Lumpia are various types of spring rolls commonly found in Indonesian and Filipino cuisines. Lumpia are made of thin paper-like or crêpe-like pastry skin called "lumpia wrapper" enveloping savory or sweet fillings. It is often served as an appetizer or snack, and might be served deep-fried or fresh (unfried). Lumpia are Indonesian and Filipino adaptations of the Fujianese lūn-piáⁿ (潤餅) and Teochew popiah (薄餅), usually consumed during Qingming Festival.
In Indonesia, lumpia is a favorite snack, and is known as a street hawker food in the country. Lumpia was introduced by Chinese settlers to Indonesia during colonial times possibly in the 19th century.
In the Philippines, lumpia is one of the most common dishes served in gatherings and celebrations.
In the Netherlands and Belgium it is spelled loempia, the old Indonesian spelling, which has also become the generic name for any spring roll in the Dutch language, regardless of origin or location.
Etymology The name lumpia , sometimes spelled as lunpia, was derived from Hokkien spelling /lun˩piã˥˧/ (潤餅, POJ: lūn-piáⁿ), lun (潤, POJ: lūn) means "wet/moist/soft", while pia (餅, POJ: piáⁿ) means "cake/pastry", thus lun-pia means "soft cake". It is referred to as rùnbǐng (潤餅) or báobǐng, bóbǐng (薄餅) in Mandarin, and also as bópíjuǎn (薄皮卷).
In neighboring Malaysia and Singapore, lumpia is known in its variant name as popiah, from Teochew or Hokkien, pronounced as /poʔ˩piã˥˧/ (薄餅, Peng'im: boh⁸ bian², POJ: po̍h-piáⁿ), which means "thin wafer".
Indonesia
Lumpia was introduced by Chinese settlers of Fujian origin to the Dutch East Indies, possibly in the 19th century. According to local tradition circulated in Semarang, Central Java, lumpia was introduced by a Chinese settler named Tjoa Thay Yoe, a migrant from China who settled in Semarang by the end of the 19th century. At that time, Tjoa was selling a variety of foods made from pork and also bamboo shoots at Pasar Johar, Semarang. It was then that he met Wasih, a native Javanese woman food vendor who sold food made from shrimp and potato. Thay Yoe and Wasih eventually got married, and subsequently they created and sold food together by removing the pork element to cater for local consumers that mostly are Muslims. The food that was created was lumpia Semarang which is known to this day. The couple then had a daughter named Tjoa Po Nio, who continued her parents' business by selling lumpia Semarang spring rolls.
Chinese influence is evident in Indonesian cuisine, such as bakmi, mie ayam, pangsit, mie goreng, kwetiau goreng, nasi goreng, bakso, and lumpia. Throughout the country, spring rolls are generally called lumpia; however, sometimes an old Chinese Indonesian spelling is used: loen pia.
In Indonesia lumpia is associated with Chinese Indonesian cuisine and commonly found in cities where significant Chinese Indonesian settles. Although some local variants exist and the filling ingredients may vary, the most popular variant is Lumpia Semarang, available in fried or unfried variants. In Indonesia, lumpia variants usually named after the city where the recipe originates, with Semarang as the most famous variant. It represents creativity and the localisation of lumpia recipes according to locally available ingredients and local tastes.
Unlike its Philippines counterpart, Indonesian lumpia rarely uses minced pork as a filling. This was meant to cater to the larger Muslim clientele, thus popular fillings are usually chicken, shrimp, egg and vegetables. Indonesian lumpia is commonly filled with seasoned chopped rebung (bamboo shoots) with minced chicken or prawns, served with fresh baby shallots or leeks in sweet tauco (fermented soy) based sauce. In addition to being made at home, lumpia is also offered as street food sold by traveling vendor on carts, sold in foodstalls specializing on Lumpia Semarang, or sold in traditional marketplaces as part of kue (Indonesian traditional snack) or jajan pasar (market munchies). Simpler and cheaper lumpia is sold as part of gorengan (Indonesian fritters). Indonesians are noted for their fondness of hot and spicy food, and therefore spicy hot sambal chili sauce or fresh bird's eye chili are usually added as a dipping sauce or condiment.
Lumpia Semarang
Named after the capital city of Central Java in Indonesia, Semarang, where significant Chinese Indonesian have settled, lumpia Semarang is perhaps the most popular lumpia variant in Indonesia. It has become associated with the city, and the spring rolls are often sought by the visitors in Semarang as food gift or souvenir. Originally made by Chinese immigrants, this lumpia is filled with bamboo shoots, dried shrimp, chicken or prawns. It is served with a sweet chili sauce made from dried shrimp (optional), coconut sugar, red chili peppers, bird's eye chili peppers, ground white pepper, tapioca starch, water, and baby shallots. Lumpia Semarang is served either deep-fried or unfried, as the filling is already cooked. Other variants of lumpia Semarang is filled with goat or crab meat.
Lumpia Jakarta Named after Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, this lumpia is usually deep-fried and sold as a gorengan fritter snack. Unlike the popular Semarang lumpia that uses rebung or bamboo shoots, Jakarta lumpia uses bengkuang or jicama, and is served with the typical Indonesian sambal kacang or spicy peanut sauce as a dipping sauce.
Lumpia Bogor Named after Bogor, a city in West Java, this lumpia filling is similar to the Jakarta lumpia variant; it uses jicama, as well as tofu and ebi dried shrimp. Unlike in other regions, where lumpia are usually served fried, Bogor lumpia are usually grilled on a hot iron, giving it a distinctive aroma. In addition, Bogor lumpia is usually shaped in a pillow-shaped rectangle and quite large in size.
Lumpia Bandung Named after the city of Bandung in West Java, it is a variant of lumpia basah or fresh and wet lumpia that is not deep-fried. However, unlike the common elongated shape, lumpia Bandung is not served in spring roll form, but the lumpia skin is spread, topped with fillings, stacked and folded square just like an envelope. Unlike the Semarang style lumpia, which uses bamboo shoots and minced chicken, Bandung style lumpia uses julienned jicama, beansprout, scallion, garlic, chili, and scrambled egg as fillings, and is served with palm sugar sauce.
Lumpia Surabaya Named after the city of Surabaya in East Java, where this lumpia was originally made. It is made of mostly the same ingredients of lumpia semarang, but much less sweet in taste. Lumpia Surabaya might use bamboo shoots, corn, or slices of sausages as fillings, and is served with sambal chili sauce and tauco fermented soybean paste as dipping sauce.
Lumpia Yogyakarta Although Yogyakarta is quite close to Semarang city, Yogyakarta also has a different type of lumpia. The typical lumpia of Yogyakarta usually contain jicama, bean sprouts, carrots, and minced chicken meat. Boiled quail eggs and glass noodles are sometimes added as fillings as well. 'Yogya lumpia' is usually served with acar pickles, chilies, and toppings made from crushed garlic and jicama. The generous use of garlic and pickles as garnish is meant to refresh and neutralize the otherwise oiliness of the deep-fried lumpia.
Lumpia Medan Originating from Medan city of North Sumatra, this lumpia version is more akin to popiah of neighboring Malaysia and Singapore. Thus, in Medan, lumpia is more commonly referred to as popiah. Medan popiah or lumpia is a large fresh unfried spring roll, consumed not as a snack, but as a main meal. This is because Medan lumpias are made in large sizes with rich fillings, including bamboo shoots, scrambled eggs, peanuts, shrimp, crabs, and more.
Lumpia goreng
Lumpia goreng is a simple fried spring roll filled with vegetables; the spring roll wrappers are filled with chopped carrots cut into matchstick-size, shredded cabbage, and sometimes mushrooms. Although usually filled only with vegetables, the fried spring rolls might be enriched with minced beef, chicken, or prawns. There is also a common, cheap and simple variant of fried lumpia, eaten not as a single dish but as part of assorted gorengan (Indonesian fritters) snack, sold together with fried battered tempeh, tofu, oncom, sweet potato and cassava. It is only filled with bihun (rice vermicelli) with chopped carrots and cabbages, and is usually eaten with fresh bird's eye chili pepper. The sliced lumpia goreng is also the ingredient of soto mie (noodle soto).
Lumpia basah
It literally means "wet spring roll", or often translated as "fresh spring roll" which means spring roll without frying. It is similar to the Vietnamese spring roll with bean sprouts, carrots, shrimp or chicken and served with sweet tauco (another Hokkien word for salted soybeans) sauce.
Lumpia ayam This popular appetizer in Indonesia is chicken lumpia, with fillings including shredded chicken, sliced carrot, onion and garlic; and seasoned with sugar, salt and pepper. In Yogyakarta, there is a popular chicken lumpia variant called Lumpia Mutiara, sold in front of Mutiara Hotel in Malioboro street.
Lumpia sayur Vegetarian lumpia, usually filled with glass noodles, shredded cabbage, lettuce, julienned carrots, minced garlic and celery, seasoned with soy sauce and sweet chili sauce. Most of cheaper lumpia sold as part of Indonesian gorengan (fritters) are lumpia sayur or vegetables lumpia, that contains only bits of carrots and bihun rice glass noodles.
Lumpia mercon
The name lumpia mercon (lit. firecracker lumpia) implies that this lumpia is extra hot and spicy, filled with slices of cabe rawit or bird's eye chili, a small type of chili that is very spicy and much hotter than a common jalapeño. This lumpia demonstrates the Indonesian fondness for extra hot and spicy food.
Lumpia mini This is a bite size smaller lumpia snack, a skin pastry crepe the same as with common lumpia; however, it is filled only with abon (beef floss) or ebi (dried prawn floss).
Lumpia duleg Lumpia duleg, also known as lumpia delanggu or sosis kecut (sour sausages) is a simple and cheap lumpia snack from Delanggu subdistrict, Klaten Regency, Central Java, a town located between Yogyakarta and Semarang. It is a small finger-sized lumpia filled with mung bean sprouts (tauge) with slightly sour flavour.
Lumpia tahu Another vegetarian lumpia in Indonesia is lumpia tahu or tofu lumpia. It is filled with tofu and diced carrot, lightly seasoned, and deep-fried. Usually, its size is smaller than common lumpia, and consumed as a snack. Sometimes beaten egg and chopped scallion might be added to the filling mixture.
Lumpia telur This simple and cheap street food is a popular snack among Indonesian school children. Lumpia telur is an egg lumpia, which is lumpia skin placed upon a hot flat pan, topped with beaten egg and chopped scallion, folded, and fried with cooking oil. Sometimes slices of sausages are added. The shape is not cylindrical like a common spring roll, but rather a flat half-circle, drizzled with kecap manis sweet soy sauce and chili sambal. It is often regarded as a hybrid between lumpia and egg martabak.
Lumpia jantung pisang Lumpia with filling made of jantung pisang (lit. banana's heart) which refer to banana blossom bud, mixed with eggs, seasoned with shallot, garlic, turmeric and pepper, served in hot sambal chili sauce.
Lumpia pisang
Lumpia pisang or abbreviated as lumpis is a sale pisang, a processed banana made by drying and smoking processes and dried in the sun, wrapped in lumpia wrapper.
Lumpia udang mayones