Pritong Lumpiang Togue (Fried Mung Bean Sprouts Egg Rolls) with Vinegar Soy Sauce Dip

The weather was all gloomy last weekend, so we decided to just stay home all day. We watched TV/movies, played games, did some cleaning...and of course, lots of eating! The hubs and I were both craving for Lumpiang Prito (Fried Egg Rolls), so we made some. Uhmmm, to be honest, we made a lot! I guess we were craving for egg rolls that much that we even made two kinds...Vietnamese Egg Rolls and Filipino Mung Bean Sprouts Egg Rolls! We ate the Vietnamese Egg Rolls for snack and the Filipino Mung Bean Sprouts Egg Rolls for dinner. Egg roll overload hah! Well, at least we were able to satisfy our cravings...LOL. It's really good to always have spring roll wrappers in the freezer...they come in handy during times like this! :) As for the other ingredients, I just combined whatever's available in the refrigerator. I didn't have all the ingredients listed in my Vietnamese Egg Rolls recipe...but I have some veggies and vermicelli noodles, so they still came out great. As for the Mung Bean Sprouts Egg Rolls, I happened to have mung bean sprouts(known as togue in the Philippines) that I was supposed to use for another recipe, so I just combined it with some other veggies plus a little pork, dried shrimps and tofu...and Voilà!, very yummy Pritong Lumpiang Togue.

I'm pretty sure some of you are wondering what's the difference between Vietnamese Egg Rolls and Filipino Egg Rolls. Well, they're basically the same when it comes to filling. Both have vegetables and meat, the kind of which may vary depending on who is cooking. When it comes to size, Vietnamese Egg Rolls or what they call Cha Gio is bigger than Filipino Egg Rolls or what we call, Lumpiang Shanghai but are of the same size as our Pritong Lumpiang Togue/Gulay. I can say that the only big difference is the inclusion of vermicelli noodles in Cha Gio, and Cha Gio is dipped in sweet fish sauce and is often served with lettuce leaves and slices of fresh cucumbers and other garnish like fresh cilantro and basil leaves. So which is better? Well, honestly speaking, I love Vietnamese and Filipino Egg Rolls just the same! I really enjoy eating them because they're crunchy-munchy delicious! But it really depends on who's eating right? If you love meat filled egg rolls, then Lumpiang Shanghai is the winner for you. But if you love something with more veggies, I guess it will be a tie between Vietnamese Egg Rolls and Filipino Pritong Lumpiang Gulay/Togue.

Shrimp and Tofu Lumpiang Sariwa

"Delight yourself in the LORD; 

And He will give you the desires of your heart." -Psalm 37:4

I fell in love at a very young age. Are you wondering how young??? Well, I was only 13 years old when I had my first boyfriend. Though many were saying that it was just puppy love, at that time I was sure that it's true love. I believed he's the one...but HE WASN'T. Though first love relationships can last for some people, for us it didn't. He left me for another girl just two months after my 18th birthday. And yes, my heart was torn into pieces. For more than a year, I felt devastated and I cried every day for over a month. But hey...don't feel sorry for me! My love story didn't end there! Two years after that break up, God answered my (and my mom's) prayers...the right man came along and my heart became whole again. Yes, you're right...I'm talking about Ryan - the man I am happily married to! God is good you know! Just when I thought I lost my one true love, God was actually leading me to the perfect person to spend the rest of my life with. He just made me and my first love cross paths just so I can better understand what matters most in life. When I realized that, all the regrets I've been having suddenly went away...and my life turned brighter. After a few years, I managed to be friends with my ex...and as years go by and I fall more in love with Ryan, I become more and more thankful to him for breaking my heart. It was probably one of the best things that happened to me. Not only did it make me a better person, it also led me to the perfect life that I have now. What could be better than that??? Truly, God knows what my heart desires - a simple happy life with a man who really loves me and two beautiful daughters who never fail to put a smile on my face! ♥♥♥  

This month's Kulinarya Cooking Club Challenge hosts, Abigail of My Nappy Tales and Marni of Kensington Kitchen want us to share a dish that reminds us of our first love. But that's not what I'm doing. Instead, I am sharing with you a dish that reminds me of those wonderful first years of my relationship with Ryan while we were still taking up engineering at the University of Santo Tomas(UST). Those were the days when we didn't have money to eat at fancy restaurants, and a twice-a-month date at either Goldilocks or Shakey's Pizza just across the UST Engineering Bldg. in España was all we could afford. 

Aside from Pancit Palabok, Filipino-Style Spaghetti, Lumpiang Shanghai, Pork Siomai, Chicken Lollipops, Bistek Tagalog, Binagoongang Baboy, and Baked Macaroni, there is this food that we really loved to eat at Goldilocks. Not only is it delicious, it's also cheaper thus perfect for our tight student budget. Just as the two of us were falling more in love with each other, we were also falling for Goldilocks' All Veggie Fresh Lumpia which is similar to the Chinese non-fried spring rolls. We just love how good those strips of carrots, green beans, mushrooms, squash, and lettuce were rolled in soft lumpia wrapper and topped with their signature lumpia sauce. We've honestly eaten tons of it, and had I not started making it at home, we could have been awarded  Goldilocks' Most Frequent Fresh Lumpia Eaters. LOL. Kidding aside, Fresh Lumpia is really delicious that's why we really love it.

For my Kulinarya entry, let me share with you my version of fresh lumpia. This is not all veggie, it has shrimps and tofu too, so it's tastier! I'm sure that like us, you will find this irresistible to fall in love with...