Last July 21, I woke up early on a Sunday morning despite a headache from the night before. I was to accompany my mom to the wet market to buy vegetables in bulk for the death anniversary of my maternal grandfather.
I have mixed feelings about the wet market. The revolting smell that pervades the whole place is sickening. I hate seeing the garbage being thrown indiscriminately around. I hate the wet floors which may cause one to slip and fall on the ground. Despite all these, I love seeing the produce and fish. My imagination is on the works whenever I see fish of different types still jumping in buckets of water. My mouth drools when I see fresh squid, crabs, and shrimps, and my mind automatically conjures recipes. This ecstasy from wild fantasies are experienced in such a stinky place, leaving almost no room for romance as one grapples with the reality that one will stink soon afterwards.
On the way out of the market, we passed by stalls making and selling fresh lumpia wrapper. I just couldn't resist and begged my mom to buy half a pack so we can make lumpiang shanghai at home for lunch. Lumpiang shanghai is my favorite lunch dish at the office. we're lucky to have a small food canteen nearby which sells decent lumpiang shanghai at affordable prices. And I have been dreaming of making these myself at home with other condiments and seasonings. I was thinking of making taco-flavored lumpia.
But alas, I forgot about the cumin powder which earlier this month I have used up. I turned to my newly bought seasonings instead: McCormick's Italian Seasonings which is composed of 5 different herbs. I put it in with the 3/4 kg of ground pork, grated carrots (1pc.), minced garlic (half a bulb) and onions (2 small ones), sesame oil (approx. 2 tablespoons), and soy sauce (approx. 2 tablespoons). I don't know if they really put in sesame oil but I'm so addicted to its aroma so I put it in. And yes, people at home are always hesitant to taste my cooking because I'm known to have wild experiments. (But so far I only have one major blunder which caused everyone to boycott and for a time, I was banned from the kitchen. LOL)
As for the frying part, I always have to enlist the help of my sous chef, I mean, nanny. Yes, I'm such a loser at frying because I get frightened whenever I hear the oil sizzle. Anyway, my nanny just gave me the go signal to start frying and the rest was history. And after that, I came up with these wonderful babies:
Personally, sauces are not necessary because the lumpia are already loaded with flavors. But then I discovered spicy UFC banana ketchup and used it as a dip, too. Really nice.
I have mixed feelings about the wet market. The revolting smell that pervades the whole place is sickening. I hate seeing the garbage being thrown indiscriminately around. I hate the wet floors which may cause one to slip and fall on the ground. Despite all these, I love seeing the produce and fish. My imagination is on the works whenever I see fish of different types still jumping in buckets of water. My mouth drools when I see fresh squid, crabs, and shrimps, and my mind automatically conjures recipes. This ecstasy from wild fantasies are experienced in such a stinky place, leaving almost no room for romance as one grapples with the reality that one will stink soon afterwards.
On the way out of the market, we passed by stalls making and selling fresh lumpia wrapper. I just couldn't resist and begged my mom to buy half a pack so we can make lumpiang shanghai at home for lunch. Lumpiang shanghai is my favorite lunch dish at the office. we're lucky to have a small food canteen nearby which sells decent lumpiang shanghai at affordable prices. And I have been dreaming of making these myself at home with other condiments and seasonings. I was thinking of making taco-flavored lumpia.
But alas, I forgot about the cumin powder which earlier this month I have used up. I turned to my newly bought seasonings instead: McCormick's Italian Seasonings which is composed of 5 different herbs. I put it in with the 3/4 kg of ground pork, grated carrots (1pc.), minced garlic (half a bulb) and onions (2 small ones), sesame oil (approx. 2 tablespoons), and soy sauce (approx. 2 tablespoons). I don't know if they really put in sesame oil but I'm so addicted to its aroma so I put it in. And yes, people at home are always hesitant to taste my cooking because I'm known to have wild experiments. (But so far I only have one major blunder which caused everyone to boycott and for a time, I was banned from the kitchen. LOL)
As for the frying part, I always have to enlist the help of my sous chef, I mean, nanny. Yes, I'm such a loser at frying because I get frightened whenever I hear the oil sizzle. Anyway, my nanny just gave me the go signal to start frying and the rest was history. And after that, I came up with these wonderful babies:
Personally, sauces are not necessary because the lumpia are already loaded with flavors. But then I discovered spicy UFC banana ketchup and used it as a dip, too. Really nice.
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