There are many times when I silently curse my past self for inconveniencing me in the present.
I’ll fail to put something away correctly or decide I’ll totally remember we’re out of something rather than putting it on the shopping list, etc.
But the past couple of weeks, I have been pretty proud of past me for making my life slightly easier.
About a month ago, I found myself with several inches of leftover fresh ginger, and rather than letting them go to waste in the refrigerator, I peeled them (something I really don’t like doing) and put them in the freezer.
Now, when I just need an inch, I have pre-peeled ginger at the ready. I’ll be sad when I use it all up, but in the meantime, it definitely came in handy with this week’s recipe, which turned out really well.
This comes from cookbook author Rasa Malaysia on her website. You can see her original post at https://rasamalaysia.com/lumpia-filipino-spring-rolls-recipe/. I added extra garlic and cabbage in my version.
Lumpia
Ingredients
- 1 package lumpia egg roll or fry-able spring roll wrappers
- 2 pounds ground pork I used a pork/beef combo
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 crushed chicken bouillon cube or 1/2 teaspoon bouillon powder
- 2 eggs
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 to 10 ounces green cabbage shredded
- cooking oil if deep frying or cooking spray (if air frying)
Instructions
- If your wrappers are square, cut the stack down the middle so that you have two stacks of rectangular wrappers to use. (It’s a good idea to keep these under a damp paper towel while you work so they don’t dry out.)
- In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, bouillon, eggs, salt and pepper, and cabbage, and mix well to combine.
- Fill a small bowl with some water, and lay one of the rectangular wrappers in front of you, with one of the short sides facing you.
- Using your fingers, dipped in the bowl of water, wet the last half-inch or so of the short end furthest from you. Add a couple tablespoons of the mixture at one end of the wrapper, and then roll it tightly, careful not to let the filling squeeze out the sides, until it’s completely rolled up, pressing lightly to seal the wrapper. Set it aside.
- Repeat until all the filling and/or wrappers are used.
- If you’re deep frying the lumpia, heat about one-half inch of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry them, a few at a time, turning them to get them golden brown on all sides, and then transfer them with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel lined plate. (You may want to temp them to make sure they are at a safe internal temperature, too.)
- If you’re air frying them, preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees, lightly spray your lumpia with cooking spray and air fry for about nine to 12 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat is 160 degrees.
- Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.
Joey mixed up a spicy, mustard-based sauce for us to eat these with. Honestly, these would be a great side dish for an Asian meal, but we just ate them as our main dish.
They were lightly flavored, which made them an especially good vessel for a nice sauce, but they were also crispy and very tasty.
And I didn’t even have to peel any ginger to make this particular dinner work. If only past me hadn’t decided to put off doing the dishes until the next day, too, her planning would have been perfect.
This piece first appeared in print June 19, 2025.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
