Fresh Lumpia

I went on vacation to the Philippines last November and my cousins and I always have fun making all kinds of food. I celebrated my birthday there so we made sure we cook the usual Fiesta Fare including “lechon” or roast pig. After the celebration, nobody wants to eat rich food anymore so we thought of something else to make. My cousins asked me if I know how to make lumpia wrappers for fresh lumpia. Indeed I do know how to make the fresh wrappers so I taught them how. But first we have to make the filling which is made of mixed vegetables. I normally use carrot, green beans, bean sprouts, celery and if you have them in your area, jicama and sayote. I used garlic and onions for stir frying the vegetables. You may use pork, chicken or shrimp for protein or even tofu. I particularly like to add sweet potatoes to make the taste sweeter. To make the wrappers, blend egg, flour and water with a pinch of salt and cook it just like making crepes. For the sauce, mix soy sauce, sugar and water with cornstarch for thickening. Before you wrap, place lettuce leaf on the wrapper and spoon some vegetables enough to fill and space for folding the lumpia. Pour some sauce on top with chopped, raw garlic and voila! Vegetarians would enjoy this. You can also add chopped peanuts on top as garnish.