A love story really.

Let me give you the Cliff Notes version of the history behind this recipe: Rebecca and I met in 1994 while working in the same department together at Kohl’s Department Store with Levi Bendover Slacks (no that’s not another employee) and people farting on our heads (2020 note-story to come in a few weeks) and through our mutual hatred of Levi and flatulent customers, we became the best of friends.

In December 1996, my ex-husband and I were invited to a Christmas party at Rebecca’s home, and let me tell you you have never lived until you’ve attended a party within a Filipino home.
The experience was one I wish to replicate every day of my life. Never have I met so many friendly people in my entire life in one gathering. We felt like family from the first party and each one we attend is like a family reunion.

But the genuine star of the party was the Filipino egg roll, also known as lumpia.
Not really like a Chinese egg roll but more like a taquito.

Ever since that fateful party, I have been requesting the egg roll for occasions such as but not limited to:

birthday parties

birthday gifts

baby showers

baby shower gifts

Christmas parties

Christmas gifts

summer get-togethers

fall get-togethers

random Friday dinners in the spring

Until one day in 2006 when Rebecca sat my mom and me down to teach us how to make lumpia for ourselves.

Then last year, I finally made them all by myself and found out that as labor-intensive as they can be, they aren’t as scary to make as I made them out to be.

It was as I was making them for a Super Bowl dinner I thought I could make these a four-ingredient recipe.

So without further adieu, here is my four-ingredient recipe take on Rebecca’s Filipino egg rolls.

I will also share her original recipe as well at the bottom of the post.

Rebecca’s Famous Egg Rolls (Lumpia)

1- egg roll wrappers (spring roll wrappers) I only used one package for two pounds of pork so do the math accordingly to your needs. I buy my wrappers at the Asian grocery store down the street but if you don’t have one near you, you can try your local grocery store, usually in the produce section as they are typically refrigerated.

2- ground pork  Here is my math: one pound for a family of 2-3; two pounds for a family of 4-6; anything larger and I would get 3-4 pounds.

3- 1 large onion Diced tiny.

4- 2 Tbsp. of oyster sauce and a dash of garlic powder  You can find oyster sauce in the Asian foods section of your local grocery store or even in the condiment section, which is where it is found at groceries near us.

The only thing extra that Rebecca adds would be sweet potato if you would like to.
Also, our friend Yvette told me you could make this a veggie recipe by omitting the meat and using potatoes, green beans, garlic, and onions. That sounds wonderful too.


Here we go!

You will need to thaw the egg roll wrappers before you use them (at least that is how my wrappers come from the store) for 30 minutes. So bring them out before you brown the pork. OR you could brown your pork the day before, put it in Tupperware in the fridge and assemble the egg rolls the next day. I have done both ways and I think it works better to make the pork ahead of time.

So assuming you browned the pork first, add the onion when the pork is completely browned then add a dash of garlic powder and 2 tbsp. of the oyster sauce. Mix and cook a little longer to let the flavor set in. Set aside to cool then put in Tupperware in the fridge overnight.

After the wrappers have thawed for 30 minutes, get out a sharp knife, a cutting board, dampen two paper towels and get your pork out. I also have a plate ready so you can put the egg rolls you already assembled onto. Your setup will look like this: