Wednesday, November 25, 2009

LUMPIANG SARIWA (Fresh Vegetable Roll Recipe)

Lumpiang Sariwa or Fresh Vegetable Roll, is a dish composed of different vegetables. Can also be considered a one dish meal because of the meat and shrimp in it. It could be eaten wrapped in lumpia wrapper or uwrapped like a stirfried vegetable dish and still with a sauce.

There are just so many versions of this dish around. Some recipes vary in the kind of vegetables added to it, other versions use Ubod (heart of a palm tree) and carrots only. and some recipes vary on the mixture of the sauce – it could be salty or sweet. In our family, we grew up eating this food and it is one of the many favorites of the family. I can have this any time of the day. And we prefer our sauce a bit sweet with the right blend of peanut butter. And we want to use fresh lumpia wrapper bought in the market (just be sure you buy fresh and still soft), not the frozen ones.

If you’re a fresh lumpia or vegetable lover, you gotta try this version. We just had this a week ago, and it was just soooo delicious.. In fact, I made a big batch, gave some to my Nanay and siblings, and we had it for lunch & dinner, and kept the rest of the batch in the refrigerator, and I had this for almost a week, or whenever I wanted vegetable in a meal. I think ‘am gonna cook this again next month – that is, if I can find fresh lettuce, coriander (wansuy) and fresh lumpia wrappers (not frozen), for without this three ingredients, it won’t be as delicious.

Ingredients
• VEGETABLE FILLING:

• 2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped

• 2 big onions, finely sliced

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1/4 k ground chicken meat

• 1/4 k shrimp, peeled, deveined and minced

• 4-5 tablespoon fish sauce

• 1 medium cabbage shredded, (approx 3/4 k)

• 2-3 large carrots, julienned

• 2 medium chayote, julienned

• 3 medium potato, julienned

• 2 medium sweet potato, julienned

• ½ cup Kinstay coarsely chopped

• 1/2 cup water

• Salt and Pepper


Should you decide to use a homemade wrapper, here is the recipe.
WRAPPER:
• 1 pc egg

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup flour

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

• ¾c to 1 cup water


SAUCE:
• 1 cup water

• 1/2 to ¾ cups sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 6 tbsp soy sauce

• ½ cup peanut butter

• 1 to 2 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water


GARNISH/TOPPINGS:
• 10 pcs or more romaine lettuce leaves

• 1 bunch ciltantro/coriander (wansuy)

• ½ cup garlic, finely chooped

• cloves garlic


Directions
VEGETABLE FILLING:
In a large casserole, saute garlic and onions in vegetable oil. Add ground chicken and then the shrimp, sauté then add the fish sauce, let it simmer for 2 minutes then add water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Add the potato, sweet potato, stir well, then add carrots and chayote and stir-fry 5-10 minutes (or until they are half cooked) then add the cabbage and kinstay, cook for another 5 minutes. Its ok if it tends to be a bit dry, we won’t be needing the sauce of the vegetables. Drain in a strainer and let it cool.

SAUCE:
Combine water, soy sauce, sugar and a bit of salt in a small pot and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Simmer over low heat until it boils, then get the peanut butter and put some of the cooking liquid sauce in it and stir (this will help melt the peanut butter, so that when it is mixed with the cooking sauce, it will blend in smoothly). Season to taste (this will depend on how seet or salty you like the sauce to be. Then get the dissolved cornstarch and mix it with the cooking sauce until it thickens. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm. Transfer into a gravy bowl just before serving (you may add a bit of finely chopped garlic into the sauce before serving it).

WRAP:
Combine egg and salt. Gradually add flour & salt, alternating with water. Beat with a whisk until smooth. Beat in oil gradually. Refrigerate batter 1 hour. If you want a thinner wrapper, add some more water gradually.

To cook, brush a nonstick pan with oil and place over low heat. Ladle in 2 tablespoons batter, swirl to cover pan and pour off excess. Cook until the wrapper can be lifted with a spatula without sticking (if batter bubbles, the pan is too hot). Turn and cook just to warm the other side. Set aside and cover with a towel to keep warm.

TO ASSEMBLE:
Place a lettuce leaf and coriander in the center of a wrapper. Add 2 tablespoons filling. Fold bottom of wrapper over filling; wrap one side over filling and roll to the other side. The edge of the lettuce will stick out. Seal edge with water or sauce. Wrap each lumpia in wax paper. Serve with sauce and minced garlic in the side. Enjoy!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Busy, Busy, Busy ...

‘Been pretty busy this past days, tied-up with a lot of things…
family, small business, chores, errands, etc. etc. ….

But I’ll be back soon, promise ...  :)