Lumpiang sariwa is the fresh, unfried Filipino spring roll: a soft, thin crepe wrapped around a warm filling of heart-of-palm (ubod), pork, shrimp, carrot, green beans and bean sprouts, set on a lettuce leaf. It is finished not by frying but by a thick sweet-garlic sauce poured over the top and a scattering of crushed peanuts. 'Sariwa' means fresh, distinguishing it from the crisp fried lumpia.
Lumpia descends from the Hokkien popiah (润饼), the fresh spring roll of southern Fujian, carried to the Philippines by Chinese settlers. The sariwa, or fresh, version stays closest to that ancestor: an unfried wrapper around a cooked vegetable filling. Filipino cooks made it their own with ubod (heart of palm) as a signature filling and a sweet sauce thickened to a near-gravy, often crowned with peanuts.
The soft, slightly chewy crepe gives way to a warm, juicy tangle of crisp-tender vegetables, sweet ubod, savory pork and shrimp. Over it all runs a glossy sweet-garlic sauce, and crushed peanuts add a final crunch; a lettuce leaf keeps the bite fresh and cool against the warm filling.
The wrapper is a thin egg-and-flour crepe cooked just until set, soft enough to fold without cracking. The filling is sauteed and drained so it does not soak the delicate skin. The sauce is sweetened soy or stock thickened with cornstarch to a clinging gloss; poured on at serving, it dresses the roll without making the wrapper soggy too soon.
Variations
Ubod lumpia uses heart of palm as the main filling; togue (bean sprout) versions lean on sprouts. The sauce ranges from clear-sweet to peanut-rich. Some serve it open-faced with the sauce and peanuts on top, others rolled and dressed to order.
On the Palate
Where Lumpiang Sariwa sits in the Filipino flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
7 steps · 35 min
- 112 min
Whisk eggs, flour and water into a thin batter and cook into soft crepes one at a time.
Watch outCook each crepe just until set so it stays soft enough to fold without cracking — a browned, dry wrapper splits when you roll it.
- 24 min
Saute garlic, pork and shrimp until cooked through.
- 35 min
Add julienned ubod, carrot, green beans and bean sprouts and stir-fry until crisp-tender; drain well.
Watch outStir-fry the filling crisp-tender and drain it really well — wet filling soaks the delicate wrapper and it falls apart.
- 45 min
Make the sauce: simmer sweetened stock with soy, then thicken with a cornstarch slurry until glossy.
- 53 min
Lay a lettuce leaf and a spoon of filling on each crepe and roll into a log.
- 62 min
Arrange the rolls and pour the warm sweet-garlic sauce over the top.
- 71 min
Scatter with crushed peanuts and minced garlic and serve at once.
