KULINARYA's Fresh Lumpiang Ubod

I've continued road-testing recipes in the book KULINARYA, now considered a national bestseller as it has become a favorite gift to friends and family, especially Filipinos living overseas. I've handed out a few copies of the book myself - to my "inaanaks" or godchildren for the new wives to work their way into the hearts of their new husbands thru the stomachs, and to relatives abroad who long to cook Filipino dishes the authentic way. At the very least, the photographs in the book would be enough to appease their tummies that might have gotten homesick for their traditional Filipino cooking.

So, off to another recipe out of the cookbook which is the most accurate by far that I've read and tested. This time around, since I'm catering for a nephew's one-year old daughter on May 17, I tried KULINARYA's Fresh Lumpiang Ubod (Coconut Pith Spring Roll). The trick to making this dish is to have really good coconut pith - the "ubod" - which means you have to get "ubod" that stays crisp and does not become chewy after cooking. I was able to get fresh "ubod" some from Makro which was already julienned into fine strips (that cut away part of the work for me). KULINARYA suggested that the "ubod" be soaked in some water with a tablespoon or two of fresh milk. I did that to make sure the "ubod" stays fresh. 

The recipe as printed in KULINARYA: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine

Of course, the all-important step in the recipe is to make the fresh lumpia wrappers as you can't use the store-bought kind. The lumpia wrapper must be soft yet it should hold the fillings well. It's best to cook the fillings first since you need to let it cool before putting inside the wrapper. 

KULINARYA's recipe for Fresh Lumpiang Ubod is quite simple. The filling was a mixture of sauteed garlic and onions, to which about 100 grams of ground pork is added. After sauteeing the ground pork, peeled shrimps are also sauteed. This is seasoned with some salt and pepper and then finally, the "ubod" (strained from the water and milk mixture) is added and again, sauteed for another 10 minutes or so. As a personal touch, for color, I added julienned carrots.When the filling is seasoned to one's taste, you can strain the cooked mixture and let cool. 

Meanwhile, you can do the fresh lumpia wrapper, quite tedious since you have do it one wrapper at a time. I used a 10-inch non-stick skillet, swirling 1/4 cup of the batter made of flour, cornstarch, egg, salt, oil and water, to make a perfect wrapper, although I was expecting something with a yellowish tinge. The other recipes I read used more eggs - maybe that's the trick to adding color to the wrapper. Nonetheless, the wrapper I made was soft and held the fillings well. 

Lastly, you need to make the sauce - a sweet, thickened soy sauce-water-sugar mixture. The recipe calls for caramelizing the white sugar first and then adding water and soy and thickening that with some cornstarch mixed with water. 

Finally, you can assemble the spring rolls! One lumpia needs one lettuce leaf on the wrapper, plus the filling and if you want, you can put in the ground peanuts and some of the sauce before wrapping and rolling the lumpia. Now, to serve, you just drizzle the sauce on top of one lumpia and add ground peanuts and minced garlic. Voila, you have a merienda delight that's fresh, healthy and bursting with a sweet, salty, garlicky flavor. A Filipino spring roll that rivals fresh spring rolls of our Vietnamese and Thai neighbors!