Kulinarya Cooking Club: Fresh Lumpia (Spring Roll)

I am pleased to have joined a group of Filipno cooks who enjoy writing just as much as enjoy cooking. The Kulinarya Cooking Club showcases each month a unique theme for the recipes to be shared by its members. For our year opener this month, our hosts, Thea of Words of Nosh and Pearl of Sassy Chef decided to challenge us with a healthy dish or a healthy version of a dish we'd love to serve for our birthday. Whoa! To me at least, that is quite a challenge! Hahaha! I must admit, I am not a healthy eater. I always go for a feel good veeerrrryyyy fiiiillllingggg food. Took me a while before I could decide on which dish to make. 
Eventually, I settled for what people have been requesting recently when we have get-togethers at home. May not be my favorite dish of all, but I'm not saying I don't like it. I love it and best of all our guests always love it too!  
For the filling, I did not include any meat and made it pure vegetables. Also, instead of making the fried spring rolls which is a staple in our celebrations, I will be sharing our recipe for Fresh Lumpia which is a new favorite. By "our" means I will have to give credit where credit is due. The wrapper as always is prepared by our Expat Nanny. I did not attempt to take away the spotlight from her! hahaha! Yes, she's our expert in the wrapper division! However, I do think that the recipe calls for far too much eggs. I guess I'll have to adjust this one when I got the chance. :)
So all in all, I can say, the dish is truly healthy with less oil and less fat!
Ingredients:
Filling
1 tbs minced garlic
2 tbs finely chopped onion
2 medium sweet potato, diced
1 medium potato, diced 
1 carrot, chopped
1 cup string beans, chopped
2 cups cabbage, chopped
2 tbs chopped parsley
1/4 cup frozen green peas
2 tbs vegetable oil
1/4 cup oyster sauce
salt and pepper to taste
crushed roasted peanut for garnish and sauce
chopped parsley for garnish (optional)


Wrapper
makes 25-30 8"-sized wrappers
25 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 can evaporated milk


Sauce
1 tbs vinegar
2 tbs soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs corn flour (diluted in 4 tbs water)
2 cups water
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
crushed peanuts


Method
To cook the filling:
Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add the garlic. Cook until soft then add the onion. 
When onion is soft and translucent, add the diced sweet potatoes. Stir fry for about 3 minutes then add the potatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes then add the carrots and string beans and sweet peas, stir fry for another 3 minutes.
Add the oyster sauce. Stir. Adjust taste as desired with salt and pepper.
Add the cabbage and cook for another 3-5 five minutes toss until vegetables and flavors are evenly distributed.
Turn off heat then add the parsley. Toss a few times to distribute the parsley evenly. The residual heat will cook and infuse its flavor into the vegetable mix. 
Transfer into a strainer to drain excess juices from the vegetables. 
To make the wrapper: 
In a bowl, beat eggs and add milk. Beat well until fully blended. 
Add the flour, continue beating until a smooth batter is formed. 
Heat the pan over low fire. Pour about 1/4 cup of the mixture into the pan.
Tilt the pan to distribute the batter evenly, forming a very thin crepe (like a thin pancake).
Once the edges start to lift off from the pan, turn over the wrapper to cook the topside.
When both sides are totally formed and dry, remove from pan.
Do the same with the rest of the mixture. 
You will be able to make about 25-30 wrappers.
To make the sauce:
combine all ingredients except the diluted corn flour and crushed peanuts in a pan and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 8-10 minutes. 
Adjust taste with salt, pepper and sugar if desired.
Adjust the heat to lowest setting then pour in the diluted corn starch. Stir and continue cooking for another 5 minutes or until desired consistency of the sauce is achieved.
Turn off heat and set aside to cool.
To serve and enjoy:

Each wrapper will be able to hold about 2 tbs of filling. To wrap, put the filling about a centimeter below the center. Form into a rectangular shape leaving about an inch on both sides of the wrapper free.
To close, fold the lower part over the filling, then fold both sides to the center, sealing the filling firmly.  
Roll the wrapper to forward to the direction of the upper part of the wrapper. 
Transfer to a plate and pour over with sauce and top with crushed peanuts and chopped parsley (optional).
Enjoy!


Mommy Tip: make sure to use a non stick pan when making the wrappers. I myself have a pan reserved for this use alone :)





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