Who said Filipino food is unhealthy? If you haven’t already, hop on over to Tangled Noodle‘s site to read her essay on Filipino food. I couldn’t have written it better myself. In her post one of the things that Tracey mentions is that many people have a misconception that Filipino food is unhealthy. Yes, we love our pork (especially our deep fried pork), and our steaming bowls of white rice, but there’s also a number of deliciously healthy alternatives. One of them, is my dish for this month’s Kulinarya Cooking Club. Malou, from Skip to Malou and Cherrie from Sweet Cherrie Pie have brought us this month’s challenge. Lumpia refers to spring rolls and most of the ones I have tried have been filled with either pork and vegetables, or ubod (heart of palm). Most lumpia is either fried, or served fresh with a crepe like wrapper (check out Tangled Noodle’s post for this).
My version is called Lumpiang Hubad, literally, meaning “naked spring roll” which is how we used to eat it at home. A medley of vegetables including cabbage, sweet potato, carrots and string beans, along with pieces of lean pork and some prawns are cubed and served over fresh lettuce leaves – I like to serve it “sang choi bao” style – a tribute to the fact that lumpia originated from our Chinese neighbors . A mixture of brown sugar, garlic and soy sauce, thickened with cornstarch is served along side this. For an added crunch, chopped peanuts are served to finish the dish.
If you are interested to learn more about Filipino cuisine, check out the sites from my fellow Kulinarya Members…
To stay updated on the latest goings-on in Philippine cuisine – follow @filipinofood on twitter and check out myfilipinokitchen for essays and links to blogs around the world who promote our wonderful cuisine.
Finally – if you are a Kulinarya member or have a blog promoting Philippine cuisine and I have overlooked you, pasensya nalang! Please email me and I will include you on my links page. 🙂
Lumpiang Hubad Sauce
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon crush garlic
- Lettuce leaves for garnish
- Combine all brown sugar, cornstarch and soy sauce and dissolve this in water. Cook until thickened. Add the fresh garlic.
Lumpiang Hubad
An Original Blog Monster Recipe, serves 6
- 50 ml vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 250 grams pork shoulder (you can use belly or loin), cubed
- 100 grams string beans, cut into 1/2 cm pieces
- 1 carrot, cubed, cut into 1/2 cm pieces
- 1 potato, cubed, cut into 1/2 cm pieces
- 1 sweet potato, cubed, cut into 1/2 cm pieces
- 1/4 cabbage head, shredded
- 125 ml water (optional: dissolved this in achuete water)
- 150 grams prawns, peeled, cubed
- 2 tablespoons ground peanuts
- Fish sauce to taste
- In a wok, saute the onion and the garlic over medium heat until translucent. Add some salt and pepper. Add the pork and fry until lightly browned.
- Add the string beans, carrots, potato, and sweet potato and cook until the vegetables have softened slightly but still maintain some bite, around 10 minutes over a medium heat.
- Add the cabbage and continue to saute until the cabbage has wilted. At this point, add the water to help cook the vegetables.
- When the vegetables are done, add the prawns and cook for a few minutes.
- Season with some fish sauce and salt and pepper.
- Top with some ground peanuts, and serve on fresh lettuce leaves and with the lumpia sauce on the side.
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I completely agree with you on this one. I just came back from a weekend in Manila (only 3 days ago!) and I am in love with Filipino food. It’s completely misunderstood and underrated. I’m in love with adobo and palabok, and I think pretty soon Filipino food is going to pick up like a storm in the food blogging world =) It’s about time!
Hi Judy – am glad that you enjoyed the food – yes that’s definitely one thing I miss the most about the Philippines. I think you are right about Filipino food gaining ground in the blogging world – at least I hope so!
A stunning, fresh looking dish you’ve created there -I shall recreate it some time (and I’ll take much joy in knowing I’m cooking something Filipino!). Your food photography, too, is glorious.
Thank you very much for the link Tris. I just realized I haven’t put a link to your site in my list. So I did. Hurray to Filipino Food!
Your Lumpiang Hubad pics are so wonderful, feels like grabbing a fork and scooping some of the filling!
I remember my grandmother’s lumpiang hubad, yours looks so delicious. Great pictures 🙂
hi trissa, i just got back from eating my way through manila, and i did put on the pounds! but we do have a choice, right? and your lumpia is the perfect example of healthy but still delicious filipino food. will make this soon!
Love that cos lettuce idea – no need to roll up 😉 !!!
I don’t know much about filipino food….so I never thought it was unhealthy =] haha
This looks delicious though! And it looks really pretty too- with the bright colours =]
You always have the most amazing food on your site Trissa. BTW, how did your teaching go? I’m sure all your students loved the macarons they made. I hope you got lots of feedback, will you be doing more?
I’ve never tried this version of lumpia before but I will definitely give it a go!
This looks super healthy. The colours are bursting. I am sure it is so flavoursome. Delicious! Great post and great photos….
I love how vibrant your lumpiang hubad is – it just screams healthy! This lumpia I won’t mind seeing naked. (My lame attempt on a pun here, haha) Have a great day, Trissa!
Trissa, this look so refreshing…I love this for the hot days, which just fit perfectly just now 🙂
Great to see this after reading the recent Tangled Noodle post. This dish looks so fresh and delicious and flies nicely in the face of those haters! Love it!
I am going to be trying blog monster’s recipe. Love lettuce wraps, and this is just so different to what I have made before. Pictures are really gorgeous too.
Thank you so much for the shout-out! 😎
Your lumpiang hubad beautifully demonstrates that Filipino cooking is healthy, fresh, colorful and so very flavorful. I will most definitely try Blog Monster’s recipe! You and the Kulinarya Club are doing such a marvelous job introducing Filipino food to those who are new to it, but also showing those of us who already love it, the many ways one dish can be prepared. The food of the Philippines is much like its people – versatile and adaptable! 8-D
I have had loempia here in The Netherlands and I love it. I bet it’s nothing like your version though.
I always enjoy dropping by your blog Trissa. Your recipes are so original and interesting.
Magda
Yes, people do tend to think that Filipino food is all unhealthy when that is actually so untrue! And this is a classic example! Our cuisine rocks! Will check out those links you posted 🙂
YUM! Love Fili f00d- tris looks like it would be fab for a week night- so healthy too!
I love reading all these filopino recipes and through this cooking club, Ive actually learnt so much about the culture as well.
This looks great. I love the idea of serving it sang choi bao style. It’s always so fascinating to learn more about Filipino cuisine through your club, although my heart still beats for crisp pata! lol
I completely forgot about this dish. We used to have this as a child. Great recipe.
I like the name: “Naked Spring Rolls”!! I don’t know much about Pinoy cuisine and it’s nice to learn from the monthly posts.
Thanks so much for this post! I’m a regular reader of your blog and I’m getting ready to take a trip to the Philippines but have had a hard time finding information on the web about the food and culture so I’m very glad you posted some links that I’ll definitely follow. The Lumpiang Hubad looks fantastic!
Trissa, this is the best lumpiang hubad I’ve seen!
I have had this at Thai restaurants and always thot it was an their creation :))Great to know that there is a similar Filipino dish as well.. I love the freshness of it and the fun in making each roll to your taste :))
These lettuce wraps look quite delicious! It’s unfortunate but there’s not much information about Filipino food, so people name the most popularized and adapted dishes to represent their views on what it is. I’m glad to see you featuring more recipes on the cuisine you grew up on.
I love how fresh and light this looks, Trissa. Definitely not unhealthy. I’m quite the fan of lumpia, so it tickles me to hear that it originated from my homeland.
i really love your plate trissa! and your lumpiang looks so beautiful and fresh
interesting dish! i like all the root veggies in there, and of course, the pork. i’m so glad you posted this!
I love loempia, and I love your Ikea bamboo bowls – makes me feel a touch of warmth…as I have the same in my kitchen. This ‘naked’ loempia sounds fab too
This looks so interesting and colourful! I love the green of the lettuce, looks beautiful 🙂
I like lettuce wraps too…but the filling is usually something like stir-fried diced chicken.
Yours looks very delicious!
Mmmm….looks healthy and delicious. This looks like easier than the wrapped one. Thanks very much for sharing.
I’ve never had or heard of this dish, but I love the spices and seasonings you’ve used, and adore the idea of the peanuts.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend daaaahling.
*kisses* HH
Beautiful!!!
Wow! You have such a beautiful blog and the photography is absolutely to die for! Two thumbs up!
Trissa I love love lumpiang hubad. My mums friend makes it for us all the time. I am yet to make my lumpia dish for the month. The blog monsters recipe is very colourful and I’m sure very very tasty.
We had this at Trissa’s (wherelse?!) the other night and it was delicious, I ate so much, it was just like mom’s!
I’m sure the textures in this dish are great – I love food served with beautiful crisp lettuce.
I love this already! It’s like san choy bao, filipino style 😀 Yum!
I always think that every culture has different dishes, either “naughty” or “healthy”.
Actually, I seldom have any chances of encountering authentic Filipino food here in Brisbane. What a shame~
Glad that you guys have posts on introducing Filipino cuisine to us.
Yummo it looks really delicious. I’d eat this any day and the fried pork you mentioned earlier sounds just as delicious!
Mmmm…crunchy and refreshing. Also perfect for warmer weather and languid assembly, picking at and sharing with friends =)
Wow, that looks nice! It makes me hungry.
Ooh, looks refreshingly delish! With a few tweaks here and there, I can make my own Lumpiang Hubad too! It reminds me of the Korean lettuce wraps. 🙂
Glad to see your post for Kulinarya. Being a co-host this month, I’m checking each Kulinarya member haha… but seriously, yes I agree with you that we Filipinos know how to eat healthy as well.
Nice looking lumpiang hubad you have here… and yeah, btw my blog’s name is called Skip to Malou na. I bowed out as a diva more than 7 months ago. I haven’t changed my website yet since skiptomalou.com is not available. I know that there’s a disconnect with my site and my blog and hopefull will remedy that soon. but thanks for the mention just the same!
I adore Fillo food so I feel like I’ve won the lottery happening upon your blog with so many great references to more info on this food.
Love this recipe and am going to give it a try.
Thanks so much
Anna
I love “san choi bau” type of foods! The ingredients sound delicious in this! Thanks Trissa!