#225_ Lumpiang Bangus (Bangus Egg Rolls)

Fried Bangus Lumpia or Egg Rolls
with home made dipping sauce

Bangus, or milk fish is considered the Philippines national fish
and it is known for its milky flavor, thus milk fish.

Bangus...fried then flaked

A FB friend, Shirley, gave me the idea to make egg rolls with bangus fillings. I've never heard of such a thing before, even though I came from a city where Bangus not only abound but also a city where you can find the best Bangus in the country. (you're welcome to read an article about it here).

Egg Roll Fillings:

For the fillings, I used some boneless bangus which are now available in Filipino and Asian stores, but because they are so expensive I combined some ground pork with the fillings to serve as an extender.

Saute garlic in a little canola oil over medium heat, then add the onions and the ground pork. Saute until the pork is no longer pink. Season with salt or patis (fish sauce) and freshly cracked pepper. Cover and let simmer until meat is tender. Add the cooked and flaked fish then saute for a few minutes.

Turn off the heat then add the carrots, celery, raisins. Mix well.
Drain the mixture in a colander and let it cool completely before wrapping.
To see the steps in wrapping egg rolls, click here.

To avoid sogginess, fried lumpias or egg rolls must
be stacked upright on paper towels to drain the oil.
Serve warm with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce Recipe:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tbsp patis ( fish sauce)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. chili garlic sauce*
1/3 cup grated carrots

Combine water, sugar and vinegar in a sauce pan. Bring up to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down to medium low then let it simmer until the mixture becomes syrupy. Turn off the heat and add the patis (fish sauce), garlic, Chili Garlic Sauce and grated carrots. Stir to blend all ingredients together.
This dipping sauce can be made ahead of time. Place the sauce in a jar then refrigerate until ready to use.

Note from MaMely:
*Chili Garlic Sauce is a very concentrated sauce. If you're not into spicy stuff, start with even less than 1/8 tsp. then add more as you desire.

#146_Filipino Get-Together Dinner

We had a little Filipino get-together last Saturday
and as usual there was plenty of food and
everything was so good!!!
But I had to discreetly took some pictures
while my friends, Aida and Erlinda,
were trying to organize the buffet table,
so the people there wouldn't think I was nuts for
taking pictures of food instead of people.

Here's some of the food I was able to take pictures of....

You can always tell if it's a Filipino party when there's lumpia.

Batchoy

My friend Aida made this soup which was a hit. Ubos na ubos!
The soup was ladled into serving bowls
and sprinkled with crushed chicharon.
I like the kind of noodles she used, it is very delish.
The chicharon brings out the true Pinoy food in the soup....
no wonder some people call this a comfort food.
I asked her for the recipe which I will be posting here later.

Another of Aida's dish that was so good is the hamonado.
I need to get a lesson from her on how to make this dish as
I've tried making it once before,
but it didn't turn out the way she makes it.

Pancit Sotanghon.

Another pancit

Mango Custard Cake
Before I took this to the party, I took a slice off it for a picture.

#109_Lumpia Shanghai or Eggrolls

Lumpia Shanghai
is a very popular side dish in the Philippines
and it is served in most gatherings
along with pancit and other delicious dishes and whatnot.
Everybody knows what Egg rolls are and most everybody knows
how to make it,
therefore, it doesn't need much introduction.

I just wanted to share my version of making lumpia
which has cooked meat in the fillings
and so there is a little bit more work involved,
but I guarantee you, it is worth all the effort.
After trying this cooked meat fillings,
you will not want to go back to the raw meat fillings anymore.

Here's my recipe:

The Lumpia Filling:

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1 med size onion, sliced in chunks
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
Salt/Pepper
1 med, size carrot
2 stalks celery, finely diced
6 cloves garlic, chopped very finely
2 med size potato, boiled
Egg roll wrappers

1) In a skillet, over medium heat, brown the ground pork and ground beef together with the sliced onion without using any oil. Stir occasionally.

2) When the meat is no longer pink, discard the fat. ( I do this by placing the meat in a colander to drain the fat off).

3) Put the drained meat back in the skillet and add the onion, salt and pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Add a little water (about 1/4 cup) and cover. Simmer until meat is tender, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4) Put the meat back in a colander to drain. At this point you need to drain the meat really well. (I usually put the colander in a bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight. If you're in a rush, you can squeeze out the liquid by using a piece of cheese cloth.)

5) Put the well drained meat in a food processor and pulse it for a few seconds. You might need to do this in 2 to 3 batches.

6) Put this in a bowl and add the diced celery and the chopped garlic.

7) Wash and grate the carrot using the coarse side of the grater, then mix it with the meat mixture.

8) Peel the boiled potatoes and grate them using the coarse side of the grater. Mix it with the meat mixture. This is the binding agent.

9) Mix everything together really well.

Preparing to Wrap the Lumpia:

A) Make a paste
In a pot, dissolve about 2 heaping tbps. of all purpose flour in 1/4 cup water. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until it reaches a consistency of a pudding. You may add more water if necessary. Set aside.
Use this homemade paste to seal the seams of the lumpia. Some people use egg white, but I prefer to use this paste.

B) Separate the lumpia or egg roll wrappers.

The wrappers are stuck to each other in a package like the packaged sliced cheese. Separate them by carefully pulling them off one by one and stack them on a plate.
Make sure to cover the stack of wrappers with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out as these wrappers dry out easily. When they dry out they become brittle and tend to crack. Good wrappers are a little stretchy and malleable. If they are brittle, that means they have been exposed to air or they are just plain old. Better not use them.

Most egg roll wrapper packages have directions on the back
on how to wrap the lumpia.
I like this diagram because it is self explanatory and very helpful for beginners.


Wrapping the Lumpias:

I like using the wrappers that are pre-cut to 4x4-inch
so I don't have to cut up the lumpias before frying them.
These wrappers come in 50 pieces per package and are
available in most Asian or Oriental stores.
This recipe can make about 150 pieces.

1) Place a wrapper on a clean work surface with one pointed end facing towards you.

2) Put about 1 tbsp. of filling on the wrapper, below the center of wrapper. (see first diagram)

Make sure the filling is not bigger than a forefinger.

3) Bring the corner closest to you over the filling and then bring the left and right sides towards the the middle and roll it out, leaving a little bit of the other pointed end open and apply some paste around this end to seal, see last diagram.

5) Repeat until all the fillings and wrappers are used up.

There are 2 ways to cook these Lumpias:
Frying in hot oil
Bake in the oven


To fry Lumpias in hot oil:
In a heavy skillet or fry pan, heat some vegetable or canola oil
Fry the wrapped lumpias until golden brown and crispy.
Drain fried lumpia on paper towels and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Most Filipinos enjoy the simple dipping sauce made with
vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper with some hot peppers.
You can use sweet chili sauce as well, which are available in Asian stores.

Notes:

1) You can use eggs instead of the grated boiled potatoes to bind the ingredients together.
2) You can either freeze left over fillings for later use or make 150 pieces of lumpia and freeze them.
3)To fry frozen lumpia, do not thaw them out, otherwise the wrappers will become soggy and will break apart while frying them.
4)* To test if the temperature of the oil is perfect for frying the lumpia,
stick one end of lumpia in the oil, when it sizzles good, it is ready.