Lumpiang labong (bamboo shoots spring rolls)
I would have made lumpiang ubod (heart of palm spring rolls) but that entails going to the market very early in the morning when the ubod is fresh and I can still specify which portion I want. But after cooking the kids’ packed school lunch, by the time they have left for school, all I want is to crawl back into bed. The mornings are crisp and cool and even after the aircon has been turned off, the bed still looks so inviting. Well, one of these days I will muster enough determination not to go back to bed and buy some ubod to finally satisfy my craving. For now, it’s labong (bamboo shoots). Not a bad alternative, really.
Bamboo shoots are the edible shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) of bamboo species Bambusa vulgaris and Phyllostachys edulis. They are used in numerous Asian dishes and broths, and are available in supermarkets in various sliced forms, both fresh and canned versions. [Wikipedia]
I read somewhere that canned bamboo shoots are a poor substitute for fresh. I bought a can a couple of weeks ago to find out but it’s been pushed into the far recesses of a kitchen cabinet. Fresh labong is so widely available in the Philippines that there really is no reason to use the canned variety. And labong is so inexpensive — a P10 (around 25 cents) pack (about 200 grams or so) can feed four people. In the wet markets and even in most supermarkets, they are sold shredded and ready to cook.
You can go completely vegan with this dish or you can add meat to the filling. I added shredded chicken to mine.
The following recipe makes 10 fat pieces of lumpia.
Ingredients:
10 crepe-like spring roll wrappers
200 grams of fresh shredded bamboo shoots
1-1/2 c. of cooked shredded chicken
1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/2 head of garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
a bunch of cilantro (coriander leaves), cut into 1-inch lengths
salt
pepper
about 3 cups of chicken broth (or water)
3 tbsps. of cooking oil
lettuce leaves
For the sauce:
2 c. of water
1 tbsp. of tapioca (or corn) starch
1/8 c. of soy sauce
1/4 c. of brown sugar
2 tbsps. of peanut butter
half a head of garlic, peeled and finely minced
Cooking procedure:
Place the bamboo shoots in a colander and wash under the tap. Drain thoroughly.
Heat the cooking oil in a large shallow pan. Saute the garlic and onion until fragrant. Add the bamboo shoots and cook, stirring, for about a minute. Pour in the water or broth, bring to a boil and simmer until the bamboo shoots are tender. How long this take depends on the quality of the bamboo shoots. The best ones will cook in about 15 minutes; mine took over an hour. Just keep adding liquid, a cup or so every time, and check the bamboo shoots every 15 minutes or so. You don’t want them mushy. You want them tender with still a hint of crispness.
When the bamboo shoots are almost done, add the shredded chicken and the carrot. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well. Cook for another five minutes then add the cilantro. Cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds then turn off the heat. Leave uncovered to cool. You want the filling at room temperature before making the lumpia.
While the filling cools, make the sauce. This was the point when I also made my crepe-like spring roll wrappers.
Disperse the starch in the water. Pour into a small saucepan. Add the garlic, soy sauce and sugar. Adjust the amount of soy sauce and sugar according to your preference before you turn on the stove. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until thick and clear. Stir in the peanut butter. Better yet, mix the peanut butter with a little water first before pouring into the sauce. Cover and set aside.
Strain the cooled filling before assembling the lumpia. Liquid will get the wrapper soaked and turn the lumpia soggy.
Lay a piece of lumpia wrapper on a plate. Place a leaf or two of lettuce on one side. Place about two tablespoonfuls of filling at the center of the wrapper. Hold the edge of the wrapper that is directly opposite the lettuce and fold inward. Then, fold the left and right edges inward as well, one overlapping the other.
Pour some sauce over the lumpia before serving or serve the sauce on the side.
Finally, indulge. 
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Comments
16 Responses to “Lumpiang labong (bamboo shoots spring rolls)”
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Have you tried the lumpiang ubod, I believe Ilonggo style, that is being sold in Magallanes Shell? Yes the same gas station that sells the famous chocolate cake.
I bought 20 yesterday, and ate 18 for 2 days
that is delicious!
No Solraya. We don’t often pass that area unless we’re driving South.
Ah, noemi, it is! Was LOL All gone now.
this would be good to serve my parents, im excited to make the home made lumpia wrapper and the lumpiang labong! thanks again!
ms.connie,you included 3 tbsp.of cooking oil in the sauce ingredients,is it really for the sauce?.. i cooked fresh lumpia before,but i didn’t use peanut butter for my sauce,does it make a huge difference if peanut butter is included?..but i will try it one day…
thank you for your delicious recipes.. more power
So yummy! Thanks for (indirectly) reminding me to make them!
Also, I remember reading a while back that you’d make a “balikbayan list” of your recommended restaurants. I’ve searched around your site, but no luck. It’s been so long since I’ve been home, and I have no clue which ones to try out! Thanks!!!
I don’t know why I have always despised Labong. LOL. Maybe because when we’re young and the budget for lunch is tight, my mom will cook labong
Just last night I saw 2 cans of Labong in the kitchen, I threw it. LOL
For me it’s inedible, like how you consider talangka/alimasag fats inedible hahaha!
rizza, my mistake. the cooking oil should be on the other list. i fixed it already. re peanut butter. the traditional way is to roast peanuts, crush them and sprinkle them on the lumpia. i didn’t have peanuts but I had peanut butter…
wonderful, really.
zynnie, ayayay, i forgot about that. will get to it, no worries.
auee, to each his own waterloo! hahahaha
hello, connie…
nice to know there’s a another way to cook labong. my lola (who is ilocana) loves to cook it with saluyot and bagoong pangasinan and native papaya….i think they call it dinengdeng…duh… anyway, my family loves lumpia and i’ll definitely try this…and you’re right with the peanut butter. i usually have chunky peanut butter on stock and if the recipe calls for peanuts, i just use my chunky peanut butter and ta-daah, i have peanut sauce na mabilisan…. by the way, the ilonggo lumpia na msarap can be found at toto’s along b.f. paranaque.
yum-ee…
Auee, ako rin nagtapon na nuon ng canned labong, kasi iba ang texture, amoy, and lasa, kahit na hinugasan ko na. Its made from China and Vietnam, so far, hindi pa rin ako naka-kabili ng ok sa panglasa ko. I have luck on other canned things made from Thailand, siguro susubukan ko ang labong nila, although medio nakaka-phobia. The store sometimes sells those in a open tray, ewan kung somebody consign it (made fresh??) or kung binuksan lang nila from a huge container, pero hindi na nga ako bumili after trying more than 4 brands. Gustong-gusto ko pa naman mag-try nitong lumpiang ubod.
Way back when my mom decided to built a small nipa hut in her farm in Quezon, the workers needed to cut a young coconut tree for the space. Ay sus, my mom told the guy to get the ubod so she can mix it with some young bamboo shoots from our backyard, and. then pinaluto niyang gata, and some fresh lumpia… ayyy sarap, sawsaw sa fresh coconut vinegar…
Thanks, Rima. Pag napadpad kami sa Parañaque, will look for Toto’s.
Ebba, reading your comment, baka mabulok na yung canned bamboo shoots ko ah. hehehe
for us pangasenenses, we usually boiled the labong(bamboo shoots)first para lumambot ito, bago namin ginigisa or hinahalo sa saluyot. try the atcharang labong also. its so yummy.
If your canned product’s brand is Richie’s it should be good. Almost all their canned goods I have tried and ok naman. Wala pa lang akong nakikita na bamboo shoots nila.
My sister said try ko daw yung fresh pero boiled ko raw sa salt or kahit na babad lang daw to take out some of the taste that we are not used to pero ewan nga lang kung baka mawala na ang pinaka-lasa nito kung i-follow ko ang sinabi niya.
For now, pasencia na lang muna ako.
the best talaga yang labong lalo na if fresh pati suka..if yung nasa bottle gagamitin i suggest boil it slow for 3 min with a pinch of salt and vinegar.
Hi, Miss Connie..Thank you so much for this wonderful site. question ko lng po, is this the lumpia wrapper recipe you mentioned in your lumpia shanghai entry, that you’re going to post ? Can I fry this kind of wrapper? I’ve to ask kasi I just started learning how to cook. Again, thanks =)
Yes, it is. Have not tried frying homemade wrappers. I kinda think they’re too soft for frying. Besides, the edges can’t be sealed with water or eggwash so the filling might burst out.