Lumpia Semarang

I was wandering through the wet Pasar Tekka in Little India when I spotted those bamboo shoots. They were already julienne-sliced and were young too! Still soft and juicy, just nice to make Lumpia Semarang filling.

If there's one thing that I don't like about bamboo shoots is their smell. They got pungent smell which can't be fully omitted. The only thing I could do to reduce the smell is to cook them in water two or three times (change the water, of course). I'm not sure whether they still got nutrition value after that :))

The original Lumpia Semarang is more of a sweet, rather than a savory snack. The filling, and the sauce. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by its sweetness. But that's what makes it, actually. Usually I just make saltier version of it. As much as I have a sweet tooth, I dont want things to be too sweet .

Here are some fun facts about Lumpia Semarang I just found out:

It was created by a Chinese immigrant in Semarang ( I thought so!) and was introduced as snack at GANEFO Olympics in Semarang during Presiden Sukarno's era. The word 'lumpia' was from the word 'Olimpiade'. Lumpia,olimpiade....creative, isn't it. (Khas orang endonesa yang suka plesetan :))

Lumpia Semarang (from Femina Primarasa)

200g bamboo shoots

150g prawns, shelled and finely sliced

75g chicken fillet, cooked, sliced

50g dried shrimp (ebi)

4 cloves garlic, finely sliced

8 onions, finely sliced

4 sprigs of onion springs, finely sliced

ready made popiah skin

Mix together (filling sauce):

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp salty soya bean sauce

2 tbsp sweet soya sauce

1/2 tsp white ground pepper

1/2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

For the sauce:mix, boil over low heat until cooked

3 crushed cloves garlic, 25 g gula jawa, 1 1/2 tsp vinegar, 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce, 1 1/2tbsp tapioca flour, and 250 ml water.

Garnish: Lokio, acar mentimun and chili padi kampong (rawit , coro endonesane)

Heat 5 tbsp oil, stir fry garlic and onions until fragrant, put in prawns. After changed color, put in chicken, dried shrimps, and the filling sauce. Cook until the bamboo shoots are done.

Put in onion springs. Remove from heat, set aside. Divide the filling into 12 parts. Put 2 tbsp of bamboo shoots filling in the popiah skin and roll. Glue with white eggs (water would do as well). Deep fry until golden brown. Serve with the sauce and garnish.