Name: Filipino Lumpia Shanghai
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Filipino
Ingredients: 1 carrot, diced into 2 to 3 cm pieces; 1 celery stalk, diced into 2 to 3 cm pieces; 1/2 red onion, diced; 500 g (1.1 lb) pork mince; 1 tsp chicken powder; 2 tbsp oyster sauce; 1 tbsp sesame oil; 1/2 tbsp garlic powder; 1 tsp Yum Yum umami seasoning (or MSG); 2 tbsp cornstarch; 20 lumpia wrappers; 1 tbsp cornstarch; 1 tbsp water; Oil, for deep frying

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Filipino lumpia Shanghai is the most dangerous thing you can put on a table, because nobody stops at one.

Table of Contents

These are thin, finger sized pork rolls fried until the wrapper shatters. The filling is pork mince blitzed with carrot, celery and red onion, seasoned hard with oyster sauce, garlic powder and sesame oil, then bound with cornstarch so it stays juicy inside the shell. Twenty wrappers gives you sixty pieces, which sounds excessive until you watch them disappear.

Every Filipino party has a plate of these somewhere near the middle of the table. They are cut small on purpose so they cook through in a couple of minutes and stay crunchy long enough to travel from the kitchen to the room where everyone is eating. Make them once and you will understand why they get made in batches of two hundred.

What is Filipino lumpia Shanghai

Lumpia Shanghai is the Filipino take on a fried spring roll, filled with seasoned pork rather than the vegetables you find in a Chinese roll. The name refers to the thin wrapper style rather than the city, and the giveaway is the size: these are rolled skinny, then cut into short pieces before frying.

The texture is the point. A thin lumpia wrapper fries into a glassy, blistered shell in around three minutes, while the pork inside steams in its own fat and stays tender. Compared with our Chinese spring rolls, this is a much leaner roll with a higher crunch to filling ratio and a lot more seasoning in the meat.

Filipino lumpia Shanghai stacked on a white plate with dipping sauce

Where lumpia Shanghai comes from:

Fried rolls arrived in the Philippines with Chinese traders centuries ago and were adapted with local ingredients and a heavier hand on the seasoning. The Shanghai name attached itself to the thin wrapper version some time in the twentieth century, though the roll has little to do with Shanghai cooking.

What makes it distinctly Filipino is the pork filling, the small cut, and the fact that it is party food rather than restaurant food. It sits alongside dishes like pork tocino in the category of things that get made in bulk for a crowd. Sweet chilli sauce or a vinegar and garlic dip is the standard partner.

How to make it

Blitz the carrot, celery and red onion in a food processor until they are finely minced, then mix them into the pork with chicken powder, oyster sauce, sesame oil, garlic powder, umami seasoning and cornstarch. The vegetables need to be small so the roll stays thin and seals cleanly.

Lay a wrapper flat, run a thin line of filling along one edge, roll it tight, seal the end with cornstarch slurry, then cut each long roll into three. Fry in batches at medium high heat until deep gold, drain well, and serve while they still crackle.

Ingredients

Filling

Pork mince: 500 g, and do not go too lean. Fat is what keeps the filling juicy through a three minute fry, so standard mince beats premium lean mince here.
Carrot: Blitzed fine. It adds sweetness and colour, and small pieces mean the roll stays slim and rolls tight.
Celery: Brings freshness and a little bite that cuts the richness of the pork. One stalk is plenty for the whole batch.
Red onion: Half an onion, blitzed with the rest. It is sharper than brown onion and holds its flavour through frying.
Oyster sauce: Two tablespoons, the main savoury seasoning in the filling.
Chicken powder: Concentrated savouriness that reaches every part of the mince.
Garlic powder: Half a tablespoon. Powder rather than fresh garlic, because fresh pieces scorch inside the roll and turn bitter.
Sesame oil: One tablespoon for aroma. It is a background note, not the main flavour.
Yum Yum umami seasoning: MSG, and the reason these taste like the ones at the party rather than the ones from the supermarket freezer.
Cornstarch: Two tablespoons, binding the filling so it holds together in a neat log instead of crumbling out of the ends.

To roll and fry

Lumpia wrappers: Around twenty. Thin wheat wrappers, sold frozen. Thaw them fully and peel them one at a time, since torn wrappers leak and spit in the oil.
Cornstarch slurry: One tablespoon cornstarch mixed with one tablespoon water. This is the glue that seals the roll.
Oil for deep frying: Neutral oil, deep enough to float the rolls. Medium high heat, around 170C, is the sweet spot.

Steps

Add the diced carrot, celery and red onion to a blender or food processor.
Blend until finely minced. You want an even, damp crumb rather than a puree.

Carrot celery and red onion in a food processor for lumpia Shanghai filling

Finely minced carrot celery and onion blitzed in a food processor

Place the pork mince in a large bowl and add the minced vegetables.
Add the chicken powder, garlic powder, Yum Yum umami seasoning and cornstarch.

Minced vegetables tipped onto pork mince in a mixing bowl

Garlic powder chicken powder and cornstarch added to lumpia Shanghai filling

Add the oyster sauce and sesame oil, then mix hard until the filling is evenly combined and slightly tacky.
Separate the lumpia wrappers one sheet at a time and lay one flat with a corner facing you. Spoon a thin line of filling across one end, spreading it almost from edge to edge.

Oyster sauce and sesame oil poured over seasoned pork mince filling

A thin line of pork filling spooned along a lumpia wrapper

Roll the wrapper tightly around the filling, keeping it firm so there are no air pockets.
Brush the far end with the cornstarch slurry, then finish rolling to seal. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers.

Rolling a lumpia wrapper tightly around the pork filling

Sealing a rolled lumpia with cornstarch slurry on a wooden board

Cut each long roll into three shorter pieces with a sharp knife or cleaver.
Heat the oil in a wok or deep fryer over medium high heat, then carefully lower in the lumpia in batches.

Cutting long lumpia rolls into bite sized pieces with a cleaver

Lumpia Shanghai lowered into bubbling hot oil to fry

Fry until deep golden brown and crisp and the pork filling is cooked through, about three to four minutes. Lift them out and drain well on a rack.
Serve immediately while hot and crunchy, with sweet chilli sauce or a garlic vinegar dip.

Crispy golden lumpia Shanghai lifted out of the oil in a spider strainer

Golden Filipino lumpia Shanghai piled on a plate with sweet chilli dipping sauce

Easy lumpia Shanghai tips

Roll them tight

Air trapped inside the wrapper expands in hot oil and splits the roll open, which dumps filling into your fryer. Press the filling into an even log as you roll and keep constant tension on the wrapper. A tight roll also fries more evenly because the pork is in full contact with the wrapper.

Fry a test piece first

Cook one roll, cut it open and taste it before you commit the whole batch. Raw pork mince cannot be tasted for seasoning, so this is the only honest check you get. If it needs more, add another teaspoon of chicken powder or half a tablespoon of oyster sauce to the remaining filling.

Keep the oil at medium high

Too hot and the wrapper is dark brown while the pork is still pink in the middle. Too cool and the wrapper drinks oil and goes greasy instead of crisp. Around 170C gives you three to four minutes, which is exactly the time the filling needs.

Drain on a rack, not on paper

Paper towel traps steam under the roll and softens the bottom within a minute. A wire rack lets air circulate so all sides stay crunchy. If you are frying in batches, keep the finished ones in a low oven on that rack while the rest cook.

Serving suggestions and storage

Dipping sauces

Sweet chilli sauce is the default and the most popular with a crowd. A Filipino style vinegar dip made from cane vinegar, crushed garlic, black pepper and a pinch of salt is sharper and cuts the fat better. Banana ketchup is the nostalgic choice if you can find it.

What to serve alongside

These belong on a table with other things to pick at rather than as a main course. siu mai and pork money bags make a natural spread, and a plate of garlic fried rice turns it into a full meal. Keep something acidic nearby, since sixty fried rolls need contrast.

Freezing and storing

Uncooked lumpia freeze brilliantly. Lay the cut pieces on a tray so they are not touching, freeze until solid, then bag them for up to three months and fry from frozen with an extra minute added. Cooked leftovers keep two days in the fridge and come back best in an air fryer at 180C for four minutes.

Variations

Chicken or beef filling

Chicken mince works well but needs a tablespoon of oil added to the mix, since it carries far less fat than pork and will come out dry. Beef mince makes a heavier, richer roll that suits a vinegar dip. A half and half mix of pork and prawn is the version many Filipino families swear by.

Add water chestnut

Finely diced water chestnut adds a crunch inside the roll that survives frying, which is a nice contrast to the soft pork. Use about half a cup and reduce the carrot slightly to keep the filling from getting too wet. Jicama does the same job if that is easier to find.

Air fryer lumpia

Brush or spray each roll with oil and cook at 190C for about ten minutes, turning halfway. The wrapper blisters differently, more crisp than shattering, but the result is genuinely good and much less messy. Do not crowd the basket or they steam each other.

Make them full size

Skip the cut and fry the rolls whole for a dinner sized portion, adding two minutes to the frying time. The ratio shifts towards filling, which makes them a meal rather than a snack. Serve two per person with rice and a sharp dip, the way you would serve sweet and sour pork.

Common mistakes to avoid

Chunky vegetables

Large pieces of carrot or celery push against the wrapper and tear it as you roll, and they stay hard after frying. The food processor is doing real work here, so blitz until the pieces are the size of coarse breadcrumbs. If you are chopping by hand, take the time to go finer than feels necessary.

Overfilling the wrapper

A fat roll cannot seal properly and will burst in the oil. A line of filling about the thickness of your thumb, running along one edge, is right for a standard wrapper. Less filling also means a higher proportion of crunch, which is what people actually want from these.

Frying wet wrappers

Thawed wrappers hold condensation and any moisture on the outside makes the oil spit violently. Pat the sheets dry as you separate them and keep the stack under a slightly damp cloth rather than a wet one. Use the cornstarch slurry only on the sealing edge.

Cooking them too far ahead

Lumpia are at their best in the first ten minutes out of the fryer and they soften steadily after that. Roll and cut ahead, refrigerate or freeze, and fry at the last possible moment. That is exactly how they are handled at every Filipino gathering.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between lumpia Shanghai and spring rolls?

Lumpia Shanghai is pork filled, rolled thin, and cut into short pieces, while a Chinese spring roll is usually larger and filled with cabbage and other vegetables. The wrappers differ too, with lumpia wrappers being thinner and more delicate. The result is a crunchier, meatier bite with far less filling per piece.

Can I bake lumpia instead of frying?

Baking at 200C with a good brush of oil will cook them through in about twenty minutes, but the wrapper turns dry and papery rather than blistered. An air fryer gets much closer to the fried texture in half the time. If you want the real thing, fry them.

Can I prepare lumpia the day before?

Yes, and this is the standard approach for a party. Roll and cut them, lay them on a tray without touching, cover tightly and refrigerate for up to a day. Any longer than that and the wrapper starts to absorb moisture from the filling and goes soft.

Why did my lumpia burst while frying?

Almost always air trapped inside the roll, or a seal that did not hold. Roll tighter, use the cornstarch slurry generously on the final edge, and press the seam closed for a couple of seconds. Overfilling is the other usual suspect.

How many does this recipe make?

Twenty wrappers cut into three gives around sixty small pieces, which serves four to six people as a starter. They go faster than you expect, so scale up rather than down if it is for a crowd. The filling itself can be doubled without any adjustment.

Where do I buy lumpia wrappers?

Any Asian grocer will have them in the freezer, often labelled as spring roll pastry in the thinnest size available. Filipino brands are ideal, though Chinese or Vietnamese thin wheat wrappers work the same way. Thaw them in the fridge overnight rather than in the microwave so they stay pliable.

Roll them tight, fry them hot and get them to the table fast. If you want another crunchy plate for the same spread, our rice paper spring rolls is the next one to try.

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