Lumpia Shanghai is one of the most popular Filipino dish here in the U.S. If you ask an American who has a Filipino friend, co-worker or family member, what their favorite Filipino food is, most likely they'll tell you it's Lumpia. My husband's family like it so much that they always ask me to cook some everytime we get together for special occasions.

This is an easy recipe, it's similar to making meatballs. The only difference is that making it is very tedious since you need to roll each and every one. If you don't eat pork, you can substitute ground turkey, chicken or beef. Some recipe calls for water chestnuts but I find that unless you intend to cook these right away, it is best to omit this ingredient. The water chestnut adds moisture to the lumpia which will make the wrapper soggy if you plan to freeze it. I use the food processor to mince the onions and carrots just to save time.

The spring roll wrappers can be found in any good Asian grocery. I use these wrappers instead of the 'egg roll' wrappers because it is thinner. Each bag has 25 wrappers. I cut the lumpia in half before frying so I get 50 small lumpias in all. I added the step-by-step photos on how to roll the lumpia if you do not know how to go about it. I either use beaten egg or a mixture of flour and water boiled into a paste to seal the lumpia. I hope it helps. :o)

Here is the recipe:

LUMPIA SHANGHAI

1 LB. ground pork
1 medium carrot, minced
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
3 stalks green onion, chopped
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. I fry a small pattie of the mixture just to test if it needs more salt or pepper. Peel off one spring roll wrapper and cover the rest with a towel to prevent it from drying out. Put one tablespoon or less of the mixture in the middle of the wrapper as shown in the photo. Shape it with your spoon so that it resembles a thin cigar. Brush some beaten eggs on both corners and fold across. Always brush the corner to be folded with the beaten eggs and fold as shown in the photo. Try to fold it as tight as possible. Don't forget to seal the edges (photo #4) with beaten eggs. Fry in medium high heat until golden brown.

You can freeze the lumpia up to 2 months. You don't need to thaw it before cooking. I just cut the lumpia in half and fry it.

Serve with sweet and sour sauce or duck sauce.



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This is a Roast Pork dish that is usually served by our catering business in Pasig. It's simple to make yet elegant enough to serve in parties.You have to start with a good cut of lean Pork Loin, it has to be large enough so it won't disintegrate when you cut it after it had been tenderized. We don't have a special name for this dish. We call this dish 'pork loin with mushroom sauce'. Big thanks to my mom for teaching me how to make this dish.

Ingredients:
1 large slab of lean Pork Loin
salt and pepper
4 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 can of small tomato paste
5 cups of chicken stock
1 stick of butter
1 small onion, minced
2 tbsp flour
1 cup broth from the cooked pork loin
1 small can of Cream of Mushroom (use regular not low fat)
1 cup grated cheese (any kind)

Wash and dry the pork loin. Season with salt and pepper. Heat cooking oil in a large pot, brown all sides of the pork loin. Add the tomato paste and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock and stir until the tomato paste is dissolved. Cook until the pork loin is tender, stirring the pot once in a while and adding chicken stock if the liquid becomes too low. Set aside 1 cup of the broth to be used in the next step.

Heat the oven to 350 deg F.

In a smaller pot, in medium heat, add butter. When butter is melted, saute the onions until it's cooked but not browned. Add the flour and cook for a minute or two. Then add the broth (that was set aside from the pork loin) a little at a time to prevent lumps. Wait for it to boil. When it's boiling, add the Cream of Mushroom and stir thoroughly.

Take the roast pork loin and cut it into 1/4 inch slices. Set aside. In a pyrex dish, pour 1 cup of the sauce on the bottom. Arrange the roast pork loin slices in the pyrex dish. Pour more sauce on top of the pork loin. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the pork loin. Bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, just enough for the pork to be reheated through and the cheese to melt. Serve with rice.
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I received a tag from Liz of Mommy's Little Corner. :)

We had Ceasar Salad and Baked Ham last night (Holy Saturday) for dinner. Ceasar Salad is our favorite, we actually have this served in our wedding reception at Wente Vineyards restaurant. They served the hearts of Romaine whole with Parmesan shavings and croutons.

I like to make the Ceasar dressing from scratch. To limit the risk of Salmonella (the original recipe calls for raw egg yolk), I use the yolk from a soft-boiled egg.

Ceasar Salad Dressing

1 egg yolk
2 gloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 pcs. anchovy fillets, chopped
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Romaine lettuce
Croutons
Parmesan cheese shavings

In a blender or food processor, place egg yolk, garlic, Dijon mustard, anchovies, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper. Blend for 20 seconds until smooth. With the motor running, add the extra-virgin olive oil slowly to make the dressing thick & creamy.

Drizzle over the Romaine lettuce and croutons. Top with Parmesan shavings.

Pineapple Glazed Ham