Pritong Lumpiang Togue (Fried Mung Bean Sprouts Egg Rolls) with Vinegar Soy Sauce Dip

The weather was all gloomy last weekend, so we decided to just stay home all day. We watched TV/movies, played games, did some cleaning...and of course, lots of eating! The hubs and I were both craving for Lumpiang Prito (Fried Egg Rolls), so we made some. Uhmmm, to be honest, we made a lot! I guess we were craving for egg rolls that much that we even made two kinds...Vietnamese Egg Rolls and Filipino Mung Bean Sprouts Egg Rolls! We ate the Vietnamese Egg Rolls for snack and the Filipino Mung Bean Sprouts Egg Rolls for dinner. Egg roll overload hah! Well, at least we were able to satisfy our cravings...LOL. It's really good to always have spring roll wrappers in the freezer...they come in handy during times like this! :) As for the other ingredients, I just combined whatever's available in the refrigerator. I didn't have all the ingredients listed in my Vietnamese Egg Rolls recipe...but I have some veggies and vermicelli noodles, so they still came out great. As for the Mung Bean Sprouts Egg Rolls, I happened to have mung bean sprouts(known as togue in the Philippines) that I was supposed to use for another recipe, so I just combined it with some other veggies plus a little pork, dried shrimps and tofu...and Voilà!, very yummy Pritong Lumpiang Togue.

I'm pretty sure some of you are wondering what's the difference between Vietnamese Egg Rolls and Filipino Egg Rolls. Well, they're basically the same when it comes to filling. Both have vegetables and meat, the kind of which may vary depending on who is cooking. When it comes to size, Vietnamese Egg Rolls or what they call Cha Gio is bigger than Filipino Egg Rolls or what we call, Lumpiang Shanghai but are of the same size as our Pritong Lumpiang Togue/Gulay. I can say that the only big difference is the inclusion of vermicelli noodles in Cha Gio, and Cha Gio is dipped in sweet fish sauce and is often served with lettuce leaves and slices of fresh cucumbers and other garnish like fresh cilantro and basil leaves. So which is better? Well, honestly speaking, I love Vietnamese and Filipino Egg Rolls just the same! I really enjoy eating them because they're crunchy-munchy delicious! But it really depends on who's eating right? If you love meat filled egg rolls, then Lumpiang Shanghai is the winner for you. But if you love something with more veggies, I guess it will be a tie between Vietnamese Egg Rolls and Filipino Pritong Lumpiang Gulay/Togue.


Oh well, I  suggest you try this Pritong Lumpiang Togue (Fried Mung Bean Sprouts Egg Rolls) recipe and also try PiTCC's Lumpiang Shanghai and Vietnamese Egg Rolls recipe...and then you decide for yourself! ;)

Ingredients:

For the Lumpia:
Yield 24 pcs.

• 1 lb bean sprouts
• 1 potato, peeled and julienned (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium sized carrot, peeled and julienned
• a handful of green beans, ends removed and sliced thinly (about 1 cup)
• 16 oz. tofu, sliced thinly and fried
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup dried shrimps
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 24 pc. spring roll wrapper
• cooking oil for frying

For the Dip:

• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1/8 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/8 cup minced garlic
• 1 pc Thai pepper, chopped (optional)

Instructions:

For the Lumpia:

1. In a wok or large skillet over medium heat, saute garlic until light brown. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add ground pork and saute for 3 minutes or until there's no more red part showing. Season with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper. Mix well. Cook for about 3 minutes or until pork is tender.

2. Add the been sprouts, green beans, potatoes and carrots. Stir until well combined. Add fish sauce and dried shrimps. Continue stirring until well distributed. Cook for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to suit your taste. Add fried tofu and green onions. Mix until well incorporated with other ingredients. Cook for another minute. Remove from heat. Transfer to a colander to drain excess liquid. Allow to completely cool down.

3. Prepare the wrappers. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the mixture on the lower edge of each wrapper. Begin to fold egg roll like an envelope: first, fold over the lower edge over the filing, then the left edge, then the right edge, then roll up to the top edge. To seal the wrapper just moisten the top edge with water. I used the sauce I got from draining the cooked mixture. Place the wrapped egg roll on a platter. Repeat until all the filling mixture is used up.

4. Heat enough oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Place egg roll one at a time into hot oil, with the seam down (this will keep it from unraveling) and then quickly turn the egg roll to ensure the skin crisp up and does not stick to other egg rolls in the pan. Adjust heat so that the oil is bubbling gently and not too vigorously around the egg rolls. Each egg roll will take about 4 minutes to cook. Shake the egg roll over the pan to help remove the excess oil. Place egg roll on layers of paper towels to drain.

For the Dip:

In a small bowl, mix vinegar, soy sauce and water. Stir in sugar and salt until dissolved. Add minced garlic, onions and Thai Pepper. Mix until well combined.