Vegan Lumpiang Shanghai (Filipino Spring Rolls)

5 from 2 votes

Here in the Philippines we have a famous dish called Lumpiang Shanghai that's basically fried spring rolls (lumpia) in a 'Shanghai' style as we call it because of Chinese influence in the past. Lumping Shanghai is commonly filled with meat and some vegetables but for these spring rolls, I made some tofu mince to go with mixed veggies. These can be baked too!

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Total Time 50

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Chinese, Filipino

Servings rolls

Calories 42 kcal

Ingredients

Filling (see notes)

1 tbsp neutral oil
2 cups raw shredded carrot
1 cup thinly sliced green beans bitswelas
1 cup raw shredded cabbage
1 onion thinly sliced
2 tbsp spring onions chopped
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt

Minced Tofu

1 tbsp oil
2 blocks extra firm tofu (around 240g each), excess liquid drained--you can opt to use a tofu press
1.5 tbsp soy sauce or to taste
1 tbsp dark mushroom soy sauce for colour and extra flavour, optional

For wrapping and frying

15 round flour wrappers mine were 6” in diameter, thawed at room temperature (for gluten free option click here)
Neutral cooking oil for frying
Sweet chili sauce for dipping or any dipping sauce of choice
Small bowl of room temperature water

Instructions

Cooking the Filling

If you're using plant-based ground, simply season this. No need to cook the plant based meat. See notes for seasoning tips.
If you're using tofu and vegetables, heat a large pan over medium. Add the oil then sauté the onion and garlic. When cooked, add in the vegetables and season with salt. Mix well and cook for 8-10 minutes over medium heat until the vegetables are cooked through and water has seeped out of the vegetables. Remove from the pan.
Depending on whether there is a lot of liquid, you can strain the vegetable mix.
In the same pan, heat another tablespoon of oil. Add in the tofu and crumble into small pieces using a fork.
Season with the soy sauce, salt, and mushroom soy sauce (if using). Cook for 10-12 minutes moving around every 2 minutes until tofu starts to dry up and then turn into a mince.
Once lightly browned and cooked through, turn off the heat then add in the vegetable mix. Mix well.
Transfer to a bowl. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes.

Folding the Spring Rolls

You can check out my video below to see how to wrap spring rolls!
Make sure the wrappers are thawed at room temperature. This is to ensure they’re pliable and not dry. Prepare the wrappers by separating them from one another. Prepare a small bowl of room temperature water as well.
Get one piece of wrapper.
Add in 2 tbsp* of the filling on the bottom of the wrapper. *Note: the amount of filling will depend on the size of your wrappers.
Make sure to press the filling to ensure it's compact.
Slowly roll to bottom flap to the top. Dab with a little water.
Fold both sides towards the center.
Fold to roll to the top and sealing the top edge with water.
You can refer to the photos or video for a better idea on how to wrap these spring rolls.
Repeat this for the rest of the wrappers until you've wrapped all your rolls. You can also freeze uncooked rolls. See the steps in the notes below.

Cooking the Rolls

Heat a deep frying pan with oil enough to submerge the spring rolls. Once hot, place a few rolls.
Cook over medium heat. Flip after a few minutes to cook the other side. Once both sides are golden brown, remove from the oil. Leave on a strainer or on a plate lined with some paper towels to drain any excess oil.
Let cool for a few minutes and slice into half, if desired. Enjoy while hot and dip in your favourite dipping sauce! I love mine with some bottled Thai sweet chili sauce.
Baking option: You can also bake them by brushing the rolls with some oil before placing them on a lined baking tray and baking them in the oven for 40 minutes at 400F, flipping halfway through. They will of course not turn as evenly golden brown and juicy, but still very crispy!

WATCH Video

Notes

Filling

You're free to use plant-based ground meat or mince and season this. No need to cook the plant based meat. Simple season the plant-based ground. You can add some soy sauce, salt, pepper, bit of sugar, chopped/diced onions, minced garlic. This will yield a meatier lumping shanghai which is closer to the real thing!

Wrappers

If using frozen wrappers, make sure to thaw them well at room temperature so they're easy to work with.
For this recipe, I used fresh spring roll wrappers or lumpia wrappers that I get from a local market. If you're unable to get fresh wrappers like these, there are lots of frozen/packaged options you can find in freezer/fridge sections at your local asian store or grocery. They can also come in square shapes!

Baking option:

You can also bake them by brushing the rolls with some oil before placing them on a lined baking tray and baking them in the oven for 40 minutes at 400F, flipping halfway through. They will of course not turn as evenly golden brown and juicy, but still very crispy!

Freezing rolls:

Uncooked rolls: place the rolls on a tray (make sure they're spaced apart) and freeze for 5 to 6 hours or until hard before transferring them bags. Fry the rolls from frozen until golden brown and crisp. No need to thaw.
Cooked rolls: place the rolls on a tray (make sure they're spaced apart) and freeze for 5 to 6 hours or until hard before transferring them bags. Pan-fry or oven toast from frozen until cooked through.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

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