Lumpia Shanghai Recipe (Filipino Fried Spring Rolls)

This is a special Filipino lumpia 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!

Lumpia Shanghai

Lumpiang Shanghai is the Filipino version of crispy fried spring rolls. It's meatier, thinner, and smaller compared to other Asian spring rolls.

Almost always present in any Filipino gatherings and holidays, lumpia 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 for lumpia are wrapped raw. That is why lumpia should always be made thinner to ensure that it cooks together with the spring roll wrapper.

Lumpia Shanghai 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!
• Egg - its protein and fat add richness and moisture to the lumpia.
• Spring Roll wrappers - you can find this in the frozen section of most Asian stores or supermarkets. I used the TYJ brand, 5x5 size.

How to make Filipino Lumpia

Making Filipino spring 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 lumpiang shanghai:

1. 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.
2. Separate the wrappers individually before starting the wrapping process. Cover with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying.
3.  Taste the mixture by frying a small amount then adjust the seasonings accordingly.
4. Deep fry the lumpia to ensure that the filling and the wrapper cooks evenly. Fry in batches and don't overcrowd the pan.
5. Squeeze out the juice of carrots to prevent burnt holes on the wrapper while frying.
6. 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.

Sauce for Lumpia and the best way to serve it

As a Filipino kid, I enjoy these spring rolls with ketchup, banana ketchup to be more specific. I love eating it on its own. But now as an adult, I enjoy it with sweet and sour chili sauce, fried rice, or pansit (Filipino stir-fried noodles). So so good!

Frequently asked questions

Lumpia Shanghai Recipe Video

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Lumpia Shanghai Recipe (Filipino Fried Spring Rolls)

Recipe video above: The best lumpia recipe made with ground pork, shrimp, and vegetables. Golden-crispy with moist and flavorful filling inside.

prep 20 mins

cook 10 mins

5 from 3 votes

author: Mella

Servings 50 spring rolls

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Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 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:

1. Leaf Celery (Chinese Celery) - substitute with regular stalk celery.
2. Carrots - squeeze out the juice of carrots to prevent burnt holes on the wrapper while frying.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. To re-heat without frying, use a mini-over toaster. Set heat to high and heat for 5 to 10 minutes.
6. 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!
7. 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.
8. Vegetable variations: water chestnuts, singkamas, bell peppers, and celery.
9. 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.

Jump to Video

Course : Appetizer

Cuisine : Filipino

Keyword : filipino spring rolls, fried spring rolls, lumpia recipe

Nutrition Facts

Lumpia Shanghai Recipe (Filipino Fried Spring Rolls)

Amount per Serving

Calories

119

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

8

g

12

%

Saturated Fat

 

1

g

6

%

Trans Fat

 

1

g

Cholesterol

 

23

mg

8

%

Sodium

 

179

mg

8

%

Potassium

 

44

mg

1

%

Carbohydrates

 

8

g

3

%

Fiber

 

1

g

4

%

Sugar

 

1

g

1

%

Protein

 

4

g

8

%

Vitamin A

 

188

IU

4

%

Vitamin C

 

1

mg

1

%

Calcium

 

11

mg

1

%

Iron

 

1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Photos updated. Same great recipe!