Mom’s Filipino Pork Lumpia Recipe

My mom’s Filipino pork lumpia recipe is a wrapped goodness that delights the taste buds. The results are a crunchy fried appetizer that never disappoints.

I was a pretty picky eater growing up. According to my mom, I would only eat a dish if she sprinkled sunflower seeds on it. But there were the classic favorites of any Filipino kid! Pretty much anything fried is good. One such fried goodness is my mom’s Filipino pork lumpia!

My mom would always make pork lumpia and vegetable lumpia and store them in the freezer for a quick, crunchy meal. She could just take some out, fry them up, and that was the meal. As a kid, I always ate it alone or cut up and served over rice with ketchup.

Ingredients for pork lumpia

The ingredients are simple. I’m sure you can find a more authentic recipe. But this is what my mom taught me. And it’s how I’ve been making it all these years. You’ll need the following:

• ground pork
• Menlo brand lumpia wrappers
• Lipton dry onion soup mix
• carrots
• celery
• garlic
• vegetable oil for frying

Let’s Begin…

I’ve been making my mom’s pork lumpia recipe for a really long time now. Nothing has changed. To start, I always use the Menlo brand lumpia wrappers. It’s what my mom told me to use decades ago. It’s not very common. You can’t find it on Amazon. However, it is available at most Asian markets. The wrappers come as a large square which I usually cut in half diagonally. You can make longer ones using the whole square if you’d prefer. The smaller ones are just easier to cook in a smaller pan.

You’ll also want a package of Lipton dry onion soup mix for flavoring. Now here is where you can go all homemade. I never seem to have the time or all the raw ingredients for it. But I’ll always have this onion mix on hand, specifically for lumpia. It just has all the spices right there in that package.

As for the vegetables, you’ll want celery, carrots, and garlic. I use my garlic press to mince the garlic up. And I dice my carrots and celery real small. You can leave the celery and carrots in bigger bits (julienned) if you’d like. I find that the smaller the vegetables are, the more likely the kids will just eat it instead of examining and dissecting it.

How to prepare the pork

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Typically, I like to mix a lot of things with my hands. They’re the best tools. So I get my hands in there to make sure everything is fully incorporated into the pork, especially the onion mix.

Then tightly seal the bowl with cling wrap or beeswax, and allow to marinate in the refrigerator at least 6 hours. Usually I let it marinate overnight. I have even gone two days before wrapping it because I just don’t have time.

Wrapping the pork lumpia

Before you start, you’ll want to separate the wrappers. In the photos, you’ll notice the wrappers are arranged nicely. But if you leave them out like that, the wrappers will dry out. So I eventually throw a towel over it.Take a teaspoon of the meat and place it on the long end of the wrapper. Spread it into a thin log.Then fold the ends over, one at a time.Next, roll the lumpia tightly.Before you get to the end, wet the end of the wrapper with water and finish rolling. Wetting the wrapper ensures the lumpia seals. If it’s loose, it’ll come apart while frying. I’ve had this happen many times. It’s still good though. So don’t worry!Normally, I stack them for easier storage in the freezer. I also find that it helps maintain the seal. But for now, I arranged them individually on this tray just to snap some photos.You’ll need to freeze them before frying. Once they’re ready, you can either deep fry or pan fry them. Just make sure you have enough oil to cover at least half of the lumpia and cook on all sides.

Sauces you can use for Filipino pork lumpia

And there you have it! Yummy fried, crunchy goodness all rolled up in a nice little package. Now there are typical sauces which are favorites of any Filipino household. The staples are regular ketchup, banana ketchup, or a sweet chili sauce (like the Mae Ploy). Other sauces you can use are sweet and sour, vinegar with minced garlic, or maybe even a tempura or soy sauce. But if you want to be authentic, try ketchup, banana ketchup, or a sweet chili sauce first. Trust me! That banana sauce is delish!

So give this a try! Believe me, I don’t know anyone who does NOT like a good lumpia. It does take some work. But it’s so worth it!

Have you made lumpia before? I’d love to hear from you! Comment down below on what you think about my mom’s filipino pork lumpia recipe.

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