Pinky's Lumpia
Our friends, Kim and her wonderful mother, Pinky live across the Pasig river in nearby Mandaluyong. The other day they came over with one, specific mission: to teach us how to make lumpia*.
I’ve never spent much time in the kitchen. I don’t dislike cooking, but it hasn’t deeply interested me until recently. As a novice, lumpia feels like an advanced undertaking, a dish with a lot of moving parts. A dish for “serious” cooks with far more hours in an apron logged than myself. But, Pinky and Kim showed me that it’s not really hard at all. The main undertaking is the prep; the frying takes only a few minutes for each batch.
Pinky, a mother of five daughters, who grew up at the literal foot of the Mayon volcano in the province of Bicol, generously shared her special recipe with us. (Her lumpia is legendary; her family requests it for every event and historically, it’s entirely consumed within minutes of the platter touching down.)
Unsurprisingly, it was the absolute best lumpia we have ever tasted. Better than any restaurant, any street vendor. Crispy and light, each bite exploding with satisfying savoriness. The secret seems to be, as with most things: unhurried presence, attention to detail, and plenty of chica chica (chatty talk) during the cooking process. Pinky showed us how to mince more finely than we thought possible and demonstrated the art of filling and rolling each wrapper with restraint. (The trick is to not overstuff!) She also taught us the importance of choosing the best parts of the celery—the dense, leafy bits close to the stalk that are imbued with an aromatic, herbal zest that balances the saltier flavors in the filling.
Pinky’s lumpia is our new gold standard for savory snacks—chopped with precision, mixed with patience, rolled with tenderness, fried with love. 😋 Recipe below, if you want to try making your own.
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* Lumpiang Shanghai: a Filipino deep-fried appetizer consisting of a mixture of giniling (minced meat) with vegetables like carrots, chopped scallions or red onions and garlic, wrapped in a thin egg crêpe.
