''Lumpiang gulay'', also known as vegetable ''lumpia'', is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

appetizer consisting of julienned or cubed

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

with ground meat or shrimp in a thin lumpia wrapper made from rice flour that is deep-fried. A notable variant of ''lumpiang gulay'' is ''lumpiang togue'', which is made mostly with ''togue'' (

mung bean sprout Mung bean sprouts are a culinary vegetable grown by sprouting mung beans. They can be grown by placing and watering the sprouted beans in the shade until the hypocotyls grow long. Mung bean sprouts are extensively cultivated and consumed in East ...

s). Its origin is of both Spanish and Chinese influenced. ''Lumpiang gulay'' is a Filipino version of chimichanga. Despite the name, ''lumpiang gulay'' is not a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

dish by default, though vegetarian ''lumpia'', a vegetarian variant, can be created from the basic recipe.

Description

Typical ingredients in ''lumpiang gulay'' include

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...

s, ''kamote'' (

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

, shallots,

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...

or lettuce,

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es, ''singkamas'' ( jicama), ''sitaw'' (

green bean Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean (''Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis ...

s), ''sayote'' ( chayote), and ''togue'' (

s). It is mixed with a small amount of ground meat, meat strips, and/or shrimp. Fish flakes can also be used. The meat is simmered for a few minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients. They are then wrapped in lumpia wrapper and deep-fried. The vegetables can alternatively be stir-fried. The ingredients of ''lumpiang gulay'' are roughly the same as the ingredients of '' lumpiang sariwa'' variants, except that ''lumpiang gulay'' is fried. It is traditionally eaten dipped in vinegar or ''

agre dulce Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine and cooking methods. It is commonly used in East Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been used in England since the Middle Ages. Dickson Wright, Clarissa (2011) ''A Histor ...

'', but other types of dipping sauces can also be used. It is sometimes also known as ''lumpiang prito'', a generic name for any fried ''lumpia'' versions. ''Lumpiang gulay'' is distinguished from other types of ''lumpia'' (especially ''

lumpiang Shanghai ''Lumpiang shanghai'' (also known as Filipino spring rolls, or simply ''lumpia'' or ''lumpiya''), is a Filipino deep-fried appetizer consisting of a mixture of ''giniling'' (ground pork) wrapped in a thin egg crêpe. ''Lumpiang Shanghai'' is re ...

'') in that it has a greater ratio of vegetables to meat. It is also typically thicker in diameter than ''lumpiang Shanghai'' because it has more fillings. Other types of ''lumpia'' like '' lumpiang ubod'', '' lumpiang labong'', and '' lumpiang singkamas'' are generally regarded as different dishes, as they can be served fresh or fried, unlike ''lumpiang gulay'' which is always served as ''lumpiang prito'' (deep-fried).

Variants

Lumpiang togue

A popular variant of ''lumpiang gulay'' is ''lumpiang togue'', also known as "bean sprouts ''lumpia''" or "bean sprouts egg roll". It is prepared roughly the same as ''lumpiang gulay'' with mostly the same ingredients. The main difference is that ''lumpiang togue'' uses more ''togue'' (mung bean sprouts) as the main ingredients, replacing the main filler of ''lumpiang gulay'' (usually cabbage).

Vegetarian lumpia

Despite the name, ''lumpiang gulay'' is typically not vegetarian. However, vegetarian versions can be made from both ''lumpiang gulay'' and ''lumpiang togue'' which do not use meat at all. They typically also include

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

s or ''tokwa'' ( tofu). These are differentiated as "vegetarian ''lumpia''", which can be served fresh or fried. A

pescetarian Pescetarianism (; sometimes spelled pescatarianism) is the practice of incorporating seafood into an otherwise vegetarian diet. Pescetarians may or may not consume other animal products such as eggs and dairy products. Approximately 3% of adult ...

version can also be made with just chopped shrimp or fish flakes. Unlike ''lumpiang gulay'' and ''lumpiang togue'', vegetarian ''lumpia'' can be served either as ''lumpiang prito'' (fried) or ''lumpiang sariwa'' (fresh).

Vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

versions of ''lumpiang gulay'' can also be created. Though the lumpia wrappers used will need to be the vegan versions (without eggs).

In popular culture

The vegetarian lumpia was featured on the Netflix TV series '' Street Food'' in the

Cebu, Philippines Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

episode.

References