Lumpia Shanghai

Lumpia Shanghai is a small, deep-fried Filipino spring roll filled with seasoned minced pork and finely diced vegetables. It is one of the most common party and merienda foods in the Philippines.

What it really is

Lumpia Shanghai is made by mixing minced pork with finely chopped onion, carrot, and sometimes spring onion, seasoned with soy sauce, salt, and black pepper, and often bound with beaten egg. The mixture is rolled in thin, rectangular wrappers, usually made from wheat flour, that are sold in many Philippine markets as "lumpia wrapper," and the rolls are fried in hot oil until the skin is golden and crisp. The filling is cooked through in the frying, not beforehand, so the rolls are thin and cylindrical.

Lumpia Shanghai differs from the fresh lumpia of the Philippines, which are unfried rolls with a soft crepe wrapper and a sweet sauce, and from the larger, fuller-filled Vietnamese or Chinese spring rolls. The name points to Fujian-style spring rolls brought by Chinese settlers, and the Filipino version is much smaller and more heavily seasoned. Its origin is traced to Chinese migrants, but the exact history is not firmly documented.

How it's served

• Served hot or at room temperature as part of a buffet, party platter, or merienda.
• Usually eaten with the hands, dipped in sweet chilli sauce, spiced vinegar, or a sweet and sour dip.
• Often served with steamed rice as part of a meal, or alone as a snack.
• Cut in half on a platter for sharing when the rolls are small, or served whole with a dipping bowl.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the filling as minced pork with vegetables, and state that it is deep-fried.
• Flag the presence of EGGS (egg in the filling and sometimes in the wrapper) and WHEAT (wrapper), and SOY (soy sauce in the filling).
• State the dipping sauce served with it, such as sweet chilli sauce or sweet and sour sauce.
• Common variants to state include a chicken or seafood filling, or a vegetarian version made without meat.