What is Fresh Lumpia?
Before we left for our trip one of the last things I asked my mom to make was Fresh Lumpia. Lumpia is one of those dishes that is synonymous with Filipino cuisine. The wrap is made with a simple flour and water mixture and cooked like a crepe. It’s then filled with some lightly sauteed veggies and fresh crisp lettuce. What makes it not so healthy is the brown sauce that it’s served with. It’s brown sugar that has been seasoned with some soy sauce and thickened with corn starch.
How to Make Fresh Lumpia
The filling is my mom’s recipe and she is willing to share it with all of you. What she used in this version was some butternut squash, green beans, carrots and some prawns. It’s simply seasoned with just garlic, onion and salt and pepper.
For the wrap we used some turmeric and malugay (moringa) flavored coconut wraps from nucoco. This makes the fresh lumpia more nutrient dense and filling.
Cashew Date Sauce
For the sauce that is where I wanted to change it up. Instead of just using sugar as the base of the sauce I used cashew butter instead and sweetened it with date syrup. It still had that sweetness I remember, but such a better sauce to have instead.
I hope you enjoy this fresh lumpia recipe. It’s really accessible and versatile. For other healthy-fied Filipino recipes you can also try my Champorado, Halo Halo, Palitaw or Pancit. If you make any of them don’t forget to tag me on Instagram. I love seeing the recipes out in the wild.
Fresh Lumpia with Cashew Date Sauce
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Filipino
Servings: 10 Wraps
The Filling
- 1 Cup Prawns cut into one cm pieces
- 1 Cup Butternut Squash peeled and cut into cubes
- 1 Cup Green Beans cut into one inch slivers
- 1/2 Cup Carrots sliced into thin sticks
- 1/2 Cup Diced Onion
- 2 Garlic Cloveds crushed and minced
- salt and pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
The Wrap
- 1 Packet Turmeric Coconut Wrap
- 1 Packet Moringa Coconut Wrap
- 1 Head Green Leaf Lettuce washed and dried
The Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Cashew Butter
- 1/4 Cup Warm Water
- 1 Tablespoon Date Syrup
- 1 Clove Garlic Minced
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Chopped Cashew Nuts
Make the Filling
In a wok or large fry pan stir fry the prawns with about a teaspoon of oil and some season with salt and pepper just until it turns pink. Take out and set aside.
In the same wok add in all the oil and the onions and garlic. Cook until fragrant and then add in the butternut squash and cook until it’s soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Then add in the beans and carrots and cook for another 2 minutes to heat through. It’s nice to keep them crunchy for texture. Add the prawns back in and stir fry for a minute.