transfer to a cooling rack to keep it crispy. Eat it on its own or serve with sweet chili sauce!
Recipe Notes and Tips:
- Leaf Celery (Chinese Celery) - substitute with regular stalk celery.
- Carrots - squeeze out the juice of carrots to prevent burnt holes on the wrapper while frying.
- Spring Roll Wrappers - I used a small TYJ spring roll pastry around 5"- 6". You can find this in the frozen section of most Asian supermarkets.
- To retain the lumpia crispiness, let the rolls cool on a wire rack. Make sure they’re arranged a few inches apart and not stack together.
- To re-heat without frying, use a mini-over toaster. Set heat to high and heat for 5 to 10 minutes.
- To make ahead, place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 1 to 2 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks!
- If making ahead, don’t use water chestnuts or singkamas (jicama) as they have a shorter shelf life even when placed in the freezer. It can make the uncooked lumpia turn bad and rancid in just a few days.
- Vegetable variations: water chestnuts, singkamas, bell peppers, and celery.
- Nutrition: Per piece of lumpia assuming it absorbs 1 teaspoon of oil. It is impossible for me to determine exactly how much oil is absorbed during frying. The sauce is not included in the calculation.
Photos updated. Same great recipe!
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Adora says
I've been looking for a pork and shrimp shanghai lumpua recipe. I gave this one a try and I love it! The lumpia filling is flavorful. I did a taste test and fried a small meatball size. I didn't need to adjust the seasoning at all. Definitely will be using this recipe again and again! Thank you so much Mella!
Riverten Kitchen (Mella) says
You're welcome! So happy you enjoyed this. Happy holidays, Adora 🙂
- Mella
Gail Goodall says
I am wondering about the carb content. The pack of spring rolls I am looking at says there are 14 carbs in 2 rolls alone. Your recipe says there is 1 carb per serving. Am I not looking at the right product? Blue Dragon Spring Roll Wrapper/ This is the brand I am looking at. Any help would be appreciated. I am low carbing it and these look amazing, but I am hoping that I am looking at the wrong wrappers!
Mella says
Hi Gail, It looks like the tool I used to calculate the calories didn't use the right figures for the wrapper. Sorry about that. I have manually changed that now.
Hope that helps.
-Mella
Violet says
Where can I find or order lumpia wrappers. I have tried the ones they sell at Kroger and other grocery stores here in Georgia and they are made from mung beans and cannot be fried. The real lumpia are made from rice wrappers. Please help.
Amelia says
Yummy recipe! Super easy to make. Will make this again for Christmas and save some batch for New Year! Thank you!
Joanne says
I made your lumpia shanghai for our Christmas lunch yesterday, it was delicious ? love your food blog site, recipes are so easy to follow. Thank you, Merry Christmas to you and your family ??☺
Kind regard, Jonne ☺
@sjojo13 on Instagram
Mella says
You're welcome! Your comments and feedbacks such this keeps me going. Merry Christmas again!