for the love of lumpia

Lumpia is my favorite food in the universe, hands down. I first had it in 3rd grade, at Slater Elementary School in Mountain View, California. We were having a World Day, where we brought in different foods from countries all over the world. My mom made flan. (Not that we're Spanish or Mexican or Latino in any way but I think it was assigned. But she loves flan, so maybe it was her choice.) We went to the Philippines (not really, just the little stand) and an amazing individual had brought in lumpia (pronounced loom-pee-ah). Now I don't know who that amazing individual was, but she/he changed my life that day. No longer could I be satisfied with Chinese take-out, or even our favorite Mountain View restaurant, Tien Fu (so much more on this place in another entry). Because that first experience with lumpia has been my best food experience yet. "What IS this thing that looks like a spring roll but tastes like the spice islands?" I have yet to taste lumpia as crunchy and full of such flavor. My life got better just in one bite.

2 years later we moved to Okinawa, Japan. And Jason Pepperoni's mom brought in LUMPIA for his birthday, instead of cupcakes (his name wasn't really pepperoni but it sounded a lot like that...). I thought I died and went to heaven, for lack of a better expression. Nobody in the class wanted to try it because they were in 5th grade and were, well, stupid. Didn't want to try something new, that wasn't pizza or subs or Lunchables--ewww remember those? So Jason and I ate them. ALL. Dipping away into his mom's special sauce, the wrapper crunching off and sticking to our lips. Lunch time came, and I couldn't even eat my packed lunch.

Ok, so in case you're wondering and if you haven't Googled it yet, lumpia is the Filipino version of the Chinese spring roll. It's also popular in Indonesia- especially in Java, where I hear they have lumpia STANDS. Like hot dog stands here. Imagine that! They have a very thin wrapper, so they're not bulky and full of cellophane noodles and they don't collapse when you dip them into sauce. And you DON'T dip them into soy sauce. You see, lumpia has its own special sauce. You can find recipes for it online, but it's not the same as my first time (nothing really is, right?) tasting it. Ok, so it's a very thin, very crispy fried spring roll, tightly rolled with a stir fry of pork, asian spices, and select veggies, finely diced. They are rolled together tightly and placed in very hot oil, where they fry up and become nicely brown in color. Oh my mouth is watering!

I hadn't had lumpia in a very long time. Then about 3 weeks ago I told Jeremy that it was my favorite food, but it's so uncommon to find lumpia here in the U.S. that I guess I had just given up. I hadn't even tasted it in so long, when a few years ago my dad J came home from work with 2 Ziploc bags, and I'm talkin' FREEZER size Ziplocs, where dozens of lumpia were neatly arranged in rows, layer upon layer. Turns out he had befriended a couple cleaning ladies at his office, great friendly man that he is, and they were Filipino!!! They took such a liking to him that before their vacation they made sure to make him an extra batch of lumpia, since he had raved about it to them before, saying it was his daughter's favorite! So he brought them home and we fried them up, and they were wonderful. But that was like 2005...far too long ago. So I told Jeremy about lumpia, and I walked all over DC trying to find a place that sells it. I got nothin'. And was pretty disappointed. I talk a lot about food, and that's pretty much our whole relationship, since we both love great food. But he works with food for a living, and for me it's my biggest passion, but I don't work at it 12-14 hours a day like him. So I wasn't even sure if my lumpia talk was really sinking in.

But it was. Because when I went up to Pennsylvania to his parents' house for a visit 3 weeks ago, his mom surprised me with the idea of us making lumpia together! I was so excited I almost cried. Nobody in my life has offered to make lumpia with me, ever. And a lot of people know how much I love it. But I never thought to make it myself. It's so...ethnic. Exotic. Exciting. Not your average appetizer. But Jeremy's mom is the perfect person to make it with, I happily thought. Because she's always open to a new food experience. She's not one to shy away from something exotic. She was the one who introduced me to jicama! And the first radish I've ever had was at her house! In one of her salads! So I knew it was going to be a GREAT night. And it was. I don't have the recipe we used, but I did copy down a sauce recipe from a Filipino cookbook at Barnes and Noble. Sadly, they only had one Filipino cookbook. How are people going to find out about it? Not everyone can travel to the Philippines. And once they do, McDonald's would probably be one restaurant they hit up, sad to say..

There's always such a bonding experience that takes place when two women get together , up into their elbows in the kitchen and cook. The look on my face when Jeremy's mom whipped out spring roll wrappers and a lumpia recipe and said "Let's make lumpia!" must have been pretty darn excited. We prepared the lumpia filling together, chopping veggies and stir frying them with pork, then rolling the mixture into the wrappers like a mini burrito and frying them up. I glanced up while right in the midst of wrapping and she had a look of sheer glee on her face. It was a perfect snapshot in my mind that I will never forget. 3 sons, one husband, and now she is finally getting some girl time.She was meant for daughters! It was great to do something with her that we'll remember for years to come. And the lumpia was excellent!!! Crisp and crunchy, filled with pork, mushrooms, peppers, asparagus, spring onion, freshly grated ginger, carrots, even purple cabbage! What gorgeous colors, too. And a kitchen full of Pampered Chef gadgets! She is a woman after my mom's own heart. It was a treasure to see her enjoying herself, and I thought back to all the thousands of memories I have with my mom, and how special the bond is between mothers and daughters. For a moment, I think Jeremy's mom might have felt that specialness. :)


Pictures are coming--just when I figure out how to upload them to a post...
Shannon