Lumpia

From Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cooking, Knopf, 1973. ISBN 0-394-40271-5 or 0-394-74867-0.

This is a good moo-shoo like dish (don't expect it to taste like moo-shoo though) which can sit for a while while you make other things.

The pancakes are kind of a pain to make. Heather's advice is to re-oil the pan between pancakes and to be gentle. Better yet, simply ignore the pancakes. This is good enough just wrapped in the lettuce leaves. Or quickly fry a flour tortilla (not so much that it's stiff) and use that. Both work fine.

Ingredients

Pancakes:
- .5 cup cornstarch
- 2 eggs separated
- 2T oil
Stuffing:
- 4T oil
- 2t minced garlic
- 1/2 cup onion, sliced into fine half-rings
- 4 cups finely shredded cabbage
- 1/3 cup carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-in dice
- 1/4 cup celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 3/4 cup fresh green beans, cut in 1/8-in rounds
- 3/4t salt
- pepper
Sauce:
- 1T cornstarch
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1.5T Japanese soy sauce
- 1T lightly crushed, fried or roasted peanuts (optional)
- A few shots of Tabasco sauce
Romaine Lettuce

Directions

Pancakes: Mix the cornstarch slowly with 1 cup water. In a separate bowl, beat the whites of the eggs until frothy. Fold in the yolks, beating lightly to mix. Give the cornstarch mixture a stir and pour it into the bowl with the eggs. Strain the batter.

Heat an 8-inch, non-stick skillet over a low flame. When hot, pour in .25-t oil and spread it with a piece of paper towel or brush. Stir the batter and pour .25-cup into the skillet. Quickly tilt the skillet in a circular motion so the batter covers the entire bottom surface. Cook on low heat for about 1.5 minutes or until the batter has set. Peel off the thin pancake (use your fingers if you dare) and put the pancake on a large plate. Cover with a sheet of waxed paper. Make all the pancakes this way, stirring the batter each time. Stack the pancakes on top of each other, with a layer of waxed paper in between. Cover the pancakes with an inverted plate.

Stuffing: Heat 4T oil in a wok or skillet over a medium flame. Put in the garlic and stir for a few seconds or until the garlic turns brown. Put in the onions, and fry for 30 seconds. Put in the cabbage and stir-fry for about a minute, or until the cabbage wilts. Put in the carrot, celery, green beans and salt. Turn heat to low, stir and cook for another 6-8 minutes, until all vegetables are cooked but still crisp. Leave the mixture until it reaches room temperature.

Sauce: Mix the cornstarch with 1/2 cup water until smooth. Add the sugar soy sauce and another 1/2 cup water (or vegetable stock, if you have it). Heat in a small pot over a lowish flame, stirring as you do so. When the sauce thickens, turn off the flame. Add the peanuts and Tabasco, if you want to. The sauce may be served lukewarm or at room temperature.

Assembling: For each pancake, wash a piece of Romaine lettuce, and pat it dry. If you're not using it instantly, keep it fresh in the fridge in a plastic bag.

Take a pancake. Take a leaf of romaine lettuce and put it on the pancake, centered about 3/4 of the way to the top of the pancake. Scoop some stuffing into the bottom part of the lettuce. Fold the pancake up like moo-shoo and go to town with the sauce.

Jim Plank

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