Lumpia Wrappers are thin, almost translucent paper like circular wrappers that can be found in many Asian dishes. These soft and almost bouncy “spring roll skins” that look and feel almost like crepes are super easy to use, from egg rolls, fried lumpia, fresh, used as crackers to top off some dishes and more. Check out this article to know more about “What is Lumpia wrapper made of”,” What are the list of Lumpia wrapper ingredients ?”, “How to use lumpia wrappers”, “How to make lumpia shanghai”, “Lumpia wrappers where to buy ?”, and other types of lumpias to make from meaty to vegan fresh lumpia and more recipes.
A short Introduction on Lumpia Wrappers
What is Lumpia ? ( lumpia wrapper in English are usually called “Spring Roll Wrapper” ) A very versatile, elastic, white to cream colored wrapper found in the Philippines, Indonesia, and many other Asian cuisines just in different names. Often filled with savory and well seasoned meats or vegetables or both, and some sweetener versions by filling these with fruits especially bananas or chocolate and other ingredients. Historically, China is dubbed as its origin country found in Fujianese cuisine, but the popularity connected with the name “Lumpia” is often associated with Filipino cuisine who have adapted and made this into a Chinese-Filipino fusion dish.
How to make fresh lumpia wrapper ? (Paano gumawa ng lumpia wrapper ?) For those who want to make gluten free or just wants to make sure your wrappers are ‘safe’ to eat you can simply make these at home by:
- Mix 3 cups of all purpose flour, gluten free flour, or rice flour, a sprinkle or ½ teaspoon of salt, 2 cups more or less of water and a tablespoon of oil. This will look like a crepe -like batter.
- Heat up a non-stick pan at low heat. Lightly coat the pan by using a brush, dipped from the batter onto the pan to form the thin wrapper. If you’d like you can also carefully pour the batter in. The brushing technique just helps make sure you have a nice even and thin wrapper.
- Once the edges start peeling, carefully take this off the pan or flip over a plate.
Great to use right away, especially great for fresh lumpia, or fried. This creates that delicately iconic wrapper we all know so well. If you’d like to store these for longer, wrap with cling wrap or ziplock bag making sure no air gets in. Place in the fridge for almost a week to almost a month.
Where to buy lumpia wrappers? These can be found in most supermarkets or ( freshest are usually found in dry markets) dry markets in Asia. Some can also find these frozen in Asian specialty stores. How to wrap lumpia? Place the choice of filling slightly in the end, or an inch or so high before the end of one tip, spread the filling horizontally, evenly, making sure you have enough space on the sides to fold over later. Roll until you meet the middle of the wrapper, fold the ends towards the middle, then keep rolling until you meet the end. Seal with water or to make it crispier, seal by brushing a cornstarch slurry at the end. After rolling these, you can freeze them while these have not yet been fried, placed in the freezer right after. Only to be removed then baked, fried or air-fried (see *Questions below to learn more on how to cook frozen lumpia). You can also fry these then keep in an airtight container or microwavable lunch box to reheat in the office if you’d like these ready to go.
Lumpia Wrappers vs Spring Roll wrappers
Lumpia Wrappers are under the “Spring Roll” category. Most of the time one might wonder if Egg rolls and Lumpia are the same. One is more commonly associated with FIlipino ‘egg rolls’ which are called “Lumpia”. These are thinner, have a more delicate feel to them, are made of all purpose flour or less commonly, rice flour. Packed with either savory or sweet fillings, these can also be fried or eaten as is. The other, which is named an “Egg Roll” is almost always fried and is more commonly used/seen in Chinese cuisine, filled with savory meat and or vegetables with a side of sweet and sour sauce, hot mustard, or duck sauce.
Lumpia wrapper substitutes ?
- A good substitute for spring roll wrappers would be filo pastry which is very close, just a bit flakier.
- Wonton wrappers or Dumpling wrappers; might be too small but they can also be good substitutes for finger food/appetizer sized lumpias. When wired these might have bubble-like formations on the outside.
- Another substitute would be rice paper. Though you don’t get the smooth golden crisp outside lumpia wrappers have. These are good enough for those who crave a quick snack. Do also note that the fillings should be wrapped properly ( careful not to poke any holes with these) to avoid any of the fillings from getting pushed out.
Types of Lumpia
How to use spring roll wrappers ? ( How to use lumpia wrappers ?) Aside from the typical small savory appetizers you see at parties, or those meaty wrapped side dishes in ‘a full meal’ set. There are a lot more ways to enjoy and use these wrappers. Here are the most common lumpia variations :
- Lumpia shanghai – lumpia filled with ground pork and beef or just pork, a mix of vegetables and aromatics, sauteed with seasonings and sauces. Fried until these looklike golden aromatic blocks. Served as a snack,or as a rice topper when made into a medium or jumbo size. These can also be filled with other types of meats, a rare substitution of just beef for beef lumpia, or minced chicken, shrimp, even a mix of seafood.
- Vegetable Lumpia recipe – similar to lumpiang shanghai but only filled with vegetables, usually replacing the meat with toge ( mung bean sprouts ) or shredded cabbage.
- Vegetarian Fresh Lumpia – or “Fresh Lumpia” is lumpia that is not fried and is almost always filled with vegetables and tofu as the meat replacement. These are also usually doused in a savory sweet sauce made of aromatics, peanut (optional), sauces, and cornstarch to thicken. Topped with some raw crushed garlic, peanuts, and cilantro. There are some restaurants that add cooked ground pork into the lumpiang sariwa.
- The simple snack-type lumpia are “Dynamite” which is green long chili “siling haba” giving the chili a slit, some remove the seeds before adding in cheese inside. Wrap using a small lumpia wrapper ( some simply cut the large wrapper in half ). Then fry. This creates a sweet and slightly spicy, very cheesy afternoon snack.
- Dessert recipes using spring roll wrappers? The most popular being “Turon” which is a ripened banana with or without langka ( jackfruit ) or brown sugar as its sweetener, fried to perfection, sometimes adding a sprinkle of more brown sugar after it’s fried. More modern versions include; using the wrappers and filling these with apple pie fillings, cheesecake, chocolate, s’mores, and many more.
Questions ?
- Lumpia wrapper calories ?
A serving can have around 30 calories.
- Lumpia wrappers carbs ?
It has around 4 grams of carbs per serving.
- Are lumpia wrappers gluten free ?
No these are not. Though depending on the brand you can also find spring roll wrappers gluten free. Or make homemade wrappers using gluten free flour or rice flour.
- How to cook frozen lumpia ?
Make sure to preheat the oven ( to around 350°F or 175°C ), air fryer, or make sure the oil is hot enough at medium heat. No need to thaw, just make sure to place these evenly and to not overcrowd the pot/oven/fryer. Cook for 7 – 10 minutes until these turn out colden and crisp.
When baking or using the airfryer make sure to use a liner and give these a brush of oil to make sure it turns extra crisp. You can also flip these halfway to make sure these cooks evenly.
- How to make lumpia wrapper soft again?
Or How to soften lumpia wrappers ? Place a damp cloth over the wrappers. And keep these at room temperature and wait until it’s moistened. Or after placing these in a towel, place in a microwave for 20 – 30 seconds just so these feel moisturized. Repeat if needed.
- How to preserve spring roll wrappers ?
To keep these fresh wrappers ‘still fresh’ once you’ve bought them, keep them in the plastic and wrap this with a damp towel then back in the fridge. This technique can keep these moist for almost a week. But if you’d like you can also place these in the freezer in an airtight plastic bag, thaw this out and cover with a damp towel like the instructions above.
Yummy Recipes
These delicate white thin circular sheets can cover a number of different fillings. All being equally delicious, the difference being how savory, meaty, or sweet the filling might be. You can be as simple or as creative, to crispy fried or how fresh, light, and ‘healthy’ you like this to be. Check out these Yummy “lumpia wrapper recipes :
- Vegetable Lumpia
- Lumpia Shanghai
- Cheesy Seafood Lumpia or the more affordable and easy to make Cheesy Tuna Lumpia
- Lumpiang Itlog ( Egg Lumpia )
- Cheesy Corned Beef Lumpia ( lumpia filled with corned beef and vegetables )
- Dynamite Lumpia ( green chillies filled with cheese wrapped in the wrapper )
- Lumpiang Sariwa with Fresh Wrapper and Sauce ( homemade lumpia wrapper and lumpia sauce )
