Crispy Lumpiang Togue (Filipino Bean Sprout Spring Rolls)

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Every bite of lumpiang togue is crunchy and filled with flavorful and crispy vegetables! Lumpiang togue (pronounced toh-geh) is a fried spring roll filled with vegetables, but its namesake comes from mung bean sprouts. I hated vegetables as a kid, and lumpiang togue was one of the sneaky ways adults were able feed me my much needed vegetables. Aside from mung beans, inside you'll find carrots, onions, green beans, and sometimes cabbage or sweet potato.

Jump to:

• Key Ingredients  
• Difference Between Mung Bean Sprout Vs. Soybean Sprout
• Substituting Soybean Sprouts For Lumpiang Togue
• Must-Do Step: Drain and Cool the Filling
• How to Roll Lumpiang Togue
• Keep Fried Lumpia Vertical
• How to Serve or Suggested Recipe Pairings
• Party Tip
• FAQ
• Lumpiang Togue (Filipino Mung Bean Sprout Spring Rolls)
• Have You Tried This Recipe?

Mung bean sprouts in Filipino are called togue, which is different from mung beans, called monggo. Since the sprouts are the main ingredient inside this lumpia or spring roll, we differentiate it from other lumpias as lumpiang togue. Most people consider lumpiang togue as lumpiang gulay (vegetable lumpia), but other varieties of lumpia like lumpiang sariwa can also be adjusted to consist of just vegetables.

Key Ingredients  

Bean Sprouts

Mung bean sprouts are plentiful across Asian grocery markets. But when it comes to big box grocery stores, only Safeway regularly carries mung bean sprouts. When you visit an Asian grocery store, you need to be able to tell the difference between a mung bean sprout vs. a soybean sprout.

When seeking out mung bean sprouts, start the search at your nearest Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, or Filipino markets like 99 Ranch or Seafood City. There tends to be a lot more day-to-day recipes that use mung bean sprouts in these cuisines. Japanese markets and Korean markets are hit-or-miss because they tend to use soybean sprouts instead.

Lumpia Wrapper

Spring roll wrappers are different from egg roll wrappers! The main difference between the two is the added egg ingredient in an egg roll wrapper versus no eggs in spring roll wrapper. The wrappers I recommend are TYJ / Spring Home, Simex, or Menlo.

Difference Between Mung Bean Sprout Vs. Soybean Sprout

You can identify a soybean sprout by looking at the bean attached to the sprout stem. A soybean sprout is almost always attached to a huge soybean, while the bean on a mung bean sprout will be tiny or no longer attached. The stems of soybean sprouts are also longer and thicker than those of mung bean sprouts.

Substituting Soybean Sprouts For Lumpiang Togue

You can also use soybean sprouts in your lumpiang togue as a substitute for mung bean sprouts. The prep is slightly different, where you need to blanche the the soy beans sprouts a little bit to get rid of the raw, green flavor. You can remove that strong flavor by putting the raw soybean sprouts in boiling water for 3 minutes, then draining them before adding to the rest of the ingredients.

Must-Do Step: Drain and Cool the Filling

The filling requires a quick cooking technique, where you add different vegetables and sauté them quickly over medium high heat to prevent them from getting too soft. Your aim is to keep just a slight crisp to the vegetables and keep the mung beans from releasing too much water.

After cooking the vegetable filling, immediately transfer it to a colander. Lightly press down on the vegetables with the back of a spatula. Don't squeeze too hard, you want some moisture but not a lot of it. It's all about balance! Let it sit in the colander for about an hour until it cools to room-temperature before adding to the lumpia wrappers.

How to Roll Lumpiang Togue

Always used room temperature or cooled filling when rolling lumpia! Warm, wet fillings will tear these delicate wrappers and lead to soggy lumpia!

This visual guide goes through each step of rolling up lumpiang togue, but any other spring rolls really! The following steps include:

• Laying out the wrapping paper so it looks like a diamond.
• Adding about 2-3 tablespoons of the filling to the bottom center of the diamond, leaving some space from the bottom tip.
• Rolling the bottom tip up over the filling.
• Folding in the sides to prevent leakage.
• Continuing to roll up to the tip and brushing the end with cornstarch and water.
• Laying the lumpia seam-side down.

Keep Fried Lumpia Vertical

Placing the lumpia in a high-walled colander lined with paper towels will make the oil drain down to the bottom, touching only a small surface area. This allows the rest of the lumpia to stay crispy compared to letting it rest on its side, which lets the oil drain across the length of the lumpia.

How to Serve or Suggested Recipe Pairings

You can serve lumpiang togue with sweet chili sauce, but a seasoned vinegar dipping sauce is the most classic choice for this type of lumpia. Sticking to traditional staples like Datu Puti cane vinegar and Rufina fish sauce brings home an authentic Filipino flavor.

Party Tip

I like to serve lumpiang togue next to lumpiang shanghai to give my guests a vegetable only option and a meat option. I find that they usually take one or two of each and enjoy them equally!

FAQ