Filipino – Lumpiang Ubod (Filipino Spring Roll)

by Hina Alam

ABOUT THE DISH

The first thing a person is served when he goes to a restaurant is starters. It sets the persons mood for the whole evening. There are many starter dishes which are a part of the Filipino cuisine. Lumpiang Ubod is one of the best to be ever served in the Philippines. It is like a spring roll which is famous all around the world but here in the Philippines it is made differently. This dish basically consists of Ubod (heart of palm) cooked with meat and vegetables. This filling is then served over a wrap which is made by hand as well. Then this dish is finished off by adding a sauce over the wrap. This dish looks so incredible and tastes even more. In its filling any type of protein can be added. It is very popular throughout the country and it is a very common street food as well. This wrap has everything in it. It has the natural Philippines taste in it and all its culture as well. Many people eat this dish everyday and even on festive days it is very common.

NAME AND ORIGIN

Lumpiang Ubod gets its name from Ubod (heart of the palm) which is edible pith extracted from the coconuts. The origin of this dish is in the city of Silay on the Negros island in Visayas. These are all parts of the Philippines hence we can say that this dish originated in the Philippines. It is said that it was served as appetizers at that times in the Mahjong gambling dens to the cities elite class people. It was served on woven trays by the servers named Manuglibod. Soon it became popular and started to be sold everywhere in the country.

HISTORY

Lumpia is considered to be inherited from the Chinese spring roll. They both are similar in size and shape. It is said that this dish was brought by the Chinese immigrants who came to southern part of Asia centuries ago. They wanted to create a dish which contained vegetables and can be eaten in the spring season. The Chinese used to save food throughout the year for the winter season and once the winter season was over all their preserved food would have been used so they needed to come up with something which they could in the next season so they came up with this idea. In the coming years many Asian countries picked this dish up and in the end the Philippines wrote this in their historical cuisines.

SIMILAR DISH

There is a dish which is quite similar to the Lumpiang Ubod and sometimes it gets mixed up with it. This dish is called Lumpiang Silay. It is named after its region like other variants of this dish is named after the islands in which they are made. Lumpiang Silay is very much same to Ubod . It is thinner with regards to the other , uses Ubod , meat along with vegetables and then it is wrapped with a lumpia wrapper which is made from scratch by using flour. The major difference which we can easily pick is that in Lumpiang Silay there is no side sauce which is served over the dish instead a sauce is used on the wrap to coat it so it can easily hold the meat filling.

INGREDIENTS REQUIRED TO MAKE FILLING

• Hearts of palm (Ubod) 1 lb.

• Beef 4 ounces

• Shrimps 5-6

• Onion 1 chopped

• Garlic 4 cloves chopped

• Fish sauce

• Parsley

• Black pepper

INGREDIENTS REQUIRED TO MAKE WRAP

• All purpose flour 1 cup

• Eggs 2

• Water 1 1/2 cups
• Cooking oil 1/4 cup

INGREDIENTS REQUIRED TO MAKE THE SAUCE

• Water 1 1/2 cups
• Brown sugar 6 tbsps.

• Soy sauce 1 1/2 tbsps.

• Cloves garlic 6 (crushed)

• Cornstarch 1 tbsp.

STEPS TO MAKE THE FILLING

• Take a pan and add some oil in it over medium heat.
• Add the chopped onions and sauté them for a few minutes and then add garlic.

• Cook them both and then add your beef pieces.

• Cook the beef until it is tender.
• Add the given amount of water in the pan and let is boil.
• Add the Ubod in the pan and cook for about 4-5 minutes.

• Add the shrimps next and cook again until they are golden.

• Add some parsley in the pan and mix everything.

• Add some black pepper and drizzle some fish sauce in the pan.

• Mix everything again and after 5 minutes take it off the heat and put is aside for later use.

STEPS TO MAKE THE SAUCE

• Take a pan over medium heat and add water in it and let it boil.
• After oiling it add the brown sugar in it and mix it nicely.

• Add some soya sauce.

• Then add the chopped garlic in the pan.

• Cook the garlic and then finally add the cornstarch.

• Let it boil for 30 seconds and then remove from the heat and set it aside for later use.

STEPS TO MAKE THE LUMPIA WRAP

• Take two eggs in a small bowl.

• Add some cooking oil in it while whisking it.
• Add the given amount of water in it while mixing it.
• Lastly add the flour in the bowl.

• Make sure a foamy mixture is formed that is the desired outcome.

FINALIZING THE DISH

• Take a pan over a medium heat and add the wrap mixture in it.

• A wrap will be formed after 1 minute of cooking.
• Take it out and place it on a plate.
• On the wrap place a leaf and the meat filling containing Ubod.

• Lastly before serving add the sauce over the wrap to make it more delicious.

• Your dish is ready
• Enjoy.

TIME NEEDED TO MAKE THIS DISH

• PREPERATION TIME : 5 minutes
• COOKING TIME : 40 minutes
• TOTAL TIME : 45 minutes
• YIELDS : 5-6 servings

NUTRITION FACTS

• Calories  457kcal 
• Protein  11g 
• Cholesterol  23mg 
• Carbohydrates  53.2g 
• Fat  24g 
• Fiber  2.8g 
• Sugar  26g 
• Sodium  517mg 
• Potassium  1613mg 
• Calcium  66mg